Getting started ...

Just a few days from now I am going to mail a very large box filled with Christmas gifts and other goodies to Ft. Bliss, Texas ~ so that hopefully when I arrive at Jesse and Diana's on December 10, it will be there waiting for me. Every gift has been searched for and purchased with JOY.

The last few years, I have attempted to carry on my Grandma Mary's wonderful tradition of baking beautiful Christmas cookies. When I was a young girl, I looked forward to her cookies almost as much as I enjoyed opening presents! However, last year, my battery-powered cookie press began giving me problems and I was dreading trying to figure it out again this year. But in order to make butter spritz cookies, a cookie press is a MUST! Mr. Jones has a MANUAL cookie press ~ and it is the very same kind my grandma used with amazing success ~ but I was barely successful with a battery-powered one: the batteries ran out too quickly, the cookie dough was tricky, the entire contraption was a pain to assemble, some of the plastic parts had broken ... !

My shopping last week took me to Bed, Bath & Beyond (definitely one of my favorite stores) and I stumbled upon (quite by accident!) a new fangled Cuisinart ELECTRIC cookie press! I did need help (aka Mr. Jones) with the assembly of it ~ but only on the very last step! It makes beautiful little cookies. I am so pleased. I will bake dozens of several different kinds of cookies and then pick and choose which ones go into which decorated tins ... such lovely little presents! :)

Christmas is just around the corner ... 34 days to be exact! It is my favorite time of year. I began shopping early this year to avoid the stress of shopping with crowds. I've received everyone's "Wish List" (almost) and have practically finished ALL shopping! I designed our Christmas card a month ago and have assembled almost half of them. Mr. Jones has designed a very pretty mailing label for us so that I do not have to hand address all of them this year. Mr. Jones has grown a very substantial beard (I promise to snap a picture of him very soon to show you) for Festival of Lights this year, and he has been listening to his practice choir CD in the afternoons. And next week (after Thanksgiving) it will be time to decorate our house ... but then I'm going to TRY to sit back and really really soak in the true JOY and beauty of this holy season!