ready

The house was completely cleaned and ready to be set up for Christmas before we left on Thanksgiving vacation, because I *have* learned my lesson, folks!  I know that the ideas in my head don't translate into real time effectively!  I know that just because all of my ideas will fit onto a to-do list, it doesn't mean that a normal human, without paid staff can complete those things.

So...the ornaments were taken out and this year's ornaments were ordered, 

I pre-ordered our flocked tree from the nursery (that was delayed by the ice storm),

the holiday tablescapes was decided upon, 

the mantlescape and stockings were laid out, 

the decorations were sorted, 

lists of things we still needed to buy were made, 

and outdoor lights were checked the week before we left for Nauvoo.  Don even had the ground lights staked into the lawn before my Dad arrived for Pollyanna's Thanksgiving Program.  

Next year, I'm going to be better about having the Christmas cards ordered earlier.  The photo was ready, but the newsletter wasn't and that missing week in between Thanksgiving and December really slowed me down.  Other than that, we were ready for the most wonderful time of the year!'

*photos were taken on Christmas Eve, December 2013