Sweet

This was one of my Christmas presents from our children.

It can hold a WHOLE lot of songs.

I may never resurface.

Full House

I love a full house! I just love when our home is full of laughter, noise and company!

D2 is here - she has an entire week off from work. Son and DIL will be returning from a soujourn at her parent's house. They'll leave sometime tomorrow for home. D2's friend Tim will be arriving at some point today. He just got back from deployment in Afghanistan and he's on his way "home" to a new apartment in southcentral Northeastern Really Big State. We're on the way.

I'm planning a big dinner for tonight. I grew up as the oldest in a family of nine. If you count my parents, grandparents, foster brothers and sisters and any neighborhood kids who happened to like what we were having for supper - our dining room table usually had -on average- 15 people around it. It had six table "leaves" and stretched out 12 feet. Our dinners were memorable and served buffet style.

Ten pounds of potatoes. Five pounds of spaghetti. Huge roasts. Ten pounds of hamburger. Lots and lots of home-canned vegetables from my grandparents HUGE garden and slabs of fresh homemade bread and slices of homemade pies, made every Friday. We never went hungry. God seemed to multiply the loaves and fishes.

There are times when I really miss the noise, the laughter, the chaos and the fun of being a member of a large family. And there are times like today when God brings it back to me in small doses as a gift of grace.

ps... Add four cats and a guinea pig to today's crowd!

Let all mortal flesh keep silence,and with fear and trembling stand;

ponder nothing earthly minded,

for with blessing in his hand

Christ our God to earth descendeth,

our full homage to demand.

King of kings, yet born of Mary,as of old on earth he stood,

Lord of lords in human vesture,

in the Body and the Blood

he will give to all the faithful

his own self for heavenly food.

Rank on rank the host of heaven spreads its vanguard on the way,

as the Light of Light descendeth

from the realms of endless day,

that the powers of hell may vanish

as the darkness clears away.

At his feet the six-winged seraph; cherubim with sleepless eye,

veil their faces to the Presence,

as with ceaseless voice they cry,

"Alleluia, alleluia!

Alleluia, Lord Most High!"

How Great Our Joy!

Despite feeling really crappy and not being able to be "Narrator 2," I went to Small Town's first Ecumenical Christmas Cantata. There were over 25 community choir members from five churches. Held at Small Town's local Catholic church, it was standing room only!

And to top off a wonderful evening, there was a tureen dinner downstairs. About 7o people stayed to break bread and eat Ham Loaf together.

I overheard several folks asking why no one had ever thought about doing this before. And I overheard the answer: "I don't know, but I betcha God's smiling tonight!" I like our ministerium. We may not be able to agree on the fine points, but we can all say, "Jesus is Lord!"

Joy, joy, joy!!!!

Quandary

What do you do with a Church Secretary that you really like, is very creative, manages to get all her work done even with lots of visiting and phone calls, but doesn't have a filter between her brain and mouth and doesn't seem to get the concept of "What happens between the Non-Church Daycare Director and Staff stays between the Non-Church Daycare Director and Staff?"

We've had several (no exaggeration!) "Come to Jesus" talks about this very issue. I've not told the SPPRC about it.

Seems Church Secretary has been questioning the NCDC Staff about the relationship between NCDC Director and a let go employee and then going back to said employee and reporting what's been said about her termination. NCDC Staff goes to NCDC Director and says, "What's going on? Church Secretary is asking us all these questions?"

NCDC Director calls me and asks for a meeting. "Can you take care of this?"

Oy! Any suggestions beside bring in the SPPRC?

Home Stretch

Coming down the home stretch! I feel unusually good - not overstressed or over worked! Yeah!

The loan for the new furnances went through and the check came today. The Heating and Plumbing Company took out one of the big, antiquated dinosaurs and installed two new efficient little itty bitty furnance. They installed two for four zone, but Thursday night, only one had to work. SCORE!!! Half of the church done. The other 70's model will be replaced the first week in January with the same amount of fuss (I hope.) The church is looking at substantial heating savings in three years or less.

All the CATC's Christmas events ('cepting for Christmas Eve) have happened. I got a light week.

Hubby and I are going Christmas shopping to Small City on a Great Sinkhole on Monday to finish up. All the presents gotten thus far have been wrapped and put away. Hopefully, we will catch up with D2 for supper Monday.

Hubby found a "cut-your-own" tree farm in Small Town. That's his job. Usually, he and D2 went out and got a tree because they're both real fussy when it comes to Christmas trees, but since she's an hour and half away, that job falls to me. I always opt for the first one I see.

My Christmas cards are all caught up and will be mailed Monday.

Looking good!

Phew!

I'm back in my right mind again. I don't know exactly what happened. I had a extremely stressful day, but I've had days like that before without this kind of reaction. And I take my medication faithfully. Something depleted the old serotonin and dopamine rather quickly.

That was really incapacitating.

Maybe I'm bipolar?

I've Often Wondered ...

... why some individuals are so resilient and others crumble in the face of adversity? Why some folks see the glass as half-full while others, looking at the same glass, see it as half-empty? And why do some persons see life as an adventure, while others see it as a challenge?

And why can't I remember all the good things Wonderful Therapist worked on with me?