Who sends Christmas Cards anymore???

So I woke up this morning at 4am.  As I tossed and turned for a few minutes, wondering WHY I was awake at that hour, my mind started wandering to the day that lay ahead of me. Was I completely prepared for it?  Did I have all the stuff to make the food I needed to prepare?   Were all the presents wrapped?   Would Mom feel like going with us today?    Would we need to plan to go spend time with her at her apartment, in case she backed out of going to Derek and Amy’s?   Oh crap!!   If Grandma and Grandad are going with us today, then I need to put the seat back in the van that I took out to transport Sam’s drums for his gig last week.   Do I have anything to wear?   I’ve been so busy the last week that laundry hasn’t gotten done, so I might be wearing yoga pants if I don’t get up and do some laundry….Am I going to have enough energy to get through this day if I get up NOW and start getting things done.  Probably not, but lying here with a million questions going through my head isn’t helping either, so I guess I’m getting up…..

…  I stumble into the kitchen and hit the “on” button on the coffee maker, then go into the bathroom to wash my face.  No washcloths anywhere.  None.  Wow, I guess I really DO need to attack the giant laundry pile.  Dang, HOW am I gonna wash my face???   Wait!  I think I remember ONE load of clean laundry in the living room that’s been waiting to be folded for a week or so.  Maybe there’s a clean washcloth in there!!  Drat.. no such luck…. Think, Marcia, think….. maybe there is a load of clean laundry still in the dryer…???    YES!!  Success… I find a clean washcloth in the dryer!!  Now I can wash my face.  Man, this past week has been such a hectic one that I’ve gotten WAY behind on my regular chores around the house.  I can’t remember the last time I had to search for a washcloth.  That’s ridiculous.   Speaking of ridiculous… that pile of Christmas cards still sitting on my living room floor that have nothing written on them except good intentions.  Does anyone really send out Christmas cards anymore anyway???   I mean, yes I get a few cards in the mail… most of them are not even really “cards” anymore…. Just a postcard with a family picture.   I love getting those little gems, but I just NEVER get my act together early enough to:

A)  find a day where my whole family can get together for a picture.

B)  Get the picture developed and made into a card

C)  Set aside an afternoon to address all the envelopes and mail them out.

Plus, what do you do when your middle child moves out and wants nothing to do with you right now.   Do you call them up and say, “Hey, I know you hate us and think we are horrible parents and all, but do you have time to pose for a family picture for our Christmas Cards?”    OR do you just get the rest of the family together for a picture and just pretend like someone isn’t missing?   OR do you just say, “daughter not available for photo”…??    Awkward, isn’t it? 

SO, back to the stack of Christmas Cards in my living room floor….here’s the bottom line.  You guys will NOT be getting a Christmas Card from our family this year, but that does NOT mean than each and every one of you isn’t extremely important to us.  We cherish our friends and family and hope to get to spend some quality time with you all VERY soon!!   

….but IF you WERE to get a Christmas Card from us, this is what it would say:

This is such a special time of year.   A time to reflect on our past.  A time to hope for our future.  A time to remember the amazing love that God, our Father has for each and every one of us.  Love so great that he sent his son to die on the cross for our sins.   And it started with that little baby, born in a manger in Bethlehem.   Our prayer for you this Christmas is that you would not only KNOW that love, and BELIEVE in that love, but FEEL that love surround you and yours while you celebrate the birth of Baby Jesus!!  

We hope all your wishes come true in 2010 and that God will be in the center of your joys and the comfort in your sorrows.  No one knows what the future holds, but I DO know that God will be there with us every step of the way!!

Merry Christmas!!

Much love,

Mike, Marcia and family