Playing Catch-Up!

I have been away from my computer for the past week as I have given it to my hubs to use because Aja's is on the blink and we loaned his to her...whew! Since he works out of the home and sequesters himself in his office all day, I haven't had a chance to get on other than in the wee hours of the morn while he is still asleep. So I have stolen it away for a few moments because I have missed all of you so much.

This past week has been crazy busy! Over the weekend, I got roped into watching 3 of my *Littles* the ENTIRE WEEKEND, at the last minute because Aja's babysitters bombed out on her as she was literally walking out to door to leave town on Friday. So of course I had to step in and help her out...man oh man do those little ones wear me out! I adore them and they were PERFECT, but they are so high energy, full of questions and dependant on me for pretty much everything...I came home Sunday night and collapsed into my comfy bed at 7:30!!

Brad and I spent Monday together doing a little shopping and taking in a movie. I can't even remember what we saw (I guess it was that good, lol). Whatever it was, I remember liking it but not loving it...oh, it was "Unstoppable" with Denzel Washington...Anyway, we had a good day and it was awesome to have some alone time with him doing whatever...Tuesday we went to the temple and basked in the spirit there. It felt good to escape the craziness of the holiday season and just soak in the peace and tranquility that abides there. Wednesday I wrapped presents and yesterday I had a modeling job in Provo from 8:30 - 11:30 AM. It was a photo shoot for a previous video we shot. It's for "Dentrix" (they make software for Dental offices). It was so nice to reunite with the same cast and crew for this shoot. We had a great time and the crew was so good to us feeding us breakfast AND lunch (for a 3 hour job??) they were amazing...I hope to work for them again...and they pay GREAT! After the photo shoot, I finished up my shopping while I was in the valley.

So that's my week in a nutshell...but here's what I really want to blog about...

I have finished and wrapped all of the gifts I have bought and made for my family. (I have to send a few off in the mail today...then I'm really done!). It's a great feeling to be done and to have the opportunity to really enjoy the next week and a half. But what's really great is that I spent considerably less this year and I feel really good about it!

You see, for the past 30 years, I have gone COMPLETELY OVERBOARD with my shopping. Every year I have spent way too much, even though I had the money and paid cash for everything, I always felt a little guilty. Don't get me wrong, I have loved watching my children and other family members get excited when they opened the piles of gifts in front of them on Christmas morning. And it has never been about gifts for me...I couldn't care less about getting anything. But somewhere along the line, I got it into my head that Christmas was the time to buy everything that these sweet people whom I dearly love have ever wanted or needed  (to some degree).

I didn't do that this year! I forced myself to exercise restraint and I tried to be careful in what I selected for them. I tried to put a lot of thought into each gift and I limited myself to a {{gasp}} budget! And guess what?? It has been the best Christmas shopping experience I have ever had! Really!!

I have watched each year as my *Littles* are bombarded with piles of neatly wrapped packages placed in front of them. I have seen them become frustrated as they have opened something, wanted to immediately play with it while being told "don't take it out of the box yet, look how many more you HAVE to open!" Although they are happy with the final outcome, they are quite simply overwhelmed and just want to enjoy each gift as it comes...

So this year is different. I have tried to focus on the more meaningful things about Christmas. I have tried to explain to the girls the "why" behind the holiday while enjoying the festivities of the traditional celebrations. Of course I want them to have fun and get excited about Santa's impending arrival, but it's time to really begin to understand the true meaning of Christmas.

So that's what's been going on. I am more relaxed than ever and I am able to really enjoy the festivities of the holiday. Why oh why did I not figure this out earlier??