Wrong

I was wrong about the number of pieces in the Star Wars Death Star Lego kit. It does not have 10,000 pieces like I originally posted. 10188 is the model number!
Jesh! But I looked it up, and it has 3,803 pieces which is three times more than any of our other kits - according to Paul.
Paul and Abbie have already sorted the pieces. There were 4 rectangular boxes of pieces. Paul brought (from the garage) up a huge tackle box and another sorter thing to keep all the pieces in. See, this set didn't come with a manual. It came with a book!
However, they've already encountered some missing pieces. Paul is making a list, and I hope that the Lego company will be helpful when I call them.

Christmas Time in TN - edited for clarity

Not sure if you can tell or not - from my face - but I was extremely happy to be holding this owl. This is an Eastern Screech Owl which are very small. He is full grown; about the size of a softball.
On our way home from the Christmas Eve service at church (around 11 pm), I thought I saw an owl in the road. Luckily, he was in the road where a car could just drive over top of him without a tire touching him (thankfully, there were not a lot of cars on the road on Christmas Eve). He was on the opposite side of the road from us, and when I saw another car's lights shine on him, I thought to myself that I might have seen an owl. I told Paul to turn around.
This is my purpose in life: rescue animals and turn around when I think I see an animal that needs help.
Paul said he saw another car stop - that told me that there definitely was something in the road. I started getting really excited and told him he had to turn around immediately and go back.
It was an owl, and he was alive. The owl turned his head and looked at me very casually, and one of his wings looked a teeny bit ruffled and stretched out more than the other.
I searched the car trunk for something to pick him up with and was happy to find a pair of Paul's winter gloves. Another car had stopped and a man came over to help. He was relieved when I told him I was taking him home and that I knew of a wildlife place to take him to the next day (at least I hoped that I could get ahold of the place and get him some help).
The owl was very calm while I was picking him up, but his talons were gripping the pavement pretty tight.
When we got home, I took him to the downstairs driveway to examine him and to determine in what way he was hurt. If he turned out to be okay, I wanted him to have a clear shot if he could actually fly away.
Instead of standing up, like he had been doing when I found him, he just rolled over and his eyes were half shut and his pupils were fixed. I told Paul and Abbie that maybe he was dead or would die soon. I rolled him in a towel and held him and was going to give him a happy, snug little bed for his eternal journey. I held him upright b/c I know that owls stand up to sleep; I wanted him to be as comfortable as possible.
Eventually, his eyes shut all the way. I took him to my room and carefully unwrapped him so that Paul could help me determine if he was dead or not - I knew he was very much in shock (which is why I was even able to get close to him in the first place).
When we got him unwrapped, it was obvious that he was still breathing and sound asleep! Due to the shock, he needed to "sleep it off" and recover his energy. He was wet and cold.
Paul kept suggesting places to keep him overnight (the bed of his truck, the downstairs garage); all good suggestions that I considered, but I knew I wouldn't let him go far from me. I just didn't know how to tell Paul that little tidbit. :)
Temporarily, I propped him up on my bed in his little towel nest and had to leave him while we were getting Abbie in bed and while we carried presents to the Christmas tree. Abbie was not even thinking about Christmas anymore; she was excited to have an owl in the house!!!!
While Paul got on the computer for a little bit, I sat in bed and read and watched him sleep. It was a deep sleep.
Eventually, I made a bigger towel nest for him in our bathtub and put a laundry basket over top of him; like a cozy cage. He didn't make a peep/hoot all night.
This morning, he was awake and alert and not happy to see me. I called the wildlife rehab place at 10:00 am. I said, "Merry Christmas" and launched into my story. She listened patiently and said that I could bring him out. I said, "Even on Christmas Day?" She said, "Of course." These are my kind of people!
Meanwhile, I had looked up owl species and owl rescue tips. So far, I had done everything right (except I should have kept human contact to a minimum, but....that's my weakness....sigh....oh, well). Actually, I did keep human contact to a minimum. I went to bed without removing my makeup so as not to disturb him in the bathroom. And Paul took a shower in the guest bathroom this morning. But last night, when I thought for sure he would die from shock, I held him and petted him and talked to him and told him about God and heaven and how he would love it there, and I'm not the least bit sorry. :)
The rescue tips said that owls do need a towel for gripping with their claws, and they do need to be kept warm b/c of shock. And they do need to go to a wildlife rescue center ASAP.
To get him ready for the trip, we prepared a snug box. When I picked him up to put him in the box, he kept making snapping noises with his beak (but not snapping at me); he was warning me to stay away. Despite the thick gloves, one of his talons punctured through the glove into my finger (he didn't mean to, I think he was just trying to grasp and hold on). I ignored the injury. [A note to people who think I'm brave - well, I am and I'm not - I sort of let go of him when his talon got me, and the snapping sound scared me, but when I'm up against the wall, I'll do just about anything.]
After we got him in the car, I took off the glove for a look b/c my finger was throbbing. I had two, nice bloody holes in my finger. Those talons are perfect for gripping tree limbs and rodents!
You can't call a vet or the animal shelter for wildlife injuries. There is only one wildlife rehab place in our area ---- and it is in the boonies!!!! Back in a holler. Down at the end of a pig path. NO JOKE! But what a great place to rehabilitate wild animals and eventually set them free. It took us an hour or so to get there.
The lady said he had probably been hit by a car. When she got him out of the box, he flew! She got him down and examined him (she had better gloves than me). Besides being underweight, she thinks his wings are okay. She'll fatten him up and release him back in our area. Owls mate for life and it's best to release them back into the area they came from. She currently takes care of 4 other screech owls that cannot be released: one is blind, one is missing an eye, one has a partial wing amputation (and I can't remember what is wrong with the other). We visited with her for awhile; asking questions. We made a donation and then came back home. What a great adventure for Christmas Eve and Christmas! This is the best present I could have gotten.

Christmas morning! Look at that Star Wars Death Star! Jealous? The online Lego store was sold out and backordered until late January. But Santa called many Lego stores and found one! 10,000 pieces, baby! And meant for ages 12+. I pointed this out to Abbie, the age category and the daunting number of pieces. She said, and I quote, "That's okay because I'm a Lego expert." Put that in your pipe and smoke it! .

Santa also brought Abbie some cooking supplies. And I got a Tom Tom so I'll never get lost again. Paul got a burr coffee grinder, warm clothes, and the entire Space Ghost series.

On our way to the Chrismas Eve service. Before we even knew we were going to rescue an owl!

A Veronica Square. But who is Veronica? I made these and told Paul that we're calling them Lorrie's Squares. Whoever makes them can put their own name on them. That's fair!

That first picture with me and the owl? That's going to get enlarged and framed and scrapbooked too.

Merry Christmas!

Tagged from Annie

1 embarrassing moment: going in public with stuff on my face (twice within the last month or so)
2 best friends: Leslie and Cindy
3 things you buy regularly: Vanilla Chai Latte, poptarts (not for me, those things don't taste good anymore), and milk
4 places you want to go: Paradise Island, England, Hawaii, Vermont - I could name so many more
5 goals for the upcoming year (that you might actually do): sell the house within 1 month of putting it on the market, fix up the house, get rid of a bunch of crap and get a storage unit, do more things around the house and less volunteering at school, lose 5 pounds (wishful thinking)
6 things most people don't know about you: I'd rather not wear a bra, I can't sit still (I fidget), I'd like to wear more dresses and skirts (without the hose though), my hair bugs me, I like going to the mailbox, I dislike going to the post office
7 things you would never say: I give up, GD (as in the cuss word), I hate you, help me, I LOVE flying in airplanes, I don't want to go anywhere, I'm not hungry
8 things you love about the Christmas season: Christmas lights, smell of a real tree, special sweet treats, getting a gift you weren't expecting, buying things for other people, wearing sweaters, opening presents, seeing all the family
9 things you say to your kids: you're the best girl in the whole world, I love you, snuggle with me, don't be grumpy at me, brush your teeth, it's time for bed, let's do _____, feed the cats, you did a great job
10 things you do a lot: think, read, procrastinate, make lists, use cell phone, drive somewhere everyday, scoop litter, clean up after cats, wish kitchen counters would stay clean, open mail
11 things you would rather not live without: Abbie, Paul, my mom, lotion, sunglasses, lounging pants, car, cell phone, toothbrush, 3 pillows, chapstick!!!

Free Kibble

I've added a couple of links to the right side of the page. If you go to those two websites everyday and answer the trivia question (there is only one question on each site), the website owners and their sponsors will donate 10 pieces of kibble to animal shelters. It doesn't matter if you answer the question right or wrong - 10 pieces of kibble will still be donated.

These are legitimate websites.

I first read about this little girl (10 years old) in People magazine. They wrote a story about her idea and her website. People magazine recently did a followup article about the previous story.

I'm all about helping animals so click the links if you have time. :)

Deja Vu

I have a serious case of deja vu.
Definition: the illusion of having previously experienced something actually being encountered for the first time.
Interpretation: Many times, after I've blogged, I start feeling like I've probably covered that topic before.
Yesterday, I started thinking that I've discussed handshaking before. I really think I've blogged twice about our busy after-school schedule. And last year, didn't I write about what matters and doesn't matter at Christmas?
Well, I'm too lazy to look back at my blog posts to double check my suspicions and actually prove that I suffer from deja vu and maybe dementia too.
Please cut me some slack.

Shaking Hands

After earning a business degree, I got my first full-time banking job. It wasn't my first job at a bank. I had worked at a bank for 4 summers plus holidays doing lots and lots of various jobs: I was a teller, assisted the human resource officer, assembled bank statements (back when you still got your checks back in your statement), put postage on all the outgoing mail with the big HP mailing machine (more complicated than it should have been), I was a switchboard operator, filled in for a few other accounting people when they were on vacation, balanced/audited cashier check log and other logs. One whole summer, I was the courier for the bank - I drove around to all the branches (5-7) all day long delivering interoffice mail and hauling big bags of cash and coin to each branch. I kind of liked this job b/c I was always on the go and got to listen to the radio in the truck. I probably did other stuff that I've forgotten. Oh yeah, I once had to go repossess a car b/c I was the only one in the bank that could drive a stick shift - all the women in the collections department could not drive a stick shift. So that was an adventure.
Okay, back to the full time job story..... At my week long orientation classes, one of things they taught us was the proper way to shake hands. I won't go into the details here (it's fairly simple). If you ask me, I'll be glad to demonstrate for you if you're not sure you know the proper technique. While I'm at it, I'd like to say that I probably learned as much about business as I learned while earning my college degree. The bank packed a lot of useful info into a week.
My point of this post is that soooo many people don't know how to shake hands. Once you know the proper way, you tend to notice when others don't do it right.
On Sunday, at church, there is always a greeting/shaking hands portion of the service. You shake hands with people who have dry, calloused hands. With people with bony hands. People with small, delicate hands. People with cold hands. People with clammy hands. Ewww! But that is not the problem. People can't change how their body/hands are made.
No, the problem is with their technique. Some people only give you their fingertips. Some people's handshake is like a limp fish. Some people apply way too much pressure. Some people's hands feel dirty. Ewww! Some people are just going through the motions and trying to shake as many hands as possible, and their eyes are on the next person before you even get finished shaking hands - so they're pulling away before the handshake is even complete.
After the greeting portion of the service today, Paul leaned over and asked if I had any hand sanitizer with me (No, it was in the car). He had shaken hands with someone who had "dirty, powdery" feeling hands so he felt like he needed to wash his hands for a whole hours.
I sort of play a game with the guy that sits behind us. He's the one who about breaks your hand when he shakes. Each Sunday, I try to see if I can at least get my whole hand into the handshake before his vise-like grip squishes my fingers. Paul's hand gets squished too.

Weird Conversations

The other day, we were having a regular conversation that morphed into an odd topic. I'm sure this happens to most people.
We were discussing what you would change your name to if you absolutely had to. Abbie didn't want to change her name at all. I told her to pretend that all the A names were being removed from the name dictionary and she had to pick a new name or she would be assigned Zelda. So she chose Love. I asked her how she came up with that, and she said the early colonists had names like that.
Paul chose Darth Vader.
How can you top that? I never revealed my choice. I'd need a lot of time to think about it.
Then Paul changed the conversation to super powers.
Here's the back story - you know how some people believe that they were born as the wrong sex? A boy believes he was meant to be a girl or a girl believes she was meant to be a boy?
Well, I think Paul was supposed to have been born as a superhero.
Back to the current topic - Paul asked what super powers we would choose. Paul chose the ability to fly and being indestructible. Abbie chose being super fast and the ability to change into any animal. And having a force field. Again, I had a hard time deciding. I'm pretty sure I'd pick flying, but I couldn't decide on a second super power.
Then Paul twisted the topic - he asked, "what if the only way you could fly was that you had to be naked - would you still choose the ability to fly?"
I said it'd be easier for a girl to fly naked than a boy. I asked him if he'd fly with his belly pointing toward the ground or his back pointing to the ground.
I won't reveal his answer, but you can ask him in Park City.

Bread

I know what they say about bread, "buy whole wheat." It's supposed to be better for you, and I even like the whole wheat bread that I buy. It has about 24 grams of whole grain and contains little crunchy black seeds throughout (I know what they are but their name escapes me right now).

I have to buy two kinds of bread - whole wheat for me and Abbie & potato bread for Paul. He found out that wheat and oats are #2's on his food allergy list. Luckily, Abbie and I like the potato bread too; it tastes like regular bread.

My church serves lunch to the poor and homeless at the local soup kitchen once a month. It's called The Melting Pot. They serve chili, crackers, sandwiches, bananas, dessert, and drinks on the third Tuesday of every month. Similar to IHN, my church takes turns with several other churches. Winter is the busiest time of year at The Melting Pot. More people come, and there are many children to be fed too.

For December, I signed up to bring sandwiches and dessert. Early Monday morning, Abbie woke up sick so I could not go to the grocery store to get the items I needed to make sandwiches. I called Paul at work and gave him a list (just a general list; not specific to brands or ingredients).

Hooray for Paul! He did not buy cheap bread or bologna or cheese. He bought all beef bologna, american cheese, and good bread. I am so proud of him. And he was proud of himself and wanted to serve quality food to the people we were volunteering to help. While I was finishing up the brownies, he started assembling sandwiches. For these sandwiches, he bought regular white bread which we have not bought in a while. By the time I got the brownies in the oven, six sandwiches were waiting for me to put in sandwich bags. As I was putting them in the bags, I noticed how soft and luscious the bread felt. I was suddenly craving a baloney sandwich right then and there (I've always been a baloney sandwich fan). Paul said he had bought bread that he remembered eating when he was younger (although it is not Rainbo anymore; it is now called Colonial but the bread bag looks the same). We used both loaves of bread that he bought. Dang! I still wanted a sandwich.

When Abbie got better, I did go to the grocery store and bought another loaf of Colonial white sandwich bread. And I bought another pack of bologna.

Today, I had my second bologna sandwich this week. The bread is soft and yummy!

My Mom

On Sunday, my mom came to my church's Christmas program (this is different than the one I've already blogged about).
The theme was "Top 10 Christmas Songs." The congregation voted on their favorites. For the program, the top ten were revealed and a church member pretended to be a dj "countin' em" down. It was humorous!
When we got to the #1 song, the choir came down the aisles and lit our candles (they handed us the candles when we first got there). They didn't give a candle to any of the children (probably for the best), but they did give them an electric thing that looked like a candle (battery powered).
When everyone's candle was lit, I saw my mom cut her eyes down to Abbie. She swapped out her real candle with Abbie's fake one. I pretended not to notice. I saw my mom peek at me to see if I would protest.
Of course, I didn't protest. I had been thinking of doing the same thing. Abbie can be trusted.
Grandmothers are the best!

Breakfast of Champions

I'm totally stealing this subject from Cute Overload. I just can't help it. For those who don't understand cuteoverloadese, Kronsche = Crunch, chomp

Here is the topic: Can we just make breakfast cereal out of kitten ears already?

Here are the suggested cereal names -

Marmalade Sugar Kronsches - they're not just for breakfast

Fluffer-Bitz

Coco Kronsche (if you have black cat)

Frosted Triangle Kronche

Cute Loops

CheeriEars

Earios

Frosted Ear Flakes

In other news, Abbie has been sick for the last 2 days and missed school. She's all better now. While she was sick she made the following request, "I want the cats to come sleep on me." She requested that because we have a long history of felines that can sense sickness and will sleep on you if you're sick. It's their way of trying to make you feel better. I bet most animals have this innate sense.

In other news, an appliance repairman came today, and I had to put Angel in timeout (my bathroom) because he wouldn't leave the man alone. But he got out! Later in the day, I hollered for Abbie to check on her whereabouts. She yelled back, "I'm conducting an experiment." She had put Angel back in the bathroom and then sat outside the door to observe how he got out. She'll be writing up a lab report (just kidding).

In other news, I had one wrapped gift under the tree. The kittens unwrapped it (it was merely wrapped in tissue paper held together with wide ribbon). When I finally get around to wrapping gifts with paper, I wonder what they will do. You have to expect some shenanigans with kittens in the house. Dogs are known to open/shred gifts too. At least the kittens have not climbed the tree and caused it to fall over. Yet....

Church Christmas Program

Yesterday, the children put on a Christmas program that basically enacted the birth of Jesus (not the actual birth, people!).
There were no speaking parts. There was no acting required. The kids just had to walk in on cue and stand there. They all had costumes, and there was a narrator who told the story and some lovely music that kids did not enjoy!!!!!
It was very entertaining although too long and Abbie was thoroughly bored at every practice.
Here is the entertaining part:
Mary was two heads taller than Joseph.
The donkey and the sheep slept the whole time (good thing their parents were there to hold them).
Two of the angels cried. One angel lost her halo so a little shepherd girl decided to wear the halo.
The smallest wise man got mad and threw his crown.

Had it not been for those entertaining parts, Paul would have been sleeping along with the sheep and donkey.

A Year in Review

Abbie took this picture of me jumping in a pile of leaves that we had raked.

I've been thinking about this past year, and there are several things I've done for the very first time.

1. Taught an adult Sunday school class - never, never thought I'd do this. I know my limits, and I'm not a gifted teacher or Bible scholar, but a nice lady needed a substitute for a month so I said I'd do it. Luckily there is a teaching guide or I'd be completely sunk. I've substituted two months this year and don't have any plans for doing it full time.

2. Wrote a grant for a non-profit organization.

3. Wrote a press release for a non-profit organization.

4. Ate at a middle eastern restaurant.

5. Ate at an Indian restaurant (maybe I've done that before - way back when I was a really picky eater and not very adventurous).

6. Rode on a 4 wheeler

7. Flew in a helicoptor (that may be a little over a year ago)

8. Went to Red Rocks Canyon

9. Went to the Spy Museum in Washington D.C.

10. Rode the Metro (with proficiency and without getting lost) in Washington D.C.

11. Tried Red Curry Thai dish and discovered that I like it a lot!

12. Played a Wii

13. Learned to use an iPod

14. Can text proficiently

15. Served on the Grand Jury

There's probably things I'm forgetting, but that's a pretty good list.

Kittens

When I picked Abbie up at school today, I surprised her. We were going on our first "abandoned kitten rescue mission."
I was prepared with a towel (it had been raining all night), a bag of food, and a pair of old tennis shoes (for walking and searching). I suppose I could have used a cat carrier too. But I wasn't too worried. In case we couldn't find the kittens, we were going to leave the food with our friends so they could feed the kittens.
A friend had told me that someone had abandoned two kittens in her neighborhood. She was worried about the cold nights. I told her I'd come get them and take them to a shelter.
Abbie and I arrived and our friends took us to all the places they had seen the kittens. We called "kitty kitty" and I was using my sharp eagle eyes looking for movement under bushes and hemlocks.
We searched several different places. Abbie requested a good description of the kittens so we'd know what to look for.
We did find 2 squirrels.
Twice I thought I heard meowing.
Two neighbor girls finally arrived home from school, and we requested to look around their house too.
They told us that they had already taken the kittens to the animal shelter.
That was great - at least they were somewhere warm and dry, with food and water, a litter box, and a bed. Our animal shelter is very clean.
Tomorrow, Abbie and I are going to go visit the kittens (and all the other cats) and take a donation of used towels and rugs (which they use for bedding).
It was a successful mission. Abbie and I are good partners.

Donkeys

There are lots of donkeys in our area. In many fields, you will see donkeys. Either a field of donkeys or a field of cows with a donkey or two. I've been told that having donkeys with your cattle/sheep helps keep coyotes away.

I've also been told that all donkeys have a cross on their back. Mary rode a donkey to Bethlehem and Jesus is often described as riding a donkey. The legend is that the cross on the donkey’s shoulders comes from the shadow of Jesus' crucifixion.

In one field near our house, there is a mother donkey and her baby. The baby is super cute. One day, he was lying so still that I had to turn around and go back and check on him. No cars were coming so I parked near him and watched for a long time until I saw him twitch or flick his tail. I was worried he had died, but he was just sunning himself. :) Abbie is usually with me on my "turnaround" whims - these whims usually involve animals. What would I have done if he had never twitched? Would I have crawled under the barbed wire to check on him? I remember thinking about it while I was watching him.

Two days ago, Abbie and I drove past another donkey, and he had a bird sitting on his rump. Abbie and I had a nice laugh about it.

Luminaries

Near the exit to our area of town, there is a cemetary. Every year, at Christmas, they put out luminaries that line the drive into the cemetary.

Now these are real luminaries - real candles down in a paper bag (there's probably some sand in the bottom of the bag).

This year, they have outdone themselves. The cemetary is rather large with a long, winding driveway. The luminaries line both sides of the drive way throughout the cemetary. Plus, they put a luminary on every gravesite. And the flag pole has a double ring of luminaries around it. In a large patch of grass, they created a large cross out of luminaries.

It's a beautiful sight at night. There must be thousands of luminaries. I wonder how long it takes to light them? Do they have a team of volunteers to help light them? I will try to find out.

Relief

I feel a huge amount of relief that the Christmas tree is finally up. And it hasn't fallen over. And Paul's "gasket in a tube" fixed the leak (so far, fingers crossed). It's holding water and hasn't turned brown!

I don't know why I feel so relieved. I guess 4 days into December seemed too late to me - like the season couldn't begin until the house reflected Christmas. I'm not sure if that really explains it. If it were just me and Paul here, I wouldn't mind so much. I guess I just want things to be festive and memorable for Abbie.

I wouldn't let Abbie go to bed until we finished decorating then I insisted that we put all the boxes away so we could appreciate our efforts without all the mess.

We did a new color theme this year and didn't put every ornament we own on the tree. I might need to buy a few more of the new ornaments to add more oomph. Paul does a lot of the heavy work like hauling the tree in and sawing the trunk and getting the tree stand on. I always put the lights on b/c that frustrates him. But if any bulbs are burnt out, he usually fixes that while I unstring them. We make a good team. He says he likes to sit back and watch Abbie and me do the decorating. Even though I didn't want to use all of our ornaments this year, I insisted that we put Darth Vader on the tree. It just wouldn't be Christmas if we didn't hear "Luke, I am your father" every time we flick the switch and turn on the lights on the tree. Abbie insisted that we put on an ornament that has Watson's picture on it.

I have missed having a real tree. I had almost forgotten what it was like. I love the smell and the soft feel of the needles. I love that the lights blend in better then they do on a fake tree.

Maybe this weekend we can make our annual Christmas cake. We have to give it time to "cure." And now I can start thinking about baking some treats.

I have no idea what we're getting Abbie for Christmas. Of all things, she wants a flying squirrel, a real one. But I'm not feeling stressed about baking or shopping. Now, I'm looking forward to Christmas parties and sitting in the living room enjoying the tree and sighing with relief.

Thank You, God

Amen

P.S. I know you know what I'm thankful for.

One Seventy Five, Baby

175,500

The number of miles my car now has.

I gave my dad a ride to a doctor's appointment today. I asked him to guess how many miles my car had. He guessed 80,000.

When I kept saying, "higher, higher" I think he thought I was lying.

Christmas 2008

Before I was a mom and wife, I used to get really excited about Christmas. Who wouldn't? Presents, secrets, hoping you get something special, hoping the gifts you got for others is exactly what they wanted, decorating, seasonal sweet treats, the lights, hoping for snow, etc. It's easy to get excited when someone else (the adult) has to do all the shopping, cooking, buying, planning, hauling, wrapping, saving.

Now that I'm the adult, I do still get excited about Christmas, but I don't seem to have enough time to do everything that I plan to do. It's easy for me to get stressed and lose sight of what is important.

It doesn't matter that we just now got the tree in the house. It doesn't matter that Paul cut his thumb with the saw while preparing the bottom of the tree. It doesn't matter that the bottom of the tree split and may not stay up straight or stay up at all. It doesn't matter that Paul got another headache from carrying the tree into the house and then got a nose bleed. It doesn't matter that we don't have any decorations outside. It doesn't matter that our Christmas cards aren't addressed, stamped and sent yet. It doesn't matter that I don't have a picture taken or ordered for the cards. It doesn't matter that all the water that I poured into the tree stand came pouring out the bottom onto the carpet. It doesn't matter that we'll have to wait until tomorrow to see if the "gasket in a tube" sealed the stand so that we can water the tree before it turns brown and dies. It doesn't matter that we'll have to wait another day to decorate the tree. It doesn't matter that I currently do not know where the Christmas tree lights are. It doesn't matter that the house is so messy that it overwhelms the Christmas decorations that we did put out. It doesn't matter that I am now getting sick with the same thing that Paul had last week.

What does matter is that Abbie and I had fun decorating the inside of the house tonight. It does matter that I let her decide where all the decorations should go (and I didn't go behind her and re-do it). It does matter that she came up with a new way to decorate the fireplace mantel, and it's looks great, and I told her so. It does matter that Abbie is looking forward to buying some gifts for the family that her class "adopted."

I'm thankful that I have a child who helps me remember the spirit of Christmas. And I'm thankful that I have a great husband who doesn't complain about all the tree catastrophes.