My Fabulous Christmas

I blinked.

And I must have done it more than once cuz, December is almost GONE. Blink, blink, blink, blink, blink, blink!

I must give myself a break though. Birthday season galore here in Sulaland and i'm beat! Birthdays start the first week of December here and there's one just about every four days until Christmas. Including my two wonderful daughters that are a week apart the week before Christmas. But the chaos? It ends on Christmas Day.

I was behind as I normally am. I still have to get the box ready to send to Green Bay and to Albuquerque. At least this year, I actually have the stuff to put in the box this year! So life is good.

Christmas Eve got here and my house was clean, my kids were excited, I got to cook soup (which is one of the main ways that I center myself) and I was looking forward to a Peaceful Christmas Eve with Good Friends.

Absolutely the best Christmas Eve ever. I completely fulfilled my vision of what Christmas Eve is supposed to be like! I had a good mix of friends from several different areas of my life. Several friends who have been a huge part of my support system over the past few years, a friend who can get me laughing in tears with his personality and comments that just rolls out of his mouth before he can do anything about it. and makes no apologies for it. Neighbors stopped by that I adore. A new friend who I'm already holding very dear to my heart. A friend who has been there every time that i've ever needed her. The man who calms me and brings great joy in my life. My kids (and then my kids going to bed early!) and my cousin and her new hubby.

Many of us started the evening off at the Christmas Eve service at NWHills. What a beautiful service. Great music and a great message. It was a packed house and they had to have 6 serving stations for communion! We sang silent night by candlelight. That alone made my heart all warm and fuzzy!

Friends came over, we socialized, we laughed. We drank wine. C made a beautiful fire in the chimenea.

We stood in a huge circle and prayed by song to bless our dinner. We had a shepherds meal of Tortilla Soup and Tamales with LOTS of goodies. Homemade hummus was brought and some yummy yummy bread. Lots of sweets.

I read 'Twas The Night Before Christmas and then the girls went off to bed so that Santa could show up as quickly as possible.

We had a "Gift of Self" exchange in White Elephant format. and there were lots of goodies in the pot! We had a peace ornament, a home cooked meal, lottery tickets (that won!), Tea for Two, a candle, a really cool lotion kit, salt and pepper shakers, a story that included a little girl covered in chicken poop and another with Santa losing his pants in front of a bunch of scarred-for-life elementary kids! And I got a song held near and dear to a friend of mine that sang for us all.

We went outside and enjoyed the fire. We went around the circle and shared what our favorite childhood gifts were. Then we held hands and sang Silent Night.

At that point, the party needed to wind down and all scurried home to sleep well before the excitement of Christmas morning.

New friend E hung around and helped C and I wrap ALL of our gifts! We finished that right about midnight. If she hadn't stayed, we would have been wrapping till 3 a.m.! THANK YOU E!!!!!

After she left, C and I exchanged a gift a piece. The gift from each of us that we wanted to give each other in the solitude of each other. We are happy. (and that's all the details you readers are gettin'!)

Sleep eventually came and the first knock came upon my bedroom door about 7:15. Told them they had could knock again at 7:50. and they did. on the dot. I'm guessing that they stood by the clock and watched the time tick away minute by minute.

We all got great gifts!

L came by a little later and had some breakfast. Then E came by and we carpooled out to L's house for a yummy yummy Christmas dinner of grilled steaks, lots of healthy veggies, bread and lots of Christmas-ey desserts. It was a small enough crowd that we all got to sit at L's table for dinner.

C stopped by for a little while and I received this trickle of gifts all day. It started with a Christmas Eve ornament, then our personal gift exchange, then the opening of Christmas morning, then the one he brought to L's. He only stayed for a little bit and then went on to see his family. One of the best gifts that he gave me, was letting me know without a doubt that he had wanted me to be with him on Christmas. He stopped by on the way home from his dad's to tuck me in. Where I received 2 more presents.

This man GETS me. Every single one of his gifts, made me feel heard and cared for. My favorite though was 4 little rocks that he picked up on his trip to Seattle in June. He gave one to each of my girls, one to me and one to himself. I consider him part of my family. and I see now that he sees himself as part of my family.

At this point, it doesn't matter if our romantic connection lasts a lifetime or not. I know that our connection will last a lifetime. It doesn't matter if we date just each other or if we date other people. It doesn't matter if we are building a life with a place for each other as a partner or if we are collecting precious moments at this phase in our relationship. It doesn't matter what our own personal struggles are in regards to relationships. He is important to me and he is important to my children. and I feel like I am important to him and my children are important to him. This is what matters.

I've had the absolute best Christmas season ever. I got to spend it with fabulous friends, great neighbors, a new friend, two of the best pieces of my family and C. All had a part in fulfilling my Christmas vision.

I am happy. I love my friends. I love my family. I love my life.

I love you all. Merry Christmas!