Ready or not, Christmas is coming!

As the song goes—It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, both inside and outside the windows of the Dean household. Snow is covering the ground. Our halls are decked. Cookies are in the freezer—thanks to a church Cookie Walk. Most gifts are bought and wrapped. Not that everything is done--the cards aren't out yet--but we’re on track. What a relief. Derailing gets ugly.

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And I’m getting some writing done. How great is that? Well, I'll admit I'm behind with my word count but I'll catch up. This week looks less busy than last. Ah, how long have I been saying that? LOL

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So how are you doing with Christmas preparations? Rank your readiness from pulling out your hair to feeling downright smug or somewhere in between.

Whether we're prepared or not, like that precious baby 2,000 plus years ago, Christmas will arrive on schedule. Do you ever feel sympathy for Mary and Joseph? They must’ve questioned the timing of Jesus’ birth. A room in the inn surely would’ve been nicer than a smelly stable. But then, would the shepherds, men at the fringe of society, been welcome inside to worship? Would the birth of our Savior have held the charm and mystery it does for us today if He hadn’t been tucked in a manger and surrounded by God’s creatures on that starlit night?

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Maybe that simple stable setting should be a reminder not to kill ourselves trying to make everything perfect. No need to pipe your dinner guests' initials on their twice-baked potatoes like one Seeker has been known to do. LOL Perfection is rarely attainable. No matter how organized we are, something is bound to go wrong. One year we were visiting grandparents and Santa brought gifts to only one of our daughters. Not good to discover Christmas morning. While I herded the girls back to the bedroom, Santa found a second bag in the basement and corrected the error. But, for a few minutes there, I had visions of that bag at home--3 1/2 hours away. Any fiasco or near fiasco in your Christmas memories?

Even if we want to simplify, I’m guessing we wouldn’t forego some of our traditions. The things we do, the people we see, the decorations we display, the music we listen to, the movies we watch, the goodies we eat that all make the celebration special.

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When our girls were small, one of our traditions was to sang carols each night before their bedtime. A nice way to wind them down when they were bouncing off the walls with excitement. On the day we decorated the tree, we bought eggnog that the girls sipped from their Santa mugs. Most years our children, now our grandchildren, entertained us with songs or a show they've put on. American Idol is not beating down our door. I'd like to continue the tradition of singing carols but I'm outvoted every year. When had our household become a democracy? The last thing we do before we open gifts is to read the Christmas story from Luke and remember the greatest gift of all. Though I'll admit the kids are eyeing the tree.

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What are the Christmas movies that your family insists on seeing every year? "It's a Wonderful Life" and "The Christmas Story" head our list.

I'm sentimental about family heirlooms and ornaments like the Santa kicking up his heels that belonged to my mother and my husband's grandmother's quilt covering our kitchen table at Christmas. The ornaments our girls made out of paper, plaster and tuna cans are still hung on the downstairs tree. A paper angel proves that raisin eyes don't last forever. Painted gourds, feltkin ornaments, a needlepoint manger scene that I've made bring back memories of past Christmases.

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Our Christmas Eve dinner is spaghetti with meat sauce. The tradition started when my mother worked until late afternoon on Christmas Eve then hosted extended family that evening. The sauce could be prepared ahead and made clean-up easy, at least compared to turkey with all the trimmings. But more importantly, we all love it and no, we're not Italian. Anyone serve spaghetti at Christmas?

One tradition in Seekerville any time of the year is sharing our good news. Today I’m sharing the cover of my March 2011 release, Wanted: A Family. I don’t have the official back cover blurb from Steeple Hill, but here’s my mini version: Pregnant widow Callie Mitchell and ex-con Jake Smith, an angry orphan searching for his birth mother, stand against the disapproving town when Callie turns her Victorian into an unwed mothers' home.

Leave a comment and I’ll enter you in the drawing for a copy of Wanted: A Family as soon as my author copies arrive.

Thanks for taking the time to visit Seekerville during this hectic time of the year! Merry Christmas!

Janet