Holiday plans

Christmastime brings such excitement. And work. I'm happy to say that, for the first time in memory, I had my Christmas shopping done before December! It's interesting though--the time gets filled up with things to do anyhow. Is it that there is more to do than ever or do I create things to do that I didn't have time for before. Busy-ness, in my case, is often a curse, leaving me little time to relax and just think. Lately I've been thinking about thinking a lot.

One of my goals this Christmas was to do a pastel of the nativity, with my grandchildren in the picture. I worked on that for hours, as there were many faces to try and capture. I've learned that pastels are not very good for fine detail or small figures. But I finally completed the picture and made an additional one of the three kings (one of them a queen) to include all 19 of my babes. It is not my best artistic creation but is a nice sentiment and hope the grandchildren get a kick out of trying to find themselves in the drawings.

Winter has arrived in our sunny California spot. A week ago, our early morning sleep was interrupted by lights shining in our bedroom window. It was a little annoying! But as we looked outside, snowflakes filled our view! Our house was surrounded by snow! The grandchildren downstairs turned on all the outside lights and were playing in the snow. When dawn arrived it exposed snow covered hills and snow dust everywhere. It was magical! It has been cold and wintry every day since.

Our Mongolian daughter, Brynn, is here visiting. She is a lovely girl with a decidedly American point of view. I believe that she will stay in our country for good. It is such fun to have someone to philosophize with. She and I have explained the human world very clearly to one another and I believe we have just about everything figured out! At least we talked enough to have done so. I love having my chance at discussing ideas. Layne isn't too interested in such things so I have to take advantage of talking partners when they come my way.

I've decided that I am definitely a morning person. I want to get everything worth doing done by lunch. I have been a little frustrated at that effort with my mom here. She needs lots of help in the morning, especially on bathing days. So I hired one of our foster daughters, Michelle Montandon, to get Mom up in the mornings, until the end of the year. It has been great. Now I can attack the day with my agenda as early in the morning as I wish. It is a gift!

Mom seems to be losing a little ground. She resists things that take effort more often now. She seems weaker and less inclined to do things. I wonder if I should be exercising her more, and doing more with her. How do I fit everything in: Mom, hub, kids, grandkids, projects, house chores, errands, Church assignments, and on and on? So here's the deal: empty nests are not really empty at all. Does life ever open up into absolute leisure? I think not. As long as a body can move and think, there is something worthwhile to do. I guess I like it that way.

Pictures from top: pastel of the grandchildren in the nativity; snow in our back yard; Brynn with Layne, me and Mom; Michelle in her working mode.