Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Phil 4:6-7



Sunday, December 18, 2011

(12/18)...streaming

The last candle is lit today. Of course, you know that. I love Advent and I am sad to see this candle lit. It always makes me a little nervous, too, about those things I am making for Christmas which are not yet finished (started). About wrapping, baking, cleaning. I saw New Year's Eve noise makers at the store and had a little heart palpitation.

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Tomorrow morning my oldest is having surgery to remove his tonsils. It was not an easy surgery for Faith, who is nine, so I know that it will not be easy for Geoff, who is 22. Sadly the week before Christmas is the only time he can do it, now that he is of the age where he has a job, goes to school and does not get paid for sick time. When faced with all the facts (he's still on our insurance, he can take two weeks off school without losing his job, he will be at home where his mother will nurse him around the clock) he finally conceded to the surgery, which he has known that he has needed for several years. I wish that we had done it when he was 10. Our pediatrician is very conservative, and while that's normally a good thing in my book, this is one case when we should have acted more urgently. If you have a child who possibly needs his or her tonsils out, do it now and don't wait. They (the tonsils) won't get better.


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In light of tomorrow's scheduled event, I (hopefully) got all my Christmas shopping and errand running finished and I can stay home and finish (start) a few gifts, bake cookies, and watch Christmas movies. Sounds idyllic? I'll also be nursing a grumpy young adult with a sore throat. Thanks goodness for pain medicine. For me. (wink)


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Speaking of baking, I have not yet thought about what cookies I will bake next week. I used to ask my children, but after Thanksgiving (I asked and was sorry that I had) I decided to make what I want to make, which will definitely include the cookies I like (pizzelles, springerle, biscotti). Have you started baking? What do you bake?

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I also have not started thinking about the Christmas Eve and Day menus (well, I started but didn't get very far). I need to sit down with paper and pencil and plan. All my family comes on Christmas Eve and I tell what I'd really like to make...reservations.

Normally my brothers (et al) and mother come after they attend early Christmas Eve Mass. My own family normally goes to Mass on Christmas Day because I like waking up knowing that at least part of my day with be focused on the Lord. My husband and teenage children are trying to talk me into 10 p.m. Mass this year. Which means I will cook, serve and clean up dinner, have gift exchange with my family, clean up and leave for Mass, come home and probably clean up again before I put my own children's gifts out. Sound exhausting? I'm not sure I'm going to win the battle though. I may sleep through Mass this year.

What do you do? I admit that my teens tend to gum up my plans every time.

7 comments:

  1. What about horsey durvey kind of foods for Christmas Eve? (or Fondue)

    Might be easier?
    That's what we do, then big meal on Christmas day....Got all the groceries yesterday, we'll see if I make it this year!

    Prayers for your son (and for you)
    tomorrow!! I think you have the right idea, making the cookies you like to make, they will love whatever you bake!

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  2. Oh, prayers for your son and you! Remember...pain meds around the clock, 7-Up to help break up the throat mucus, and days 5 and 10 are the worse.

    I will be baking this week...making many of the chocolate crinkle cookies I've been blogging about for days now. Hugs for you!

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  3. Prayers for your son! And I only make one kind of cookies at Christmas. The recipe makes at least 10 dozen cookies, so that should do us for a while. http://sfomomfridge.blogspot.com/2010/12/christmas-cookies.html

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  4. Oh, and as for Christmas Mass--it's easy for 2 reasons: we travel on Christmas Eve as my husband's family has a HUGE family party. And I'm a musician, so we always go to whatever Mass the choir I play with has been assigned. We work around that.

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  5. Ugh, tonsils. I'll pray for you and your son, that the surgery (and recovery!) go smoothly.

    I make all kinds of Christmas cookies that I like - chocolate peanut butter chip, pecan tossies, jam thumbprint, sugar cut-outs, oatmeal, and I make a concession for good old chocolate chip for the children.
    I also make my grandmother's "war bread" which sounds macabre, but is very tasty. Just made with few ingredients thanks to rationing.

    And Christmas mass is crazy here. We usually go to the 4 pm children's mass on Christmas Eve, and then I go back to sing at the 10pm with the choir. But this year, the bishop will be celebrating our 8:30am Christmas Day mass and Rob wants to go. So . . . Rob will lector the 6pm Christmas Eve mass, I will go in to sing at the 10pm, and then we will get all the children dressed and out to the 8:30am mass with the bishop Christmas morning. ANd then we'll come home so I can finish getting ready to host my family for an early Christmas dinner. Go ahead and feel free to start praying for me now, heh!

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  6. Oh, dear. Prayers for Geoffrey, and you. Looking at my calendar, I see that Meg has a second appt. with the ENT tomorrow to see about taking hers out. She's borderline, I think, on the necessity.

    We always do the hor d'oeuvres on Christmas Eve. The kids love it the best---probably because it's one of the rare times I buy packaged foods instead of making everything myself!

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  7. Prayers for you and your son Barb! How's he doing post surgery? He's lucky to have you to take care of him!!

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I appreciate your comments -- sometimes I feel like I'm talking to myself!