It's about time.

I feel like I've been absent lately. Oh, wait, I have! Here are some bits & pieces of what has been going on. (Warning: This is a long post.)

*Last weekend, Alan & Heather (my brother & sister-in-law) decided to visit. Kelsey & Cedric (my sister & brother-in-law) live nearby, so we were going to have them over for a night of dinner & games. At the last minute, which is usually the case, Tiffany & Chad & kids (my sister & brother-in-law) decided to come up for a visit & to bring me their eliptical. Although only Alan & Heather stayed at our house, we had a house-full all weekend. It was a lot of fun.

*Chad and Randy made a huge snowman. They were like kids coming in the house multiple times to see if we had something that would work for the different body parts. We loved seeing all our neighbors drive by, look, and smile at it on Sunday. It originally had gloves and a snow shovel. By Monday, it looked like this:

The bottom pvc pipe arm was literally holding it up. It has since fallen over.

*While my family was here on Friday night, I was scrambling to get my most-major-Christmas-gift done. (I needed to send it back to Idaho with Alan to avoid mailing it to my sister's family.) After hours and hours, I was able to get it done. I would share, but I don't want to ruin the surprises. Multiple people are getting this gift. :) Even though I did all the work, Randy and the girls deserve a lot of credit because giving up me was a sacrifice to them.

*I was Kelsey's photographer yesterday. She is an amazing artist, and one of her latest ventures is carving wood necklaces. I'm sure my description won't do them justice, but we had a photoshoot to showcase her work so far. The snow made an amazing backdrop. If you're interested in purchasing any of her "Knotty Notions", let me know. She'll even do custom designs. I'm trying to convince her to set up and Etsy shop. She's so talented!

*Goodie bags & plates have nearly all been delivered. Just a few more to attempt delivering tonight. I have tried several families multiple times & just might give up. It's not worth the stress. It's nice having it nearly all done. Plus, I had to do hardly any preparation to get them all ready. Well worth it this year.

*We have secret friends this Christmas. They've delivered fresh cookies and a bulging gift card on two different nights. Whoever you are, thank you!!!

*I'm trying to get my house, clean and in order. Wish me well on that one! I still have one more Christmas project to finish sewing for my girls. Hopefully it will get done tonight.

*And lastly, I have a huge holiday secret I'm keeping. I can't wait to share what it was when it is revealed/over. Okay, so it's not much of a secret--more of a surprise. And no, I'm not pregnant.

How are all of your holiday plans coming along?