Crunch Time

It's crunch time.... T-8 days till Christmas. good gravy. Seriously one week from today is Christmas Eve.  Where did the time go, I thought I had so much time to prepare and then boom, here it is.

I haven't wrapped one gift yet (except for the ones that had to be wrapped for events already taken place) but not one person in my house has their gifts wrapped, nor next door, nor down the street.  Yep I am totally behind! Looking like an all nighter at some point.

Nathan totally hates this time of year. He despises how everything is crazy, and everyone is off schedule, and grumpy, and tired, and naughty, and greedy..... the list goes on.  I think it's made that much worse because we come right off of hunting season.  Which means he's already tired coming into the holiday season.  He's already run raggad because of getting up early, tramping through woods for hours on end, dragging deer out, staying up late cutting and processing the meat.  The kids are crazy cause they haven't seen him in two weeks, they miss him, they aren't sleeping.... it's a vicious cycle for at least a month. whew.

I really attempt to keep things normal and moving along, but the house work, extra baking, shopping, wrapping, visiting, parties, normal school work. It can just get overwhelming for sure.

But the freedom I have in Christ allows me to walk away from some things and NOT feel guilty about it.  To realize that sometimes I have to make choices and when they feel right for my family and our situation I answer to no one but my God and my husband.

So these are the things I have walked away or simplified from:

• Christmas Cards - my mom had 10 left over picture cards that she gave me. I sent out 10 cards this year. If you are upset because you didn't get one then come see me and see the picture in person.
• Baking - I was very selective with my baking this year, I made easy and freezable items. I started sorta early and made big batches of a few things. 
• Gifts - a couple very hard to buy for people are getting food this year. Sure it's the easy way out and a little more expensive, but instead of just buying 'stuff' I know they won't use they will receive something they will enjoy and use! 
• My gift list - it's normally a spreadsheet very detailed, not this year. One little piece with scribbles wrote all over it. Oh and that list that I had for the kids that had everything sorted and organized.... totally lost that. But I decided last night that I'm going to significantly cut down on how many gifts we give them anyhow... which means I already have birthday shopping done. woot! 
• My media fast is still going on and I am really enjoying it. I am taking the time to let my kids paint, complete crafts, and just enjoy them during this time of year. It's a wonderful opportunity to really explain the season. 

Our school memory verse for last week was: Phil 4:4 and I have been repeating it many times through out the day and finding joy in the little things.

I will rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say: Rejoice. 

Amen.