saturday

Christmas is bearing down on us.
We are thinking about getting ready.

Oldest came by to give Middle his birthday present.





Middle did not have that dvd (that's what he is saying in the photo) and it was a good choice.



They look big, don't they.
With a new baby born just before Middle's birthday this week I've been thinking a lot about when he was born.
A new baby at Christmas-time. It was nice.



We sent this card the year he was born...


I was going through my card box this afternoon.




I CANNOT buy more cards next year.
And, if you are on my Christmas card list and receive one you've gotten before don't bother to complain about it - I have to use them ALL.

Over the years I have tucked all kinds of papers into this box...



the neighborhood directory, gift tags, bits of ribbon I've saved...




...an 18 year old letter to Santa



a lovely envelope with no card...



a letter my grandmother wrote a couple of weeks before she died -



a button (from what?), some pretty paper I couldn't part with, my birth announcement.



A card from flowers K had sent on my birthday a few years ago. He was away on a shoot and the florist signed K's first and last name - I smile when I imagine K telling them to write 'because I love you' on the card and then them signing both his names.

I wrote out the cards for K's family.
And one for an internet friend...



We need to do up the house,
write out the cards,
bake breads for the neighbors,
and cookies for us -
wrap the gifts,
buy the food and have our parties.
It will go so slowly while it's happening - and seem to have passed so quickly by the time it's over.