i love you, christmas. but i kinda hate you, too.

It would be practically  unAmerican, maybe even unHuman to say I hate Christmas, right? I don't. Really. I promise. It's just that when you're trying to balance five jobs, and grade final papers, and organize the application processes with various essays to write for 6 different MFA programs--well, Christmas is like one more giant thing stuck on your plate---a wonderful thing like a head-size slab of cake, but still, you didn't  have room for it.

Decorating was the main thing that seemed overwhelming. Even though this is my third Christmas being single, I've had a male figure of some kind to help me with the tree assembling and house lighting the previous two years. This year, I knew there were some guys I could call on for  help, but I really wanted to do it myself. I'm feeling fiercely independent that way as of late.

**Fiercely independent=Stuff takes a while to get done.**

So, I finally haul in all the dusty Rubbermaid totes from the garage on Thursday night and drop them in the family room. And they sit there.

Friday, I opened them up and started to sort out what I for sure wanted to put out and what I could skip this year for the sake of ease and speed. And there were the Spiegel candlestick holders Brad bought me our first Christmas together. And the tin container full of the clay ornaments my mom made with the boys her last Christmas with us. And the reindeer fashioned out of paper hand prints I made with Z and E when I was still homeschooling. All those reminders of what I'd lost brought me to un-Christmas-y tears. So I put the lids back on the boxes and I cut out some paper snowflakes for the front window. That was all my heart could take on Friday.

Saturday, the previous day's pain was softened by the sheer joy my L and J exhibited in the simple act of me re-arranging furniture so the tree could fit in the big front window. It was as if the couch were some *magical play place* now that it faced the opposite direction. And Z grinned from ear to ear when I told him that he could back the van out of the garage so I could get up to the attic.Every 14 year old wants to drive. Even a van... in reverse... for 30 feet :) The tree got drug down from the attic and sat next to the pile of Rubbermaid totes.  And it sat there. This was still progress...

Sunday, the boy squad and I started  up the Jazz Holidays station on Pandora and figured out how to assemble the tree. It was another one of those things that seemed harder to do than it actually was.  We got it done in less than an hour. I put out some more decorations. We even got their smaller tree put up in the family room and all trimmed. We were pretty proud of ourselves.

That night after the boy squad was in bed, it was time to get started hanging ornaments on the big tree. I plugged in the strand of lights...only to find half of them didn't work. I fiddled with moving and replacing bulbs, breaking two of them, then muttered under my breath as I wrapped them around the tree, half-lit, jokingly telling God that if He wanted to perform a Christmas miracle, He could make my lights work. I got everything up at nearly 1 am, smiled that I had finished and our house finally had a little holiday cheer, then sat down at the computer to sort through my bulging inbox. And guess what?

As I was sitting there--the non-working lights...came on.
Not all of them, but about half of the half.

Yeah.

It was as if God was nodding his approval. And showing me He cares. Even about the little stuff.

So--here I am on December 15. I haven't watched a single Christmas movie, there are no lights on the outside of our house, we haven't decorated cookies, the advent calendar isn't hung, and I still have a lot of presents to buy. But, I'm ok. I'm happy. I trust I'll fit it all in, somehow. And my boys will have all the simple, sweet memories of Christmas they deserve.

 I trust in myself. Because even being "fiercely independent"... I have the best Helper I could ever have.

angels in our midst

Today a miracle happened. They happen every day, or at least on a regular basis--this I am certain of--though most times we're not even aware of them. But sometimes, like today, BAM! They happen in a way they can't be missed.

Driving home from work this afternoon, I let my mind wander to Christmas. Usually I have my shopping done by October. Not this year. In fact, I wasn't even gainfully employed in October.

Thus far, I'd only bought Z's gift, and a small thing for L and J. Since I have stayed out of debt for 3 1/2 years now, I was dreading having to pull out a long unused credit card to buy Christmas. I knew while the (stupid) credit card was out I was going to have to pay my (stupid) tuition with it as well. Seeing as how it's the last week of class and all, I figured that should be taken care of. I'd hoped for enough income from a design job I'm working on weekends to go towards both Christmas and tuition, but then my (stupid) van needed (stupid) new tires....and there went all that money I'd saved (though I must insert my brother-in-law was able to get me a MUCH better deal on tires than the place down the street, so I can't complain too much. See...miracles! :) ).

Anyway, I didn't like the situation but was grateful I had the means--even if not ideal ones--to take care of it. Then a deep impression came to me: Don't worry. It's going to get taken care of.

Yeah, I thought. I'm going to go  home and pay for stuff with my credit card (once I remember where I put it). It's going to get taken care of. You're right. Thanks!

Then I got home and there was a UPS envelope waiting for me. And in it...a generous amount of money from some anonymous angels in Southern California, accompanied by the most beautiful letter expressing their belief in me and in my boys, and asking that we accept their gift with graciousness and the understanding it was their pleasure to give.

Miracle.

A BAM! kind of miracle.

The amount is enough to cover my tuition, take care of Christmas, AND cover the expenses my paycheck doesn't for two months.

I stood simultaneously laughing and weeping at the kitchen counter, the boys taking note and running over to ask what was wrong. I read the letter to them through my tears, and we all shared a big hug. If you'd run some background music and faded out slowly, it would have been like the happy ending to a holiday movie. Only it was real. My real.

Anonymous angels--thank you. From the bottom of my  heart. My words feel so inadequate. You have no idea just what you've done for the boy squad and me. Not only financially, but the impression you have left spiritually. My children won't soon forget what it means to give, even when it's uncomfortable--for truly there are a lot of things you could have purchased for yourself with what you gave to us. We won't forget. Ever.

There have been many angels at work in my life over the last several years. Angels who fix computers, or blow out sprinkler lines in winter, or clean up the giant branch that falls off my tree, or repair bike tires, or help me with my lawnmower. Angels who show up at my house late at night to visit and just tell me they're happy I'm around. And now the angels who saved Christmas and kept me from going into credit card debt.

I know that prayers aren't always met with such rapid miracles. Trust me, I know.  But, you know what...sometimes they are. Believe. And do your best to act the part of an angel every day, too.
--

 (p.s. The angels specifically mentioned I get/do something for myself. I'm going to bring back our Netflix subscription so we can finish watching all the episodes of Top Gear and Yo Gabba Gabba. I may also treat my werewolf toes to a pedicure :) )

why i am glad my children are smarter than i: the christmas edition

I wonder how on earth I made it through my childhood without my mother strangling me? Not that I was a bad kid, I was just fiercely independent and often left with too much time on my hands and not enough adult supervision--therefore, I took to acting a lot on whatever made sense at the time without maybe giving it the thought I should. I could make that realization into something deep--but oh my heck! Have you read my blog lately?! Way too much deep for a while :) So, let me tell you a little story from my childhood involving one of those "less than well thought out" decisions.....

I was 8 years old. It was nearly Christmas day, probably about Dec. 16. Grandma and Grandpa's presents had just arrived in the mail and were placed under the tree, atop the small pile of gifts that had been accumulating, the ones that drew me in like a siren song to touch and shake them all on a daily basis.

Something woke me up in the middle of that night--maybe a bad dream, maybe I was just cold--I can't remember exactly. My routine when this would happen would be to go into my mom's room, wake her up,  and have her come put me back to bed with a few comforting words or an extra blanket. So, that night, as usual, I made my way down the hall in the dark, opened her door, went to shake her awake and....she wasn't there.

Now--this is the part where the "no thinking" comes in. I can recall, in my still half-asleep state, not really being afraid that my mom wasn't there. Normally, my next line of defense would have been to wake my 18 year old sister, but she had gotten married that August. So, I did the next best thing my 8 year old brain could conceive: I found the list of emergency numbers that was tacked up by the rotary-dial phone, and...I called the police. Someone should know that my mom was missing, after all, right? In fact, that's just what I told them: My mom is gone. She's not in her bed.

Then, I waited. And I figured since I was awake and apparently abandoned, hey! I should open up a few of those presents under the tree to console me. I unwrapped a plaid blouse and jeans my grandparents sent to me, and a make your own lipgloss kit. Then, feeling bad that I was the only one having all the fun, I woke up my 6 year old brother and invited him to join me. Beacause 8 year old me was thoughtful like that.

He and I weren't too far into our 3am Christmas present party when the Police knocked on the door. We pointed to where mom's room was, they made their way back, and flipped on the light. And there....was my mom. Sleeping on the opposite side of the bed than she usually did. Hmmm. I hadn't thought to check THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BED! Poor Mom sat up all panicked and confused with her curler-adorned head. The policeman reported something to the effect of "minors safe" into his walkie talkie and explained to my mom why he was there.

Honestly, I don't remember what happened next. If I got yelled at, I edited it out of my memory bank. I do remember wearing my new outfit to school the next day, though, and that talk my mom had with me about when and when not to call the police. I filed it away with the talks she had given me about not having impromptu yard sales with good things (like our furniture) from around the house. And the one about not jumping off the roof onto the bean bag. These were important things for me to learn, I'm sure.

So, you will not hear me complaining about my kids waking up before the sun on Christmas morning, or much else that they do--because they appear to be blessed with a greater level of forethought than I as a child, and thus far I have managed 13 years of parenting without a single call placed to the police (only the fire department). The End.

Merry Christmas!!!

friday fotos: because it's been waaaay too long

Poor Friday Fotos. They've taken a hit lately. To my credit, I HAVE been writing in my journal to be able to remember daily events---but this is more fun :).

Here's what we've been up to these last few weeks....

A farewell party for my besty friend "the Ninja". He's going far away to do important things. In case you couldn't tell....he's the one in the tiara :). I'm a big believer in people wearing 'special hats' for special occasions.




What says "MERRY CHRISTMAS" more than me...in a vintage apron my mother-in-law made...and leather pants? Oh yeah! It was such a nice Peterson Christmas!Love that that side of the family still claims me.

Of all the photos I took on Christmas morning--this one is my favorite. J in what appears to be a candy-induced coma lying, half-dressed, in a sea of opened presents. Love it :)

Here's the boy squad decorating our gingerbread house. We had to decorate fast because J was devouring the mini-jawbreakers pretty quickly! I love when I can capture moments of them all together. They seem to be going in four different directions lately!

And here's THE BEST OF WHAT CAME OUT OF MY CAMERA PHONE..... Poor quality, funny shots :)

L on New Years Eve. There was fondue, hats, and much, much horn tooting......
J giving his best rendition of "We Will Rock You". I heart the look on his face! :)

Road construction by our house....so typical--one guy digs the hole, four guys watch him.....

Meet "Waaaay Too Short of Shorts Guy" at my gym. This is how he dresses every day. I have to avert my eyes to avoid seeing his bum. He is awfully proud of his legs, I suppose!

And that's all I have to say about all this!

~Happy Weekending!~ :)

an open christmas letter to my readers: the gift of belief

Dear Wonderful Readers and Friends,

This is going to be a very different post than it would have been an hour ago. I was quite prepared to sit down tonight and write about giving up. How I was so physically, emotionally, and spiritually exhausted that I was simply going to quit with all the stupid hopeful optimism already. It didn't seem to be getting me anywhere. How I felt so ugly and old and scared and especially incapable of the burdens laid on my shoulders.

Christmas is hard. It feels like someone is shining a giant red and green spotlight on the big void in my life--the one caused by the absence of Brad. This is my second Christmas without him, and it's still difficult. I watch the joy in our children's eyes as they decorate the tree ,or visit Santa ,or stick candy on the gingerbread house ,or tell me the story of the baby Jesus being born. I so badly want to look over into the eyes of their father and share that "we done good" smile that we'd shared a million times. To reach for his hand. To lay my head on his shoulder at the end of a hectic but wonderful day. Now, I can't even get him to look me in the eyes during the few minutes he spends dropping off or picking up the boys. In my heart, I still deeply love this man who is there....but not there for me anymore.

With that attitude of disparaging sadness, I was ready to let spill from my fingers what would have been probably the most depressing Christmas message ever! Then right before I did, a friend of mine caught me on the chat feature of my computer. She and her three boys lost their husband and father in September to a massive heart attack. He wasn't even 40. She asked me for some advice on if her life would ever feel normal again....on how to find hope during this bleak period.....on whether or not she would ever find someone to love her again.

And there I was--answering her questions while answering my own at the same time. My life was put into perspective in the act helping her to find some. It's true---It is not easy. There will always be that scar, that pain, that yearning for those we love who leave us--in whatever capacity that might be--but there will always be hope. It reminded me of some of the words penned by Francis Pharsellus Church, editor of the New York Sun, in 1897. A young girl named Virginia had wrote him to ask if there was really such thing as Santa Claus as her friends had told her there wasn't. To this he said:

VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge......

......You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

So, this Christmas I have decided to give myself the gift of believing just a little longer. I don't know when or in what way I am ever going to get over the great pain inflicted on me in this life by the person I loved most, but I choose to continue to believe that I will heal. That there will be a time of sweet peace in my life again and even a type of innocence to be rediscovered. For now, I cling to the blessings I have. I breathe in the joy of the little moments. I take time to acknowledge my pain and cry through it, then to put myself back together and push on.

The future is as bright as your faith: May you grasp that message as I have and be showered with all that is good and bright this holiday season. Merry, Merry Christmas!

With all my love,

~Jennifer P.

friday fotos: i finally took a months worth of pictures off my camera. but i'll only make you look at a few of them.

One final down...two more to go. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Come on semi-Genius--don't fail me now!!! I did manage to get one of my poems published this week. It's in the English majors magazine, but since English is the most populated major at my school--there was a lot of competition..... so I'll call it a little victory :).

Anyway, here's what we've been up to these last few weeks:

I celebrated Festivus with my friends. This has to be my favorite picture from that night. My friend wore her ugly Festivus sweater and posed for me near"the pole" which was covered in grievances to be aired. ... It was a Festivus miracle! :)



Got the old Christmas tree put up. I keep thinking I want to mix it up--try pheasant feathers and tortoise colored ornaments, but I just go back to the same way of decorating...because it makes me happy....

The boys get to eat the animal crackers off it on Christmas Eve:
After Thanksgiving, I swore I'd never eat again. But looking at all the food again, I take it back! I'll be hungry again by next November for sure!

Mmmmm.....my turkey. We never eat more than the breast. We're ham people. But this was tasty too!

The Thanksgiving table:

Green Eyes and the boys playing a few games Thanksgiving morning:

SOOOOOO many leaves to rake. Ethan was a real trooper. My Ninja friend came to help too. The next day I rented a leaf vacuum. The day after that, I couldn't lift my arms. Man! What a workout....but for someone who loves to vacuum like I do, it. was. AWESOME!

Whew! That was quite a month!

I have a lot of baking to do this weekend. Tell me your favorite Christmas-time treat!

and..... ~ Happy Weekending! ~

friday fotos....on monday (part I)

So having done very little blogging since Christmas (like the rest of the blog world I soon discovered as I made my rounds this weekend!), I have a lot of Friday Fotos to get up. I also have nothing to blog about currently---so we're just going to pull out a few days of Friday Fotos. I thought I'd cover all the **holiday festivities** today and move on to Haute Cakes Mystery Man's visit to Idaho tomorrow.

Sound like a deal? (like you have a choice oh captive audience! mwahahahaha!)

WARNING! There are a lot of pictures here. Scroll and scan people.....scroll and scan :).


Lots of snow this year! Second snowiest December on record in fact. One day I looked out the window and saw Zane shoveling the neighbor's driveway and sidewalk. He was out there for over an hour, and when he came back in said: "Whew! That felt good! I just felt like doing a little service!" LOVE this kid!!!

Then he shoveled our driveway:
and he and his brothers made a snowman:

-----------------------------------------

So these next pictures got a little out of order and I don't feel like fooling with the HTML right now, so we'll just work in reverse order:

Christmas morning found us Rockbanding....a LOT! I now hear "Dead or Alive" even in my deepest sleep---a 9 year old voice version of Dead or Alive even!

I think Zane's face says it all! We have wanted this game for a while now. I would have been practicing by myself on the nights leading up to Christmas so I could keep up with the kids, but...yeah....I needed them to set it all up for me :)

Love the Christmas chaos! Love my kids! Love that my kids think new toothbrushes are just as cool as toys.

Stockings first:

-----------------------------------------
New Years Day we went out to Mom and Dad Peterson's place to party with the extended fam.. Farmers really know how to live it up in the winter time!:

Liam lost in the sea of grandchild presents. Snowglobes for everyone!

I don't know if you ever read the blog Mikell, but I think your hubby looks like he belongs in Twilight in this picture. Is he sparkling, hmmmmm.....Very Cullen-esque! :) (also had to stick it up because I love how it looks like Mom P. is not going to give that stuffed Scooby Doo up for anything!).

A sea of people---including Kefford and Elizabeth (hi Elizabeth!)--- before the best stealing of a present EVER! Good arm Elizabeth! I never knew anyone could throw Almond Rocca like that!

James with his highly nutritious snack.....still so cute I could just kiss his cheeks off!

Guess where the food is in this picture :)?..............

And that's part I for ya! I'd wish you ~Happy Weekending~, but it is only Monday, so some among you might find that a tad bit depressing. How 'bout we try: ~HAPPY MONDAY!~ :)

Twas the Night of my Broken Computer

Twas several nights before Christmas
and all through this house
not a Jennifer P. was blogging
or clicking her mouse

The spot for her computer
was looking quite bare
Because the thing's broken
that use to sit there

And so instead of computering
I've been taking a nap
(though I don't own a kerchief
or sleep in my cap)

When what to my wondering eyes
should appear
but my laptop computer
just lying there

And I knew in a moment
that I must make it so
to write a quick blog post
just so you'd know

That I'm out of commission
for the next several days
because my laptop and I
have differing ways

So don't forget my broad face
or my round little belly
that shakes when I laugh
like a bowl full of jelly.

I'll be back good and soon
with some help from an elf
and I'll have my old computer
and feel more like myself

Now here me exclaim
as I blog out of sight
"Merry Christmas to all,
and to all a good night!"
------------------------
p.s. do not trust telephone IT guys to "help you" un-install and re-install your corrupt browser because it might be that what they are actually making you do is un-install part of your Windows program. And then you'd be on the verge of losing your entire, not backed up in a couple of months hardrive. Aren't computers just **swell**?! Practically Christmas miracles they are :P .
---------------------

Love to you all. I'll be back in 3-5 with lots of pictures and fun tales to tell. Wishing you all a very, Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year ahead!

friday fotos--plus the giveaway winner

It has been soooooo(ooooooo) nice to be done with school! I've actually gone to bed before 3 am all but one night this week. I've got to do crazy stuff with my free time like clean out drawers and scrub baseboards. I no longer have nightmares about struggling with Microsoft Office applications. Life is good.



Here's what we've been up to this week.....

Except for the candy canes -- which have mysteriously been disappearing one by one -- the tree has held up pretty well. Even with Liam giving it longing looks like this (he's thinking---"oh man! I'd like to get my hands on that! Mom and her rules!.... I'm a creative genius for crying out loud!").

This picture says SO much about life around here. Half decorated gingerbread house because Liam ate most of the candy. James climbing on the counter with a jacket on....but no pants. And my two older ones just rolling with it all---because they have to ------ or else :) .


Here's my dining room ready for Christmas. My $499 chandelier that I got for $75 is always so much fun to decorate. And that door leads to my laundry room---just in case any of you were wondering. I'll take pictures of the inside of it one day.

Here I am with Emily's cute flower on my hat, but also with my new jade necklace that I got from here. I am so in love with ETSY shops and supporting amazing, creative women! I might pay a little more, but I get one of a kind objects that mean so much more to me than some piece of "Made in China" bought at Wal*Mart.

James LOVES to do boxing on the wii--so he's quite familiar with the concept of "boxing". A few months back, he discovered the gloves I use in my kickboxing class. He loves to wear them around and box everything and everyone. He's getting kind of strong though--at least that's what my rear end is noticing as he comes at me from behind while I'm cooking. Good thing he's cute!

Hopefully Haute Cakes Mystery Man won't mind me throwing yet another picture of him up on the blog--but is it just me or does he not bear a striking resemblance to Adam Levine of Maroon 5?.....

I know!!! So--there he is in California looking like a rockstar.....

whereas I am here in Idaho bearing a striking resemblance to something repeatedly ran over with a car.

(unedited self-portrait....oh yeah!)

But I still totally have a chance, right :) ?!

and now drumroll please......winner of the cute ric rac flower.......MIKI!!!! really! really! really! you won!!! (actually, the original winner was Emily herself, so I had to do a re-draw and got you!) Congrats!

~Happy Weekending!~

open letter to the magical christmas elves who so rudely ignored me

Dear Magical Christmas Elves,





You know I believe in you, right?

I left out all of the things you needed to decorate my barenaked Christmas tree. I left you cookie (crumbs) and milk. I left my door unlocked. I would have given you a big shout out on the blog if you had JUST. SHOWED. UP and did me a little favor. You do know I'm single this year, right? That wrapping lights around a fat, fake tree isn't all that easy to do solo? You also know that it's Dec. 11 for crying out loud, and my kids would probably like to have a little Christmas cheer around here?... but that it's finals week and I am busy writing business proposals about electric lawnmowers, and putting together power point presentations about Ernest Hemingway, and other things soooo not holly or jolly?





But, really, it's fine...

I get it.


You have other things to do obviously.





Maybe shopping for little pointy toed shoes? Or some new jingle bell bling for your hat?



It's cool.

I finally just did all the decorating myself.

And I'm taking all the credit.

Merry Christmas from the lazy bloggy lady who JUST NOW realized ummmm.....it's December....maybe I should attempt to at least mention something holidayish (?),

~Jennifer P.

Next time perhaps we shall tackle: Open letter to the Salvation Army guy who sighed a disappointed kind of sigh because I only put 50 cents in the red kettle. That wasn't very Dear Sweet Infant Lord Baby Jesus-like of you sir..... :p

things NOT to give children

Along with sharp knives, permanent markers, the keys to your car, and Tickle Me Elmo, I am adding THIS to the list of things not to give your children: THIS is a voice changer. Not only does it amplify my children's already loud voices, it also warps them into various robotic sounds, each more annoying than the next. Zane and Ethan have had fun singing "Mr. Roboto" into it (yes, my children actually know the words to that song.....they are modern men with a secret, secret......). Liam just likes to scream, loudly, into it. Repeatedly. Early in the morning. And he's teaching James.
I don't know what my sister was thinking when she bought these for Christmas gifts, but I bet she was laughing when she was thinking it.

And she's so generous, she gave us two.

Come on dollar store batteries--
wear out quickly!

and now christmas is REALLY over...

My in-laws always have their Christmas celebration on New Years Day. It gives their children's families a chance to just kind of hang together on Christmas day, and not worry about traveling. It's actually a lot of fun to know that after Christmas is over, there will always be a bit more a week later!

This is the view from their house:
gorgeous, isn't it? We use to live just down the road. It was right after we got married, and I was completely unaccustomed to country life. The fact that there was NOTHING but fields and hills out my window use to drive me crazy. Now that I can only see fences and more houses, I really miss this!

The lighting in Mom and Dad Peterson's house was perfect. I think I took like a hundred pictures! Here's my cutie pie niece M holding James:

and here are a couple more cutie-pie nieces who were mere babies when Brad and I got married:
Zane wore my favorite shirt:
This is my lovely sister-in-law and her camera that I am very jealous of. I have learned that Canon kicks Pentax's behind in the quick focus department.
Nothing like an empty box to rally all the little ones together:

And once they were out of the box, they all wanted to play with Great Aunt Eileen. I think all the children love her because she is always smiling and sitting still. She will listen to them talk about anything for hours!:
I told Brad to give me a kiss and had my niece K take a picture--only Brad doesn't look much into the kissing thing, does he? :)
Lost in a sea of presents and people. It was every man for himself as far as finding a place to sit!:
And I photographed the desserts to show you my great resolved will power. I didn't even have a bite!:
Mom and Dad Peterson always give the best gifts. Mom looks all year long for the 50 or so gifts needed for all seven of her kids, their spouses, her grandchildren, THEIR spouses, and great-grandchildren too. Every year she says that's it and there will be no more presents next year. We all tell her that's fine and she can stop making a fuss, and yet the very next Christmas--there are the presents again! Bless their hearts! And what magnificent thing was waiting beneath the layer of paper this year?:

Yes, that says ONE THOUSAND thread count sheets. It's like I died and went to luxury hotel heaven!************************

I think someone looooooooves them!!!