all i want for christmas...

This will definitely be one of our leaner Christmases, maybe the leanest one so far. That can be disheartening, for sure, so I'm trying to focus on all that we DO have. (That's the main reason why I wanted to write all those thankful posts in November.) Right now, all I want for Christmas is to be able to give the kiddos the gifts they want most, to spend Christmas Day surrounded by loved ones at my grandma's, and to go to Iowa for a few days and see more loved ones there.

But, dear Santa, if you're reading this... it sure would be wonderful to find a winning lottery ticket in my stocking this year! :) It doesn't have to be one of those mega-million winners, either (though I wouldn't turn my nose up at one, LOL)! Just enough so that we could pay off all our bills, buy gifts for our family members, and have some fun money left over ~ that would be great! This is what I would buy for myself, if I could: 3 tickets to see Wicked (for me, Em, and Nick), a new, warm winter coat, the supplies to finish up the home improvement projects we started but haven't been able to finish (tiles and a cupboard for the laundry area, crown molding for the living room, and closet doors for my bedroom), some new scrap supplies to play with, and some clothes that fit.

That's not asking too much, is it? ;)