The Night Before Christmas AND...

Oh, the anticipation of the night before Christmas! John Owen has asked me twice TODAY how many days there are until Christmas. I can't wait to see their faces on Christmas Eve as they put out the reindeer food and Santa snacks! And then to see the reactions to Christmas morning...I just can't wait!

And just like their anticipation of Christmas, we, too, are anticipating something GREAT!  But tonight, our anticipation is for something a little different than what Christmas Day brings...
We can't believe it, but it's the night before we are scheduled to leave for our trip! Our 10 year anniversary trip, that is! In the morning, we'll set off for Hawaii! ALOHA!

I have been as busy as ever trying to get everything ready for Christmas WELL AHEAD of time because I knew Dec. 17th would be here before I could turn around! All the presents have been wrapped, teacher gifts have been delivered, Christmas cards are out, bags are packed, Fa La La La La-La La La La! :-)

I am truly excited about this trip to Hawaii with my husband, but I will be honest that the excitement is also coupled with a sinking feeling in my stomach due the fact that I have never been this far away from my children and never away from them for this length of time. 2 or 3 days is the most I've ever been away from the boys...when I was pregnant with Mary Claire! And I've BARELY ever been away from her since she was born! I have kept my tears to myself for the last few days, but my poor best friend had to witness the tears this afternoon when we talked of things that I didn't want to vocalize, but had to be discussed when leaving your children in the care of others. (Maybe strangers will wonder if I'm NUTS when they see tears in my eyes at the airport or maybe they'll understand because they, too, have felt this feeling...?)

Despite terribly missing our children, I know we will enjoy ourselves and the much needed rest and relaxation and time together. And I can say with all honesty that we will be waiting with anticipation at the sight of these 3 little people's faces at the airport next week when we return home!

And then their anticipation of Christmas Day!

Merry Christmas!