Buying our Christmas Tree

T minus four days . . . 

Mamas get so busy preparing everything in these last days before Christmas. This Saturday was a good day, but overbooked and fatiguing.

5:15 a.m. The alarm went off so that Chris could take the two older children to a Votive Mass of Our Lady in Advent (Rorate Mass--click here for an example). Mama got up as well to finish the last of the Christmas cards before the younger children woke.

Christmas cards--check!

Mary at the Rorate Mass with Daddy

Daddy took the kids to Waffle House for breakfast, then to the Post Office to do some Christmas mailing.

Meanwhile, I tackled Holiday Meal Planning. Note to self: I have saved my menu plans in a document. Repeat them next year. Save yourself a couple hours of work and anxiety.

After planning the various festive meals, then creating the grocery list, I placed my grocery order online for pick-up later. Check!

Time to feed the children lunch, then we were off to the Christmas tree lot.

Poor John poked his eyeball with a tree branch during our Happy Family Outing

It didn't go exactly smoothly, with certain children whining and moaning ahead of time, one toddler crying, "I don't want a tree! I want to watch 'Baby Signing Times!'" Before exiting the vehicle, we had a parental talk about not running around wildly in the Christmas tree lot for various dangerous reasons which we listed . . . however, we did not remember to list the possibility of 'running into a tree branch and injuring your eyeball.' See photo above.

Tree obtained, we drove home, got said protesting toddler into nap time, and set up the tree. Plans even to put the lights on it had to be delayed till tomorrow because Mama wanted to dash to the drug store for some last little candy items for stockings.

Mama got home from the drug store an hour later, just in time for the family to whisk off to Confession at church, where the line was two to three times longer than usual: which is a good sign of a fruitful Advent!

We picked up our big grocery order on the drive home, and Mama was a little behind routine but managed to put away the food and get dinner on the table. Thank yous go to Daddy and Grampa for occupying little children so Mama could cook in peace.

Candles lit, check! 'O Come, O Come Emmanuel' sung, check! Various Advent prayers said, check!

Mama didn't think very well when she planned a week ago that tonight would be a Family Movie Night (watching the 1960s version of 'Doctor Doolittle'!) ending the day that began at 5:15 with an early Mass. We call that Not Very Good Planning. But what do you say to your sweet children who anticipated Family Movie Night all week and even tried to behave better than usual so as not to lose the privilege? We push forward, that's what we do! We enjoyed half the (long) movie before tucking in the children, who fell asleep quickly, as one can imagine.

I am already excited that Sunday requires me to slow down. My only goals for tomorrow are to attend mass, string the lights on the tree, and do the Christmas cookie baking. But you know what they say about the way to make God laugh is to tell him your plans . . .