Last Minutes

The countdown toward Christmas has begun and yet I have not even figured out how to tackle the massive wish list being drummed up in my daughter's head.

Lucky for us, Ya is too young to notice that he only has one present under the tree... but Chi, she's been counting presents and reading names for awhile now and noticing complaining about not seeing hers on any gifts. This is because most 6-year-olds know how to sneak peaks into the Christmas goodies. They know how to check what is there for them and then fake surprise (or show dismay and disappointment) when the gift is revealed on Christmas day. I'm riding around with two of her gifts in the trunk right now and I'm praying that she'll actually like what I picked out (because it's not on that list).

I think her grandparents gathered up a few of her greatest desires: Easy Bake Oven, Dollhouse, Nintendo DS. So I hope she'll not notice that Santa has a present for her, but Mommy does not... it would be devastating if Santa missed the house.

I did manage to complete the one-gift-per-person (self imposed) quota of things for my family, though this year I really feel like it was more a matter of giving from the heart than giving them what they wanted needed. Perhaps God is trying to remind me of the reason for the season? In a perfect world I could grant the request of each of those closest to me, but I can't. I just don't have the means this year.