It's beginning to look alot like Christmas..

Well here we are in the holiday season and I am knee deep in mail. I feel like an overworked Santa Claus. I love the feeling of bringing Daddy's package from Iraq to our military families. I love bringing Santa stuff from Grandparents BUT there has to be a limit somewhere. Oh I know that it is job security and believe me I'm all for that. I am just worn out right now. This last week on the routes that I am on, I have delivered at least 67 parcels a day. Most days I have had to get out of the vehicle at least 50 times. I have had to even make second trips for parcels. It would not be so bad, but we are expected to stay on time. Triple the work, but still the same amount of time to do it in. I just keep telling myself over and over.......in 3 weeks you will be done with your route by noon......in 3 weeks you will be done with your route by noon.
As you can tell my new route starts on January 7th and boy I am soooooo happy about that. I will work from about 8:00 am until 11:00-11:30 or so, 6 days a week. Instead of working 7:00 am until 6:00 pm any day of the week depending on when they need me (many weeks 5 or 6 days that week). I will be in charge of my own mail, my own case, my own schedule and my own mistakes. You know how it is "it's easy to blame the sub for something". I think that the best thing is that I will be in town and not out on the ridge or in the hills during snow and ice.

ON THE HOMEFRONT (now that I am done whining, sorry about that) we are baking cookies galore around here. Jessalyn could not have her birthday party in September due to Cranfest, so she decided that she wanted a "cookie decorating party". Well, we had it this last Wednesday during a snow storm when they got out of school early. Eleven 9 year olds and one 5 year old. All decorating cookies and acting like 9 year olds. They had a good time, I guess. I lived through it, I'm pretty sure that I bit off more than I could chew on that one. Thank you God for your grace.
Thursday was Jacob's 13th birthday. He was sooo excited. He bounced around for hours. We were going to have his birthday dinner next week when I did not have to work, but I was still making tortellini on this last Thursday for him (it's his favorite). Mom and Dad showed up with a cake just for the fun of it and we ended up having a thrown together meal for him. I did not plan it, it just happened, but he still had a great time. Not everyone that we like to have for our birthday dinners was even there. Now I can't have the actual birthday dinner this next Tuesday because I have an emergency Cranfest meeting. I called my Aunt to maybe do pizza on Sunday, but I think that she and I will probably both be too exhausted. We will have to come up with plan B on that one.
We are baking cookies and breads for our Christmas gift baskets and it is not going as well as I had hoped. They keep calling me in to work. Tonight is Will's Christmas party. I am working today and then meeting him here tonight to go to that. The kids are spending the night at my parent's house. Then church tomorrow. I am going to get up early in the morning (hopefully) and make 120 cinnamon rolls for the people at Will's work and 2 dozen for my co-workers. Then church and another birthday party for Jessalyn to go to. Jacob and I are going to have some time together and make some more cookies while she is at the party.
This week is final clean up on the house getting ready for Christmas Eve, wrapping up all of the presents that have stuffed into odd places and hidden all over the house, delivering gift baskets, mailing presents out, paying bills and then it will be here! Our house will hopefully be full to overflowing with people eating, laughing and sharing Christmas Eve after a candle light service at the church. I am so thankful to be able to do this another year. We think that this is the 20th year, but we could be off a little. I just love to cook for everyone. I wait all year to see the smiles, happy faces and feel the presence of God flow through the house on that night. It is such a blessing. You cannot really understand it unless you are here. It is magic.
Well, time to go back to work.......
Have a blessed day.
Please, please, please take time to enjoy the season with your family and friends. My family has lost 2 of my cousins in the last 2 weeks. You just never know who will be next. Enjoy them while you have them.
dea