I'm all shopped out! Did nearly all my Christmas shopping in just over 2 hours today. In fact did it all in just 2 shops & the market. This was achieved by buying what are probably the most unoriginal presents ever but they'll just have to do. Went into Woolworths just to say goodbye, nothing left worth buying in there now anyway. Hard to believe it's closing down. Have these childhood memories of going in there on a Saturday morning to spend my pocket money on some pick n mix & stamps for my stamp collection. Did some tidying this morning until feet & rib got too painful. Becky brought Tim round to play at 10.30 then we just sat & talked for an hour. Then later I took both boys round her house while I went shopping. Then met P & went to Somerfields then picked up J who is now sitting watching 'Chicken run'. Tomorrow just need to finish tidying (which may involve putting all paperwork in carrier bag & hiding it), pick up turkey (with J's help), wrap & deliver presents, get J to put up decorations. So we're almost ready for Christmas. What I actually feel like doing tomorrow is having a nice long sleep.
P is back at work now & quite a lot better (except at the moment he's having a coughing fit).
Have made things up with 'chief person concerned' which is good, very good in fact.

Brother in law from Norfolk & his stepson unexpectedly turned up at 9.50, just as we were having our traditional Sunday morning 'hurry up it's your fault we're late for church' conversation. He said he would still be here when we got back from church so that was ok. Felt bad as they'd brought our presents & we haven't got theirs as we haven't been able to go shopping due to our various ailments.
The nativity went really, really well. Children were all so sweet & everyone said their words nice & clearly including my little narrator. They did the nativity story in the form of songs set to nursery rhyme tunes eg 'Old King Herod was a mean old king, a mean old king was he' to tune of Old King Cole.
Back to church for carol service at 5 pm, have to get there early as will probably be packed.
I'm going to have to come off as both P & J nagging me as they both say they want computer.
-_- smerth (message from J)

Something else good happened this morning. Our neighbour trimmed the leylandii he planted in front of our house. It's amazing how much more sun came in today & how much warmer the house has been.
As it's Christmas I think I'm going to take a picture of my Poinsettia to show to you.

Another bit of HOT news. We've got a heated towel rail in our bathroom. Luxury! With things like curtains & heated towel rails it's beginning to feel quite homely. I don't know if I mentioned it but next winter we're probably going to get a wood burning stove. Wonderful!

The rodents in our village must have been worried yesterday. The school newsletter advertised the carols in the pub which would 'be followed by mulled wine & mice pies'! We ended up not going which was a shame really. P had said he thought he felt well enough to go so I declined lift someone offered me, I had a bath & was all ready then he said he didn't feel up to it. J said he didn't want to go anyway.
J in really hyped up over-excited pre Christmas mood after school yesterday. He & P got Christmas lights out & strung them from balustrade, they do look quite good. For the first time I'm beginning to feel Christmassy. Right now I'm playing a Christmas CD while P & J sit under the lovely lights doing a jigsaw. (In reality they're actually both in a bit of a bad mood cos P still feels a bit rotten & J came home from nativity rehearsal at church saying he wants to quit as it's stupid & babyish & not a proper play. I said that's fine none of us'll go to church tomorrow I'll just email minister & tell him why which took wind completely out of his sails so he's grudgingly agreed to take part. P's now saying he's not sure he's up to church anyway but there is slight problem that he's supposed to be doing sound system. We'll see. J's just started singing along to 'Winter Wonderland' - sweet!)
What I wish I had energy to do is make Christmas cake & mince pies which is a bit strange as I hate mince pies. I'd just like to be able to do that sort of stuff. Perhaps next year!
Really felt God saying to me to forgive some of people at church for some of things that have happened lately, started really crying, I think the feeling that there's quite a lot of stuff I'm going through that they just don't understand is huge. But that's just the way life is sometimes, sometimes you're in a pit that the people around you just haven't been in & they can't understand. Psalm 40 says :

'I waited patiently for the Lord
he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.' (NIV)

And that's what I'm going to do, wait patiently for him cos he's going to make it alright.

What I'm wondering right now is how to stop J from scowling during nativity tomorrow.

P still not well but getting better. He managed to cook us a nice dinner last night. In fact we had venison casserole! J off school with the bug yesterday so had to miss pantomime. He wasn't too upset as it was Cinderella which he says is a 'girl's panto'. He's gone back in today for last day of term. They're allowed to bring in their DS lites to play with today. He & Adam are also responsible for emptying the school post box & distributing Christmas cards.
I'm feeling quite a lot better, managed to do a bit of pre-Christmas visitors tidying. Can now fit all 3 of us on sofa in relative comfort & can walk from living room into study. (Yes, it really is that bad).
Have been lecturing J not to repeat what he did last year. Someone who used to go to our church came to call with a card & some money for him. When I said to J that he'd been brought some money without even looking up from TV he called out 'How much?' Of course he might not get chance to repeat this appalling behaviour as who could blame person if they didn't give him anything this year?
P has just been saying how glad he is that he & J have got illness over with before Christmas. It's just occurred to me that I haven't got it, if I've caught it from them when am I going to get it? Christmas! Right now I'm going to go along with those Christians who believe that if you declare you're not going to get an illness you won't get it. So I'm not going to get horrible infection which makes you lie around on sofa sneezing all over your nearest & dearest with streaming eyes & hacking cough. I'M NOT GOING TO GET IT!
Tonight there's carols at one of the pubs in the village organised by the churches together. This is the first time they've done it, prevously there used to be carols outside the newsagents on a Saturday morning but now newsagents is a restaurant it's not the same. Trouble is I'm not sure I can go as P says he's not going as he's not well enough & I don't think can physically get in without him. Not sure I can cope with people being freaked out by wheelchair either. Have to see how much J wants to go.

A bit of good news. Had quite a nice letter from deputy head of Technology College saying they would consider J's psychologist's report when marking his entrance exam. So that's good. Probably whether he gets in depends on how well he answered questions he did answer which we just don't know. All in God's hands now. I'm not going to mention the words 'senior school' again until the fateful day in March when we find out.
J had school Christmas lunch yesterday then carol service, school party today & pantomime tomorrow. It's just non-stop fun!