Flying By...

December is flying by.  The Sunday School party is over and now I HAVE to buckle down and get ready for family Christmas!  I'm not sure when I have ever been so far behind in being ready.  I have very few gifts and the problem is that I don't even have ideas for a good portion of the folk we give gifts to!  I just spent time looking through a website just trying to get some ideas...did come up with a couple possible gifts...but...

Tonight's photo shows what one of my "barn buddies" found for our tree...a gingerbread barn ornament...silo and all!

Woody had a meeting downtown this morning and tonight he has gone to the Monday night Furnace Room Prayer meeting.  He will stop at the library either going or returning and drop off a couple of books.  I finished a book this afternoon that has to be returned today as it can't be renewed.  As soon as I hit publish, I plan to head into the sewing room and get back to work on a gift that I'm making for my niece in AZ.  I've got to get that finished so I can get their package together and get it off in the mail...I try to send by December 10th...but doubt that it gets in the mail tomorrow...we will see!  But nothing is even wrapped yet.  I got decorated early this year, but seem to be behind with everything else!

We really had a good time at our Sunday School Christmas party yesterday.  It was a much smaller group than years past...but our group has changed...some have moved away, some have died, some were sick and couldn't come, etc.  But the group that gathered had a fun festive time.  Yesterday we gathered our house at 8am for brunch.  After we talked and ate and talked some more, we had our Sunday School lesson.  After the lesson we had our ornament exchange.  We each bring a Christmas ornament wrapped and then we pass them around the circle while I read a story about the Right family.  Each time I say the word "right" they pass the gift to the person to their right and when I say "left" we pass the gift to our left.  It turns into quite  laughter fest as the gifts get passed in different directions and often there is a bit of confusion...depending on how fast I read and how quickly the words "right" and "left" said.  When the story is finished, we open the one that we have in our hands and then we go around the circle to find out who gave us the ornament we got.  My ornament was angel wings this year.  After the ornament exchange, everyone gathered up their food dishes and then headed back to church for the 11am service.  We have found that the length of about 2-1/2 hours is a good length for the party and doing it early just makes it fit into our day and still leaves the afternoon for time to do other things with our families.  It hardly adds on much additional time than a regular morning at church. 'Tis the season!