Christmas Week

  Last week was very busy and quite difficult for a variety of reasons.  Partly it is my famous personality. I don't like being away from home much.

Partly it was we had a lot going on.  I had so many medical appointments and the like.  Ugh.  I even ADDED a quick trip to the eye doctor as my glasses weren't working as well as they should. Turns out that in 6 months, my vision has deteriorated in both eyes. Not a lot (0.25 in some random eye unit) but still, I will be happier with new glasses, which are covered under warranty. So that's cool.

Optometrist asked about my blood sugars because high bg's can cause problems with vision, but A1c of 5.9 should not tie into diabetes related issues with vision.

This week is blissful in that I don't have to go anywhere particular until Sunday church.

I did go to Sam's Club early this morning.  It was vaguely heroic because I had to roust myself out of bed, swallow down tea and breakfast, and rush off. BUT it was great because I am a "plus" member and the store was largely empty.  ALSO, and this is a BIG deal, my cart was fantastic.  Sam's seems to have a real gift for providing creaky, cranky carts with wheels that are wobbly.  This one rolled so smoothly that it was noticeable. I kept thinking, wow, this is a great cart!

We have three birthdays and Christmas in the next 2 weeks. Whee!  Kevin informed me this morning that we were short 4 presents.  True confessions here; I have a tendency to dump the "present buying" job on Kevin. But I found 3 presents online and ordered them, and Kevin figured out the fourth present, so we are good.  Or we are good so long as Amazon comes through.

My new book, Longbourn's Son, is thus far very popular. It is likely a good time to release a book. Lots of people are off work and reading books for fun, and other people are buying gifts for others.  

We responsibly took our kittens in to get fixed this week.  Usually we have worked with a place that provides cheap spays and neuters for stray cats.  These two are indeed rescues so we called them enthusiastically, only to be informed that the earliest we could get them in was February!

Um, no.  By that time, they would be able to have babies together which totally would NOT be Ok.  So we went through a local veterinarian which was expensive but it was done quickly and the cats bounced back very well.  It is nice to know that is taken care of!

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We also paid for a month of ESPN so we can watch college football bowl games. That is actually quite fun!  The University of Michigan made the final four and while they may well fall before the might of Georgia, at least they made it a long way this year.

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Isaac and Joseph are on break from college which is nice for them. I think Isaac, in particular, was pretty worn out by the end of the semester. It was his first semester with a full load. He did well and I am proud of him. 

Joseph took one class and did well.  Next semester, he will take two classes.

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It is easy this time of year to forget "the reason for the season".  Life is very busy for us, especially with three kid birthdays, and sometimes I forget that Jesus is the center of it all.  

More than 2000 years ago, God came to earth in the form of a baby.  He grew up, He preached, taught, and healed, and then He died on a cross as a sacrifice for my sins.

In the day to day, I forget sometimes how amazing that is, that God Himself was willing to pay the sacrifice for my sins.

Thank you, Lord Jesus.