1. I have a zoingy little feeling in my elbow that is making two of my fingers numb, so let's hope I can type properly. :)
2. It is amazing how extremely fast I can work under pressure-WHY I'm not able to replicate this at all times is beyond me. At any rate, I'm glad to have accomplished what I did today when I knew that company was going to be here in less than half an hour. 
 3. It is not the ideal situation to have the pizza man arrive ten minutes before schedule when you've just stepped out of the shower and he walks in the front door and yells up the stairs, "Pizza man!" It leaves you feeling rather disconcerted. Thank goodness for an 8 year old son who can cover for me. Gabe took the pizza & pop, paid the pizza man, and answered the phone all at the same time. What would I do without him?
4.  I greatly enjoyed observing my two tiny girls playing together, a game of "pretend" in the grown-up world. They can both talk now, imitating snatches of phrases they hear big people use. Both girls are wonderful little mommies, taking the greatest care of their baby dolls. They were playing in their little kitchen, which is in my big kitchen. I had made them each a hot chocolate, but put Gracie's in my Mommy-sized Tim Hortons mocha cup. She felt very mature with her "coffee", as she parented her dolly with such responsibility. Grace and Jane were having adult conversation over their drinks as I cleaned the kitchen around them. Then I needed to mop. I asked them with the greatest of respect if I could set their little chairs against the wall. "It can be Tim Hortons! Would you and Jane-Jane like to take your daughters for coffee?" Enthusiastic about this new game, they eagerly, and seriously, brought their daughters to "Timmy's". And they sat there for the next 20 minutes while I mopped-I couldn't believe it! They bring such joy to my heart. I love teaching them how to be good girls, housekeepers, mommies, women(it's all playacting now, but they are adopting ideals without knowing it) on their level with their miniature versions of real life. 
5. I had a wonderful Ladies Nite Out! I did not know how badly I needed one until I went. L. and I went for dinner before heading to Ladies Bible Study. The chicken nuggets at Chicken Cottage are to die for! The Bible Study was encouraging, refreshing, thought-provoking....Thank you, God, for godly ladies to fellowship with. But it didn't stop there. Four of us just didn't want it to end, so we went to Tim Horton's (see why my little girls find it so easy to imitate Mommy in this? lol) for further fellowship. Another two hours of 'lady talk'. Our children, funny experiences, our husbands(in a good way! :D), the Bible as applies to raising our children and encouraging each other in this aspect, encouragement in our relationships with God, grocery shopping experiences, Christmas shopping.....It was nice to relax, enjoy coffee, visit, laugh, and refresh for jumping back into the daily grind--which will come all too soon, as we didn't leave Tim Horton's till 11:00!
6. Certain things imprint themselves on my mind as classic representations of my children's personalities. A painted rock, a special picture, tiny cars all in a row that you know were left there by a meticulous little James, a dolly left precariously on a couch pillow covered by a scarf "sleeping" after the dolly's mommy has been put to bed herself. Such was the case when I pulled my van up to the house tonight. Two tiny chairs, a pink and a blue, sat atop my hilly front lawn, arranged in a conversational manner. It produced the distinct memory of yesterday afternoon when four ecstatic children were bundled up and released into the fresh snow to play. Then Grace and James got cold. James arranged both of those chairs and called, "Here, Gracie! A chair for you-pink for you and blue for me." And a grateful Gracie answering sweetly, "T'ank you, Jamesie!" as they both settled prettily down in their chairs to get warm. I could still see them there as clearly as they were yesterday. It made me smile and I purposed to leave those chairs arranged just so at the top of my hill. 
6. I think I need to go remind my husband that I am home and tempt him back inside with some hot pizza!