Who'd have thought?

Well, hey! I have a blog....I forgot that for a while, well that's not entirely true, I would pop in and write a few words and then I would go away again because I was bored with myself. It's not that there hasn't been anything going on, in fact life is a veritable whirl of happenings, I just couldn't think of how to write about any of it, here goes with an effort to fill in all the blanks.

We don't have rats anymore and we do have new carpet which is so splendid and clean, so posh and perfect it has quite made me fall in love with my home, after nearly 2 years of living here and just feeling 'ptttthhhhh' about it all, I now wake up in the morning and think of how I can make it even more glorious. For now I am decorating for Christmas with my over the top chandelier, lights and bows on everything and the smell of all things festive. After Christmas I shall go to town with painting and decorating and hunting for fabulous things to make this house a place that makes me love to be in it. I love feeling this way again, what a difference to that awful sinking feeling as I would drive up the hill towards home.

The preparations for Christmas are underway and I am so excited about this year, somehow everything has fallen in place, grandpa is coming in tuesday which always makes us happy, presents are bought and wrapped and this year everyone seems to have learned that the cost isn't at all important, there are boxes and bags filled with heart's desires and no-one has had to beg steal or borrow in order to buy them. I have been shopping with mum, Leah, Jordan, Mel and Sophie and shown them things that the boys will be thrilled with that cost next to nothing, I have been buying and hiding presents for so long that I had forgotten half of the things I had!

We took the boys out today with money they have earned, so they could buy each other gifts....that was fun! Eli was by far the nicest gift buyer, finding something he knew Isaac would love and just handing over the money. Isaac hated the thought of paying anything and wanted to save the money for a game and Seth, well he is his father's son when it comes to Christmas and it is all to early to be doing this nonsense. He did, however, find several things that HE would love and was quite put out that we wouldn't be buying them. Oh that boy, he is like a bulldozer and goes on and on and on. He KNOWS I haven't got him a skateboard and there are some RIGHT THERE that won't BE THERE after christmas and WHY? WHY won't we buy one NOW?

Eventually, they bought their gifts and wrapped them and I hope they had a little taste of how lovely it is to give as well as receive, perhaps it might take a while!

Sophie is touchingly childlike in her Christmas wishes, she has bought lovely gifts for people but in all honesty, Christmas for her is still very much about her....I have had to really hide everything for her because she is the worst snooper! She cannot keep a secret and if she can she will show people what she has bought for them and she SO wants to know what she will have, how BIG is it? Where did you BUY IT? How many?

When I was out with Jordan and Mel last week, it was so moving to hear Jordan talk about Christmas when he was a little boy and how he wishes he could have another Christmas at home, with a stocking. He said how he wants Joshua to grow up and think of his childhood the way he remembers his own, hearing that is like treasure, payment for all the hard work. I love having adult kids, I wish I knew how great it would be because I am sure that those times, when they were young when I felt sure I was messing it all up and couldn't even begin to imagine what kind of adults they would be.

Glorious, that's what kind they are.

Even before Christmas gets here I feel as though I have had the best one yet, so many examples of the true spirit of Christmas, stories of secret Santas, whisperings of who did what for whom and everywhere I turn some magic. I am surrounded by the kindest of people, friends who look out for each other and it is a treat to hear the stories of how they have made others happy. I am loving this run up to christmas this year.

This evening, H walked over to my sister's house ( which is about 3 minutes away yet we never seem to visit each other!) and I was very emotional about the fact that all the people I love, love each other...we couldn't say that for a long time, it seems a life time ago that I would have to work my plans around making sure that H and Sophie weren't in the house alone as it was a certainly that something would happen and a fight would result, I am so glad all that is past and she is more and more happy to have him around, so touching to see gifts for him, from her with 'dad' written on them, to hear her actually call him dad when she is speaking to the boys. Nobody ever imagined that things would ever get to this stage, I think we all hoped that somehow she would grow up without a major disaster and then move out, that seemed like the very best we could hope for, who knew that she would sit in with us and laugh, ask H for advice and be excited to tell him things ( although he still seems to have this stunned look on his face whenever she does that!)

Grandpa is coming on tuesday so tomorrow we will be rearranging furniture and making everything lovely for when he arrives ( and the we go back to normal just as long as it all looks beautiful when he arrives!)
Dan will be here for Christmas too, this year looks like it will be a truly splendid time for all of us.