Six more days!!

     Lydia is using our magnetic Nativity advent calendar as her daily countdown for Christmas. She can tell you exactly how many days are left. She loves doing the calendar every morning. The other night we saw an airplane in the sky and she said, "Mom, what is that? Is it a plane?" I said, "Hmmm, actually I think it's Santa out practicing for Christmas Eve. Look at the flashing red light. That's Rudolph's nose!" She wasn't sure whether to believe me and I wasn't even sure that she had until we were headed to see the Imax Polar Express and she saw it again and said, "Mom, looks there's Santa practicing again!" There is nothing like celebrating Christmas through the eyes of your children.

     Cards have been mailed and the gift-wrapping is finally done. I was up late doing it. My planned outdoor morning run, the first outside run since my injury, was put on hold in favor of a morning nap. Treadmill runs this week, until Thursday, when the holiday break starts. If the weather is kind, I will get an outdoor run before Pete heads off to work that day. The injury is healing and I'm comfortably increasing my distance with each run.

     There isn't much left to do to prepare for Christmas. I am waiting on a few things in the mail, but that's about it. We're having a family lasagna cook-off this year for our Christmas meal. My brother thinks he is going to win, yet he has NEVER made lasagna before. He is a good cook though so it wouldn't surprise me that he could pull out a win...but I'm still holding out for my own win because personally, I think I make the best lasagna ever. In my twenties, my friend Missy and I made lasagna together for a party, and I've been making it the way she does ever since. 

     

http://www.amazon.com/Kurt-Adler-Nativity-Calendar-Magnetic/dp/B0002TUVEO