Chaos, Part 1

As I sit here writing this post, I can think of a million other things that I could be doing. Giving the kids showers, doing laundry, cleaning the house, the list is endless. We are just wrapping part 1 of what can only be described as a joyful sort of chaos. Last weekend, James was baptized. We had a houseful of family who shared this beautiful occasion with us for several days. James slept through the first half of the ceremony then woke up and got REALLY mad when the holy water was being poured on his head (the picture above is right before he lost it completely!) So the second half of the ceremony was full of screaming and crying and an explosive diaper incident. Besides my concern that the incident in question was going to leak all over his gown, it was a really beautiful and special ceremony.

Two days after our baptism guests departed, our Thanksgiving guests arrived. I was so glad we were able to spend a few days with our friends from New York and Virginia. The meal was excellent, thanks to JM and Shawn (deep-fried turkey is excellent!) And we have TONS of leftovers, so hopefully that means no cooking for a couple more days! So our turkey-day guests departed this morning and the house is relatively quiet (ok not really, but a little more quiet than it has been!) There is much to be done to get things back to a relatively normal state, all the while gearing up for Chaos, Part 2! That entails 5 Nutcracker performances, Christmas preparations and a trip to Disney! (which we will return home from on Christmas Eve!)

With all of this craziness there is much that I could probably find to complain about. Instead, I am taking the time to remind myself of all of the things that I have to be thankful for. My husband and beautiful, healthy children; family and friends; the ability to live comfortably; the list is endless. God has blessed us in so many ways. So even though this holiday season is going to be a little crazier than is typical for us, I feel better when I have a sense of gratitude. With so much to be thankful for, it is a little easier to find some joy in all of the chaos!