Merry Christmas from the Henrys!

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'Tis the Season Hodgepodge!

Thanksgiving is over - the season of preparing to welcome the Christ child is upon us - but lets pause in the midst of us, grab a cup of coffee, and join in for the weekly Hodgepodge!  (And after you have left a kind comment - remember, I'm a comment junkie! - feel free to join Joyce here for the original posts!)

Happy Hodgepodge everyone!  :-)

1. Do you send Christmas cards? If so about how many will you send this year? How do you display the cards you receive? Or don't you? (gasp!)

Oh, I absolutely LOVE to send and receive Christmas cards!  And I love the newsletters that come with it - go ahead, brag on your kids, every day is a gift, so celebrate!  We will probably send out close to a hundred cards - that's what happens when you are a military family, we have friends all over!  I vary from year to year on how I display them - taped to our coat closet door, in a basket... I think this year it will be in a basket on our wine rack!

2. When do kids become adults?

Oh my - hard question.  I know some teenagers who are so mature and morally upright, that I'm sure they could come in and run my household better than I do on some days!  but then I know of some 20-30 year olds who are still living with their parents and are quite happy not really growing up.

So I don't think it's necessarily a chronological age issue - although I DO think there is a certain point where you've just got to "tough love" your kids and force them to grow up a bit.  That's just me.  So many hallmarks of what being an adult is:  holding and maintaining a job, moving out and being responsible for rent/utilities/upkeep, realizing the balance between work and play, etc.  

In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy my kids while they are kids!  

3. Does your 'beauty regimen' change with the seasons?

OK, first you would have to assume that I even HAVE a beauty regimen!  So, I would have to say no, other than I use more face moisturizer in the winter because ohmygoodness, it is skin-cracking dry here!

4. What's something you like to eat that might cause another person to turn up their nose?

Depends on the person - my daughter despises potatoes (I know, and we live in IDAHO!), but I love a good baked potato, so she would be in the corner gagging while I ate it.  I also really like broken up graham crackers in a glass covered with milk, eaten with a spoon - and my husband thinks that is the weirdest thing in the world.  

5. Gloves or mittens?

Gloves - you just can't do anything without fingers!

6. What's the longest queue you've ever been in? Was it worth it? Queue=line but doesn't queue sound nicer?

The line for "Test Track" at Epcot (Disney World) - it was the one ride we didn't have a Fast pass for, and we waited almost 2 hours!  And while my teenage son (who is sitting next to me right now) thinks it was the best ride in the entire world and completely worth it, I beg to differ... 

7. Besides Christmas, what is one thing you are looking forward to in the month of December?

I love the whole season - the fresh pine, the candles, the music, the church services... but aside from all of the Christmas stuff, it's also the birth month of my eldest and middle children!  So, happy birthday to my Big C who will be 14 next week, and to Middle C who will be 10 at the end of the month!

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I would really appreciate your prayers as I leave on Friday to go help my parents settle into their new home.  I will be gone for 5 days, and my dear husband gave up an invaluable two week training course in Florida so that I could go and be there for my parents right now.  I so love him and the way he puts family above all else.  Please pray for him too - he is an amazing father, and a good cook, and all of that - but managing all of the household stuff plus the kids schedules and everything, well, it'll be fun!  :-)

Blessings on you this week!