I'll go back to Thanksgiving, which now that everything's ALL Christmas, seems like a lifetime ago. My Thanksgiving break started off tough since our family dog, Max, had been sick for about a week by the time J and I arrived in MS. Long story short, we tried everything we could, but by the following Monday, we all knew Max was too sick and too old to pull through. So we thanked him for his 11 years of loyalty and let him go. My parents got Max for me when I was a Junior in high school and he was one farm-loving, cow-chasing, deer-tracking Blue Heeler. Thanks Max, for being the best buddy.
Filling my stomach with turkey, dressing, casseroles, and pecan pie(s) was more than welcome food therapy after dealing with Max. I wish I was one of those people who just COULDN'T eat when they are sad, but I'm opposite! Wednesday was Thanksgiving with my wonderful family (including all 4 grandparents-how special is that?) and Thursday we did it all again with J's wonderful family.
We did have another sad loss during our trip home....J's great uncle, Uncle Powell passed away the day after Thanksgiving. But we were thankful we were able to be there for his services and with the family. Through J's mom's eulogy, I found out much more about the sweet man that always wore the red suspenders to our family dinners. : )
Judah time was also much welcomed therapy, especially since he fell asleep on me every time I took him for a walk. "Uncle J" and I also took him riding on the 4-wheeler AND changed our first poopy diaper. You would've thought it was a football game. We planned our strategy, our positions, and executed. J was to lift the legs, I was the wiper, and J would handle the "hand-off" [of the poopy diaper]. Beforehand, I told J to grab something to put under Judah so we wouldn't get poopy all over his parent's bed. The boy comes back with a trash bag to lay him on. I died laughing, but hey, it worked. After putting the diaper on backwards and replacing it properly, Judah LITERALLY smiled and clapped for us.
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| Our little guy is growing up! |
And let's just throw it out there, we all know it happened with the Egg Bowl. (Insert the phrase: Tis the Season to Be.....Disgusted with Your Football Team.)
Jeremie and I returned to Texas and I was ready to get back to our routine. Well, that only last about a day, because the next day I started feeling a little under the weather. To try to nip it in the bud, I layed around for a couple days, and pushed through a Thirty-One party on Friday night. By the time I got back, I could barely even hear myself talk; my head was swimming! I won't get into all the details, but in the middle of the night when my whole body was tingling and shaking, I knew something was wrong! So the next morning, we headed to the doctor where the verdict was a middle ear and sinus infection. What the doctor DIDN'T tell me was what a long recovery it would be!!! (I know an ear infection sounds so simple, but it literally attacks everything in your head that controls your balance, which is so miserable!) By Tuesday when I wasn't much better, the house was a total disaster, and J was exhausted from trying to work AND take care of me, it was Carol to the rescue! Moms just have a sense when they are NEEDED, and quicker than two shakes of a lamb's tail, Mom had bought a plane ticket and was at my front door 7 hours later. The feeling of relief was instant. Mom spent the next 4 days tending to my every need, cleaning the house and making ample supply of Taco Soup & Gumbo so we didn't have to worry about cooking. There are no words for how grateful I was to have her. Tis the Season To Be....thankful for a Mom's unconditional love and need to take care of her children. She even managed to pull out of few of my Christmas decorations and put a few things up.
If you know me, you KNOW how much I love Christmas and all the decorations, festivities, and traditions that come with it. Well, since I can barely even drive at the moment, I have missed all the Christmas events that I had on the calendar. We have a tree in the house (from Lowe's, which is an abomination to me) but there aren't even lights on it yet. I was having myself just a good ole pity party the last few days about this, thinking-this is my FAVORITE time of the year and I've missed all the things that make this time special!!! And then oh my goodness-DING DONG-the Lord hits me on the head with the spiritual frying pan and says: NO! These things are NOT what make this time of the year special! It's about My Son arriving on Earth for you! And it hit me. If my spirit is crushed this season because I have missed Christmas parties and feel behind on shopping, what does that say about my faith and how I value Jesus' entrance into this world? And just like that, the Lord quietly brings me back to Him. : )
Now-I'm not saying that I feel guilty or bad for loving Christmas parties, events and traditions. (Nor am I saying that I will never be stressed during the holidays again, because we are all human.) And when I feel better I'm totally gonna put lights and all those pretty ornaments on the tree and make Jeremie ride me around town to look at Christmas lights! But I am saying that I needed to be brought back to reality and the real reason for the season and how grateful I am to be a child of the Child that we are celebrating.
TIS THE SEASON!
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