Totally Exhausted

I should be wrapping gifts, Christmas shopping or making out my Christmas cards but I'm too exhausted. Friday night and Saturday morning and afternoon was spent shopping for Christmas. Christmas gifts, youth Christmas party and our Christmas dinner. Then the youth Christmas party in which I spent big bucks on a gingerbread house (which I thought was 3 houses but it was 3 ways of decorating)for everyone to decorate. We decorated ornaments first. Which was fun but took longer than we thought it would Then we started the gingerbread house, we didn't have enough time to wait for it to set up (I know I should have read the directions before, ugh). So as we tried to put it together we were getting frustrated and by now we're tired and some had petered out on us. So then we went ahead and did our Chinese gift exchange (for the record, I like secret Santa 10x better), went back to the gingerbread house only to decide it's going to have to set over night. I have no idea when we'll get back to it. I'm afraid it was money wasted.

Then Sunday morning got up and made the jello, headed to the church, came back from church where Jody, Jenna and Joleesa were awesome really stepped in and helped even under my stressing. Jody worked until 5:30 am too, so he had very little sleep. Getting the food ready wasn't the problem, it was figuring how to keep it warm and transported to the church (next year it's going be at our place even if it means setting up a table in the living room). We got it done and I had 2 crock pots, a rice cooker to keep the potatoes warm, jello and Waldorf salad in ice cream bucket and Tupperware. I brought my nice glass dishes with and transferred them. We had so much stuff and I was hurting so bad already and Jody was already exhausted, Joleesa and Jenna were limited on how much they could carry but the Lord knew and He sent Matt to load the cars and then Tim and his uncle were waiting to set up the church. We kept telling them they weren't suppose to do anything this was for them, but they insisted and I am so grateful as I was getting to the end of my strength. I planned to decorate the tables like gifts with white table cloths, red ribbon down the middle and across one end with a big red bow. I wasn't sure how it would look but it looked really cool. Then I had gotten striped candy cane like pillar candles on mirrors to go across the ribbon. A little extra was the mint peppermint Andes candy that I was going to put in a dish but decide to scatter along the ribbon too. Finish that with red plates and napkins, clear cups and silverware. The finish product turned out better than I thought. The three guys were great at decorating the tables. I had told Tim's Uncle Tom how to fold the napkins and put the plastic silverware out and he said he could handle. He got it all done and I was looking at it and he had the knife and forks in the wrong place. I was standing looking at it (I think I may have been on the cell phone) and I was trying to decide whether to say anything to him when he asked if he did it right. I said not quite and I switched them. He laughed and made some comment about how he had no idea and I told him I was trying to decide whether to say anything. He was awesome. After having to send Matt for more punch and Jody for butter as I forgot my crystal dish that I had washed and put fresh butter in on the counter, ugh, we were finally able to eat. Ham potatoes, green beans, strawberry applesauce jello, Waldorf salad, honey wheat buns, pickles, olives and cherry delight for dessert. Then good old Uncle Tom and Tim start picking up (after having come around with the coffee pot). I had found information on the various general Christmas traditions and had each one read the tradition and then share a personal tradition (there are some interesting traditions out there)mingled between were Christmas Carole's. The Peter boys sang "We Three Kings" where I'm sure the floor vibrated by their awesome bass voices. Joleesa and I sang "Silent Night", as well as congregation Carole's. A 94 year old lady who's been coming lately played the piano while we all cleaned up. The guys loaded the cars, Matt and Nathan helped unload and we went to bed with a mess in our house, our bodies worn out, physically exhausted but our spirits great as we think of how good God is because He has blessed us with such precious people. We had 14 people. We had six missing and we pray God will bless them with a blessed Christmas and we hope they all know how much we love them. By 9:30 pm I think we all were in bed. I know I was.

Thus tonight it's just relaxing as Jody cleaned the house and is now out with Jenna for her company Christmas party with steak and shrimp. Jenna asked if I wanted to go and I asked if she'd like it if her dad went and he was thrilled to. So he looked sharp in his black suit, red shirt with black, red and gray tie and her beautiful in black and deep purple dress on a night out with her dad.