Friday Bullets - The Christmas Edition

I think I may make it. The shopping is done, both food and gifts, all but three things are wrapped, and we're working on bathing children. Christmas might actually happen

• B. is very much in love with his scooter and has become a kind of walking advertisement. Did you know he gets around 80 miles to the gallon with that thing? A. is a wee bit jealous about that. It's amazing how personal the price of gasoline becomes when you are the one filling the gas tank. 
• We have added a new item to our family bucket list: The Blue Grotto of Capri. I had never heard of this until we finished our tea time read aloud book, Red Sails to Capri by Ann Weil, where the Blue Grotto plays a role. Do an image search, it's pretty amazing.
• I went to the grocery store today to do the food shopping for the next three days. It was crazy expensive. It was also almost empty, which was pleasant and unexpected since other grocery stores which I drive past to get to mine had people cruising the parking lots looking for spaces. There are pluses to shopping at a store where a good half of the clientele probably don't celebrate Christmas. 
• My original plan was to make and decorate gingerbread men as one of our holiday activities this past week. It didn't happen. First, I couldn't find molasses when I needed it, and then we just plain ran out of time. I decided that we will do it next week when we have more time and can enjoy the process more. Why do I always feel the need to squeeze everything in before the holiday? 
• Do not worry about my children, though, we have had plenty of treats in the house. We've had two different neighbors drop off goodies unexpectedly, and they have been enjoyed immensely. Thank you!
• While things have been pretty low key this holiday season, Y. and R. are still a little wigged out by the whole holiday. R. loves all the glitter and food and music, but because we are not on a regular schedule she is pretty disregulated. We've seen a lot more disassociation the past couple of weeks than we have for a while. Trying to keep her present can be a full time job. Y. is just not sure about any of it, and spends a lot of time pondering the differences between her life before and her life now. We've been informed more than once that this is not something that she did in China. The other night when I was tucking her in, she asks me, "Mama, why do different countries celebrate different holidays?" Each night we have been faced with a question such as this as she works out her new life. 
• One interesting thing I've noticed is that because the new girls have been here for nearly a year, that I keep forgetting that this is their first Christmas with us. They've been here long enough that it feels as though they should have experienced at least one, and it surprises me each time when I remember that it's their first. With everyone else, they came home later in the year and I was much more aware of it the 'firstness' of their first Christmas.
• This is taking me a little longer than it usually does to write this, because every five minutes or so, I have to hop up to check the cakes in the oven. I'm in the middle of baking the layer cakes which will become Jesus' birthday cake for tomorrow night's dessert. Yes, we sing Happy Birthday to Jesus before we serve it.
• Thank you to everyone who has shopped through my Amazon links in the past month. I got a surprise gift certificate in the mail because of you. It was like a little Christmas gift from my readers.
• If you are in the area and are looking for a family-friendly Christmas eve service to attend with you family, consider yourselves invited to my church's pageant service at 4pm tomorrow. As well as the actual pageant, there is carol singing and candle lighting. One thing I noticed as I was at the dress rehearsal on Wednesday was the fabulous diversity of the people who are participating in it, both in terms of ethnicity and ability. It just made me happy to watch them all. God has created us all so differently, it is a shame when we don't get to interact with the full range of His creation. If you are interested, here are some links for more information: First Presbyterian Church and the First Presbyterian Facebook Page.

I won't be blogging over the holiday, so from my house to yours, I wish you all a very blessed and a very Merry Christmas!