End of November

It's crazy that November is quickly over.  The end of the year seems to go so quickly.  November has been filled with meetings, concerts, school work, and family.  Someone said that Thanksgiving is their favorite holiday because it is filled with food and family -their two favorite things.  I would tend to agree with that - probably family first, haha.  Our Thanksgiving was fairly simple this year.  Melanie and family joined us and we spent dinner with the Briggs'.  Melanie and I (and baby Bryton) then headed to Las Vegas arriving about 10:30 pm.  We went straight to Walmart to check out where everything was located in anticipation of the 12:01 sale.  We found that people were already starting to load items in their carts, so we did the same for a certain limited toys.  At 11:30 they announced over the speaker that the sale was open, so we headed to check out.  The problem was the prices weren't in affect for another 1/2 hour.  So Melanie stood in line while I wandered the store finding the other items we needed.  We were out of Walmart by 1:00 am and decided to get some breakfast.   Since nothing else was open for awhile we took a nap for an hour and headed back out at 3:00 am.  Again we decided to check out Walmart for the 5:00 am sale - debating whether to go to Target's opening at 4:00 first or not.  When we got back to Walmart we found there were lines for the electronic items we wanted so, we each took a line and proceeded to wait for an hour and a half.  Again we were able to check out fairly quickly and we headed off to Target, and then the mall.  By about 12:00 we were ready for lunch and a break.  We enjoyed Olive Garden and then went back to Grandma's for some needed rest.  After a few hours we headed back out to the mall and other stores and we went till we could shop no more.  By 9:00 we were back resting and waiting for Pizza Hut delivery.  Definitely our longest shopping experience to date!!! Why do they have to start earlier and earlier each year?  I don't mind the crowds or the waiting, but I'm not much for staying up all night.  The good news is I am 98% ready for Christmas and no shopping stress left, just some shipping to get done.  I know lots of people hate it, but I have been doing it for 20+ years and it works for me.

Probably sound crazy to most people, but its the way I prefer to begin my Christmas Season.  We missed having all our family around, but life changes with each passing year.  We are looking forward to spending Christmas with Chelsea and family in Colorado.

I was asked an interesting question for someone's paper - what are the benefits of having a stay at home mom.  I found it difficult to put into words.  Anyone have any perspective on this.  I would enjoy reading your thoughts. 

So I am still working on getting my 49 acts of service in by my 49th birthday - it may take longer than I thought.  It is interesting to think each day about service and what I can do.  I'll post more when I'm done.