deck the halls and all that jazz

contrary to what my posting might indicate, we have been rather busy partaking in many holiday related activities.
friday afternoon we bundled up the boy and went out into the wild, windy, winter weather to pick out a tree with grandma and grandpa h. due to the boy's boogery-ness and the general frigidity, i only managed a couple photos, but we quickly found the best tree ever and cut it down to take home with us.
we then proceeded to the grandparents' house to use their fabulous machine in the making of our christmas card. i'm not post a photo of said card because i got admonished last year for showing a spoiler before christmas. in any case, the card turned out pretty much as i had hoped, and i was mightily pleased at not having to cut them by hand. woot!

saturday morning we were out and about with our sniffly boy. we had groceries to get, a bank appointment to keep, and lots of christmas shopping left to do. it was a marathon of a day, but we managed to hit nearly all our stops and get all our gifting done. just a few more things to pick up, and then we'll be able to sit back and happily watch the shoppers from afar.
that evening we put up the tree and our other decorations. the house is now suitably festive to suit our (harried and) festive mood.

sunday was a day of church and wrapping. i wrapped until my wrapper was sore. and i still have more to do, but at least i'm well on my way to having everything complete by next week. we want to free up as much time as possible so we can play with the mississippi crew while they're here - we want to enjoy them as much as possible, because it will be a long time until we'll get another chance.
today we're hoping to make some goodies for my co-workers (if i can manage to keep the boy happy long enough to get anything done) and assemble christmas cards. tomorrow is my last day of work for the year (hoorah!) after that, it's holidays or bust!