Twas the morn before Christmas

And all through the house, only Chip was stirring... "I WANNA PLAY Wii!!!"

We told him he was staying in bed til 7 and I'm on watch to see that he does.  I came down to let the dog out, put the coffee on and check email.

I hear the hum of the furnace and the gurgle of the coffee maker.  The dog is splayed at my feet and every few minutes she sighs contentedly.

Shigwa is playing with a little toy we call her baby.  Its a white stuffed animal no bigger than a small fist and she licks it and tosses it and chases it when she flips it away.  So far she's turned a dozen somersaults, laid on her side and rolled down the stairs and now she's got a real snaky expression on her face and her tail is twitching like crazy.  She's gained so much weight but you'd never know it -- all that poofy fur hides it.  Because hardly anyone can hold her, no one noticed the weight gain.  I caught her the other day just for a routine "well check" and was amazed by her bulk.

Sarah, the mother kitty, will miss Christmas most of all when it finally passes.  Whereas the kids are anticipating Christmas morning, with presents to open and stockings to dump, Sarah will miss the enormous stack of presents that are under the tree.  She navigates the packages and gets buried beneath them, then peeps out from behind the manger to watch what the dog is up to.  Just like a kid, it seems that Sarah likes to find new avenues to get to her favorite vantage points.

Last night Hannah heard something in the garage she thinks was a cat.  I haven't seen Loona this morning yet but she could be cozied in with Casey as she often is at this time of morning.  Olive, the barn kitty, was still cozily ensconced in her heated hut.  I just sent Chip up to check -- no Loona.  When Casey gets up I'll have her bundle up and go out to the garage to see if she can hear her or find her.   (post script: Loona just mosied across the living room floor and found a place amongst the packages.)

Chip is now awake, obviously, and I hear Joe moving about in our room above me.  The dog has now jumped up to settle herself on the couch across from me.  Chip's lips are moving a mile a minute.  He hasn't said ONE SENTENCE yet that hasn't included the word CHRISTMAS.  Just now he said "Christmas is SO DELIGHTFUL!"

I guess I should grab more coffee and get on with the morning.

Merry Christmas my friends.  Or Happy Holidays if you are so inclined.  I'm a Merry Christmas sorta gal but I get that not everyone swings that way.