Josh and Becca Thrap and Family

This is my really crazy time of year.  I know that most people are busier than usual this time of year too because of the holidays, but I have holiday preparations PLUS Elise’s birthday (Dec 5), Jacob’s birthday (Dec 11), my dad’s birthday (Dec 14), my friend Jeanna’s birthday (Dec 23), The Wheeler’s anniversary, my brother-in-law Scott’s birthday (Dec 25), the myriad of Christmas gatherings with various branches of family and friends, then New Year’s and Danaka’s birthday (Jan 3), Kate’s birthday (Jan 16th) and Josh’s birthday (Jan 23)!  And of course for planning purposes there are all kinds of other things going on to work around like my uncles b-days in Dec, Danaka’s husband’s b-day (Dec 22), the kids’ school programs, church Christmas parties (which, I was partially responsible for this year!  What a fiasco!  It was the same day that I had the kids’ birthday parties and Josh had signed us up to bring food too so after the kids’ parties we cooked and and then got everyone showered dressed etc and Josh took the kids to the nativity rehearsal and called me when I was going to be working on the bulletins for the program to say that no one there had a script so I ditched the bulletins to make a new script and copies for everyone then by the time I got to that party I had SUCH a headache!  I had to leave early.  Josh said the program went pretty well, I hope that he’s right and not just trying to make me feel better because so many people were attributing it all to me.  Thankfully, it wasn’t ALL on me and the others involved all did well.), out-of-staters coming to visit, and that’s all not even including the every day stuff like Josh’s work demands (oh yeah, and they had a holiday party too), and the kids’ school demands (like needing treats on their birthdays etc but they have to be pre-packaged and Jacob’s class has a nut allergy and Elise’s class has an allergy to corn and in case you’ve never thought about it, there is almost nothing these days that isn’t made with corn syrup or in a facility that processes nuts!!!)  Ok, so I’ve gotten a little behind here on the blog but thankfully most of the stressful part of this month for me is behind now so I can kind of just enjoy the rest of the month.  I mean, it’s still crazy busy, but there aren’t as many deadlines and most of the things I’m working on now are things I’m doing because I want to like holiday baking and gift wrapping and sending out Christmas cards.  And now thanks to the help of my wonderful family the laundry is finally being washed and put away (it was starting to take on a life of its own!) and the kids’ rooms are not exactly clean, but they’re cleaned out–and we’re making several trips to Goodwill and the kids have donated some things to Toys for Tots and we’re clearing out some of our excess ornaments for a local elderly care facility and cans to the Food Pantry so I’m feeling less overwhelmed by all of our “stuff.”  Now, if you’ve made it through this rant, here are some pictures from the kids’ birthdays.  Enjoy!