it happens to me every year. i always think that i have plenty of time for christmas shopping, and end up paying extra for shipping trying to get things all over the country on time. this year being no different, except for the addition of two small children instead of one. so, in desperation, i took them both on numerous errands with me this morning trying to finish things up. i usually limit myself to one relatively child-friendly errand per outing. today involved no less than 6 different stops, with long lines everywhere....

trying to explain to my son where we were going... "sunny, we're going to michael's and then to target." to which he replies, "ring doorbell and say, 'hi, michael!' " (i realized belatedly that there is a little boy at school named michael.) "no, honey, michael's is a store, not a person." strangely enough, in the parking lot on the way into michael's, we see a little boy who looks JUST LIKE the michael at school. "there he is, mommy! there's michael!" so i gave in and pretended that it WAS michael- and he just happened to live in a house where you can buy really cheap picture frames. :)

these are my stolen moments every day, the 15 minutes i grab between putting my children to sleep and moving on to my list. and today my mind is just not here - i keep thinking about the bags still to be unloaded from the car, the projects started (i am going to start and finish two christmas projects today, the super hero of craftiness), the cleaning to be done (we are hosting a youth party here tonight), the laundry to finish, the christmas letter to write (i WILL get my cards out before christmas, i WILL)....

but it's good for me to take this time to pause and breathe. a blessing. a respite from changing poopy diapers on my lap at the mall and eating chicken nuggets that have fallen on the floor (also at the mall. sunny won't eat them, but i will!)...