On this, the first day of December, I am thinking Christmas-y thoughts.  I recently put up Christmas lights on our house — something we haven’t done much since we lived in Indiana.  The Christmas tree is already in the house but not yet set up.  (I pulled it out of the garage when we were cleaning the garage on Saturday.) We hope to add a few more outdoor decorations in the next few days.  The lights give the house a nice glow at night.

Part of the reason Christmas time has always been a bit negative for me is the onslaught of spending on gifts and such. Many years in the past, this has put us in debt.  We are extremely fortunate to have a small amount of extra income at this point in the year, so I am not as stressed about the money angle as I have been in some years past, and that helps. Another stress in the past has been when we host Christmas at our house and kill ourselves trying to get the house cleaned up and decent enough for family to come over. We haven’t hosted Christmas for a few years now, and I don’t think we’ll be hosting it this year, either. That’s a good thing because our house is in need of major renovations and cleanup. Not having to host Christmas takes away a major negative aspect of the season for me, too.

More than anything else, though, I struggle with getting excited about Christmas or any other event that children get so excited about.  My glass is half empty, not half full, which means that I tend to be negative in outlook.   I hope and pray that this year I will join my children in their excitement and anticipation.  I also want them to truly appreciate and focus on the reason for the season, which is the fact that God came into our world as a baby, in order that He might save us from our sins by dying on the cross in our place. Recently I’ve begun to pick a passage from the Bible to read to the three younger ones as part of putting them to bed each night. They seem to really enjoy this. I think I’ll plan to focus on Bible verses throughout this month that talk about Jesus’ birth and what it means to us.

On a rather sad note, I was thinking the other day about the fact that this Christmas may be the last one where Keegan is living at home with us.  At this time next year — hopefully — he will be busy finishing his first semester in college.  Where has the time gone?  And more importantly, I ask myself, have I used that time well?

I’ve been taking lots of photos and posting them on the photos page, so check them out.  There are photos of a trip to the Bristol Renaissance Faire, a nearby park, Labor Day activities, and more.  I really like my new Nikon D60, a birthday present.  I haven’t even begun to figure out all of its features but am especially looking forward to having it on hand when I go to the Boundary Waters for a week in the near future with my brother, Dan.  Aside from fishing and hiking, I am most looking forward to the opportunity to take lots of nature photos with the new camera.

Last weekend we put in a new Pergo-style floor in the lower level of our house.  It’s a lot of work but the end result is worth it.  Now we need to paint!  I am sick of having the yucky, bland, off white, as-cheap-as-can-be, new-house paint everywhere after living in our house for over three years.

At work, things have been quite hectic.  Remember that scene from the original Star Wars movie where Luke, Leia, Chewy, and Han Solo are in the giant trash compactor and the walls start closing in?  That’s how it feels right now at work.  In a few weeks, my team will be moving into an entirely different organization and although it is good to finally have more definition about what will be happening, and the move will be beneficial, it will still be stressful.  Plus I’ll be sad to leave many library colleagues who have become good friends over the last three years.

Cohen: two (stitches near left eye, then a month later, several stitches on left arm)

Tristan: one (stepped on a long screw and then needed a booster shot)

Keegan: one (messed up his right knee, had to also see an orthopedic specialist yesterday and has an MRI today)

Michele has been to a regular doctor visit and so have I.

See? It all adds up to a lot of support for healthcare. (That is a bit ironic since we are in a big healthcare debate right now in this country. While I think we need significant changes in our current system, I would be horrified if the plan pushed by the Obama administration gets passed into law.)

Let’s hope that today’s MRI will show that Keegan’s knee isn’t as damaged as I think it may be. He really wants to play football this fall.

The past weekend was pretty nice because we did some fun things and then some other things that weren’t fun but needed to be done. On Saturday afternoon we went to Lamb’s Farm to see their pet store and resale shop. The kids loved it there. On the way back home we drove through Independence Grove to see the amenities there. I think we’ll definitely go back to go for walks and bike rides. They also have a nice beach for swimming. Best of all, everything is free.

Sunday afternoon the kids and Michele spent outside playing. I went to Home Depot and picked up an electric leaf blower, a carpet cleaner, and a few other things. Keegan then used the leaf blower to finally clean the gutters and Michele used it after that to clean off the driveway and gather the huge amount of leaves in our yard into big piles. While they were busy at that task I cleaned the carpet in our family room downstairs and also the living room, hallway, and stairs. I am really pleased with the steam cleaning system I purchased. It was expensive but worth it. When you have four messy kids and two extra messy dogs who often have “accidents” then you can imagine just how gross and dirty the floors were before I cleaned them. I think the steam cleaner I purchased already paid for itself when compared to the cost of hiring a professional company to do the cleaning.

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