A Very Merry Christmas

Well in just about an hour and a half, the clock will strike 0001 (military time) and it will be Christmas Day! I can't begin to explain the excitement! I almost feel as if I am a little kid again, which is how I have been feeling a lot--in a good way. I have traveled back in time, living at home, going to the high school everyday (where I am long term substituting), and doing chores.
All week long we have been going to this relatives house or that relatives house for Christmas dinners and celebrations, but tomorrow is the time we have all been waiting for...SANTA'S COMING! I know him!!!
It has been different, since this is the first time I have had a family around to celebrate with. It is exactly what I had imagined in my head; love and joy and cheer and running around with cousins and being merry. I have been over and abundantly blessed this year. Even if I ended up waking up on the 23rd at around 0500 crying in pain. Every time I swallowed, it was like someone was stabbing me in my throat. I tried to go back to sleep, but that just wasn't an option. One of my first thoughts was, 'I don't want to miss Christmas!' My mom-mom, Diane, drove me to Walmart so I could invest in some numbing spray and then drove through Steak n' Shake for a little milkshake. Ice cream makes everything better! With the numbing spray and some Tylenol, I was able to sleep a few more hours. When I woke up, I was still in pain--so I called my doctor who told me I could come in if I could get there in 20 minutes. Yikes! I didn't care, I halfway wiped the acne medication off my face, pulled on some sweatpants and ran out the door. I drove a little bit fast on the way there and made it just in time. Turns out, I had strep throat. Gross. I got my prescription for penicillin and was on my way. I drove home, and Diane went to fill my prescription for me and got me a shake to numb my throat a little bit. (I loved all the ice cream that comes with strep!) I basically became one with my bed for the next day, and found out that strep is a great weight loss program! It comes with loss of appetite and nausea! Oh, and a great heating system in the form of a fierce fever. I have had the penicillin in my system for about 36 hours now and am feeling 90% better. I am still a little nauseous, but I downed a Jimmy Johns sandwich earlier, and it was fantastic! Even with this little hiccup, I am totally blessed this Christmas season.

I just recently found out that one of my best friends is going to have her clinical about an hour and a half away from my house. We have been apart since we became friends, but since the invention of facebook and texting in addition to random weekend visits (or even just a 24 hour section of time) here and there--we have stayed and grown as friends. So, I could hardly contain my excitement when she texted me to tell me that she will live so close for 6 weeks this spring!

Oh, and I am madly in puppy love with my boyfriend who gets on a plane to fly from Kuwait to the United States in the next couple of days. We have now been apart for almost half of our relationship--but with a few bumps, we're still doing pretty good. I am grateful for this man who has taught me that it's okay to love again after three years of a sort of a drought. He is amazing and I love him very much. We are going to do our own Christmas when he gets home and settled.

I have also been blessed by a very special little boy who has been working really hard to do better in school. I have been volunteering a little bit at an after school program called G.U.M. Park, which is where I met him. He has really touched my heart, and he has big dreams to play football. Today, I got a Christmas card in the mail from him thanking me for helping him. It was so sweet!

My sister, Taylor, and some of her friends at school have totally blown me away. They organized an item drive at their high school and collected over 1500 items to ship overseas to some Soldiers in Afghanistan. They mailed 32 boxes of goodies and selflessly gave of their time and efforts for these 200 young men fighting for our freedom. I couldn't have been more proud of her, it gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.

I could go on, and on about the recent blessings in my life--but I would just write until my fingers were blistered and calloused--and I don't know if I mentioned, but I have some presents to open in the morning.

God bless you all and have a *Merry Christmas*