We are going to Gatlinburg March 26th-29th!  It is a gift for my mother’s 50th birthday. Of course she is being flakey on me and asking if we will go if she doesn’t. Who thinks twice about a free trip to G’burg???

THIS is where we are staying.

I better think of something good for Daddy.

I had another night of no sleep. I went to sleep around 5am. Sadness. I woke up at 8am and took a shower. I am tired but not sleepy.

My Mother in Law is very…. uh….. she likes attention… she likes things a certain way… she gets her feelings hurt easily… she wont say anything. Larry usually figures it out. Well…. Danny’s Mom, Dad, Grandma, and Papaw did NOTHING for Thanksgiving. That is the first time. It was weird.

So…. I emailed my Sister in law, Jill. I told her I wanted a Christmas Dinner and so did Danny. I am tired of finger foods, pizza, and the ever popular Cracker Barrel cop-out. WAIT! That reminds me… we did all meet at Cracker Barrel the Sunday after Thanksgiving with Net, Larry, Brian, and Jill. ONLY because I suggested it. But Danny’s Grandparents weren’t there. They wont be around too much longer.. we need to get together as much as possible.

Anyway… so Jill agreed! She thought maybe Net felt like she did everything and didn’t want to anymore. So me and Jill planned the whole meal. I am cooking the turkey, dressing, and gravy. Jill is doing lots of sides. Danny’s Aunt Carol is famous for her dessert concoctions. She was excited that we asked her to make some. She said she was bringing LOTS! We asked Net to make her famous mashed potatoes and green beans. And Danny requested her sausage pinwheels. So…. it all worked out and everybody is happy.

Come to find out… Larry told Danny that Net’s health is bothering her and it is hard for her to cook all day. I know she has hands and feet issues… she has arthritis and migraine issues. She is always laying down because of a headache or wearing braces on her wrist or wrapping her feet up. She is one broke lady.

So… so far, I have the dressing done, 2 mock apple pies done, the eggs boiled for deviled eggs, and the turkey is going in the oven as soon as I hit “publish” on this post!

We are all suppose to be over there around 5pm. I still have to make PB Ritz dipped in chocolate… stuff the eggs… bathe the kids… wash hair… get dressed. We will take a family pic tonight. I will make a Christmas picture card when I get home tonight and send it to everyone.

Then tomorrow is the BIG day! I am excited to see the kids give their gifts. Maw Maw is coming over.. maybe Daddy… and I am cooking a HUGE breakfast! Whew! Then I will CRASH and burn! lol THANKFULLY… this year we don’t have a lot of things that have to be unscrewed and unbolted from boxes and packaging.

Later…

Whoever  said people spending money they don’t have is America’s problem hit the nail on the head. All these people with loans above and beyond their limits are the ones in deep doo doo. It is really sad that we have reached the age of credit. For a lot of people… credit makes them feel important. What is sad is when all these banks go belly up.. they are going to call all the loans and we are all going to be royally screwed.

So basically… I am VERY thankful for a cash only Christmas. I would hate to have to pay the finance charges and such on Christmas. Barkey worked out an AWESOME budget plan with us. I know I talk about it a lot and so does Danny but it is LITERALLY changing our lives. As Dave Ramsey says, changing our family tree. Wow. Powerful.

This year we have been able to do Christmas all for ourselves with cash only. And it is turning out to be a good Christmas. We have even had the privilege to help others. That makes me REALLY happy. Giving is an AWESOME thing.

Today we started a new tradition. I hope to still do this when my kids are all grown up. It was soooooooooo fun! I thought of it and Danny agreed and we put it to practice today.

All the kids got $1 for each sibling and $2 each for me and Danny. We hit the Dollar Tree. They each got their own basket and went to town. They LOVED it! It promoted GIVING, which is the WHOLE POINT of Christmas. And it made them stop and think about their siblings and what they might like.. PERFECT excerise in consideration. They will get a nice dose of the joy of giving. I can’t wait to let them give their presents out on Christmas morning. And it helps teach them to keep a secret. They are DYING to tell but no one has yet.

I will be surprise if they make it all the way to Christmas without letting the secret out. haha. Oh yeah… the girls got to get a present for Carolina and the boys got one for Blue. They really liked that. They are so excited. It is funny. It put LOTS of presents under the tree. I am cracking up waiting for some of them to be opened. It is funny how well they know each other. Silas and Allie picked the same thing for Toby. I had to tell Silas so he could get something else. It was something NO ONE but your sibling would know about you. HAHAHA! I wont rat Toby out but it was HILARIOUS! Caetie asked me if anyone got repeats.. I told her that Allie and Silas almost did for Toby.. she GUESSED what it was. haha. So she knows him well too. If I told you what it was, you would CRACK UP!

Allie is a TOTAL Daddy’s girl. She was really trying hard to think of something loving to give him.  She wanted to get him flowers but we couldn’t find any that looked good without a vase. They were all kind that went in the styrofoam bouquet. YUCK. She found something else. It was sweet. Danny better appreicate it and realize how much effort they put into this. Awwwwww… Toby too. He asked me over and over if I thought Dad would like what he got. We will have to be careful not to say if we have a favorite. LOL! It might crush someone. Even Ben was cracking me up! He got Allie a headband with Blue hair like Caetie’s. It was funny! He picked all his own stuff too. I was amazed.

So now, with us learning the whole budget thing.. and using envelopes… Starting in January we are putting Christmas on the budget to save up a little all year. I am going to do the same with the kids. They will get a budget envelope that has Christmas Fund wrote on it. They need to put $1 a month in the envelope at least.. more if they want. But I am requiring $12 by December. I told them they could buy presents for everyone again with their own money and something for 5 of their friends. Their eyes lit up. They were excited then. I can’t hardly wait. This is going to be soooo cool! I will take tons of pics! Just thinking about all the things Danny got cracks me up and warms my heart. We have some good good kids.