a christmas we've-done list. (as opposed to a to-do list.)

i just read this post from tsh on simple mom, and it brought tears to my eyes. such a GREAT reminder of where my focus should be and oft is not at this point in the holiday season.

so instead of focusing on my to-do list -- the things i haven't gotten done -- i've decided to make a list of all the things we HAVE done so far to celebrate the joy and togetherness of christmas. yeah, i've only made one (chai tea egg nog) of the three types of christmas cookies i wanted to make. no, i haven't started sewing the mittens i want to give the kids for christmas. no, i didn't make super cute, thrifty handmade gifts for my friends. and, yes, my house is rather messy. all the laundry and all the dishes are done, but it's messy. lived in. stuff is e.ver.y.where at the moment.

but here's what we HAVE done:

• decorated the tree with my family the day after thanksgiving. i love it so much.
  
• gone to see christmas lights with the seniors from church. landon drove and the kids and i rode. i'm pretty sure our little ones made the trip for the seniors.
• the nutcracker extravaganza with mamo, jo jo, ellie and me. delana planned a party before the show complete with cookie decorating, tutu making and dvd-watching of an animated version of the nutcracker. THEN we dressed up and went to the ballet. ellie understood the whole thing and narrated it aloud from beginning to end, asking questions, exclaiming and generally throwing herself into it completely. luckily, the sweet folks seated in front of us thought it was adorable.
• come up with and executed (thanks to crys' photography skills) a cute christmas card idea to announce the coming of our third child. and i even got them in the mail in time for people to receive them several days before christmas!
• gone to visit my family in dallas and stayed at scott and kelly's beautiful house. we cooked all our meals there, made snicker snacks and chai tea egg nog cookies, opened gifts, read, cat napped all day long, went to northpark mall, talked, laughed, cried, and on and on and on.
• gone to see my grandparents in granbury before heading home from the metroplex. sweet hand-knited gifts, gramma's mock toffee and buckeyes and watching the kids make up games with toys that've been around for decades...the stuff of the best memories.
  
• watched elf and toy story 3 (a few times).
• my homemade advent calendar: i wrapped and numbered a christmas children's book for each night of december (OK, i started on the 7th). each evening, the kids unwrap a book, and we read it together. we started out with winter-y/santa clause-y stories and have been reading stories focused on the REAL reason for christmas - Jesus - for the past week or so.
• landon and i made a pallet in the front yard and watched the lunar eclipse on our backs. well, we watched it start. then we fell asleep for an hour and saw it totally eclipsed at 2 a.m.
• spent lots of just-because quality/shopping time with kylah and delana and ellie, gray, md.
• gotten ALL my presents wrapped 3 days before christmas!
• had whipped-cream topped hot chocolate in front of the fire with my husband.
• spent lots of every-day time with my kids and my husband thanks to a 2-week vacation from school.
• attended several lovely christmas parties.
• the chance give a sonic carhop a 100 percent tip by the prompting of the Holy Spirit and the blessing that was to my heart.
• finding old, antique christmas ornaments at concho confetti.
• watched ellie in her first school christmas program, and subsequently discovering i am the parent who will walk in front of everyone else to get a good photo/video shot.
• had bagels at baker's street, just ellie and me.
• ...and at least a dozen more that will be added in the next few days.

i sure do like this we've-done list better than the to-do list. and ultimately, as tsh reminded, the what-HE'S-DONE list tops them both. i can't even begin to make that list here. it's much, much too long.

ellie, waiting for the nutcracker to begin.