The holiday season is totally upon us. I've been off work since Friday the 17th, busily getting ready for everything, but I think a time will come when we just say screw it and decide that family can deal with a messy house. After traveling last year with a 9-month-old, we decided we absolutely were not going to travel with a 21-month-old and a 6-month-old. So, everyone else is coming here. Anyway, on Friday Beth and I realized more or less at the last moment that it was date night, so we shot the kids over to church just after I got home from work and went out to eat and do some shopping. Didn't get much done, as we couldn't find much of what we wanted. We only looked around town though. So we wound up at home, shopping the internet. I'd already done some online shopping last week so we are buying most of the presents from Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com, and Travelsmith.com. I also have spent a few days working feverishly getting the room downstairs ready for visitors...the last piece of drywall (mud will have to wait) ought to go up tomorrow. Saturday, I had a deacon's meeting at church and then sneaked down to Maple Lane Farm to get Beth's Christmas present...a gorgeous cherry jewelry chest. We saw it last time we looked around there and she loved it so much that I decided to get it for her if it was still there, and it was. And it was 15% off. We also bowled Saturday, not a bad night for me (159-162-121) but horrible for Beth (won't tell scores, she has a sore shoulder). We rented "Elf" and "Dodgeball" Monday, watched the latter tonight as we wrapped presents...hated it. The movie, not wrapping.