Hello to all of you!   I have wanted to post a few things, but now have finally figured out how to blog!   It may be a little late for some, but appropriate for others.  I do hope that it looks as beautiful as Laurie's always do!  

First, are all of you enjoying this preparedness as much as I am?  Remember, even if you are not completely finished by the goal of December 1st, you are still soooo much better off than if you had waited!  So, ENJOY whatever tasks you have completed!  Rejoice!

So, here are a few things that have kept me going this season.  First, I have been getting good use out of my crock pot.  On busy days, I just start that wonderful invention early in the morning, and our family enjoys a home cooked meal on days when I am out shopping.  It feels great to come home to a warm meal already finished!  

Next, it has been helpful keeping a wrapping station ready for wrapping.  If you haven't done this, find an area where you can keep all your goodies.  Some people just make one out of a "back of the door shoe hanging bag".  You can put tape, scissors, tags, ribbons and paper all in one.  A garment bag will also work if you have one of those instead.

Also, we have truly simplified our decorating at home this year.  The FlyLady recommends five areas ONLY to decorate.  I believe she says to stick with the tree, the mantle, the bannister, the kitchen OR dining room table, and a wreath on the door!  Can you believe it???  As far as our home goes, we pretty much stuck with this simplicity.  We didn't even put up our main tree! We are going to be out of town for Christmas and I just couldn't see doing all that work and not even being here on Christmas morning!  My children were a little disappointed while we were decorating, but I shared with them my goals about focusing on family and the birthday of our Lord, and they never mentioned it again!

Lastly, remember to keep your receipts in your December 1st notebook.  You will be so glad you did.  Also, keeping a record of your gift giving this year will really help you next year!

Christmas Blessings to all!  (And by the way,  I am really looking forward to a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Moody Radio is presenting a Thanksgiving audio program to be aired at 8am and 4pm.  It seems like it will an interpretation of the first Thanksgiving.  We will be planning our mealtimes around the 4 pm program, so that we can all sit around and enjoy it as a family.)