mrs. claus takes a break

It's 11:30 on Sunday morning.  I should be at church, but I'm not.  

Last night we had the Branch Christmas Party and oh doggy did we work hard!  I've been fighting a really bad chest cold for the past week, so yesterday was a test of mind over combusting lungs.  Mr. F and I cooked like our lives depended on it all day so that we had a scrumptious meal.

The party was, I am very pleased to say, a huge success!  We had probably double the number of people any of us had imagined would come.  Our little hall was stuffed to capacity with people reveling in the joy of Christmas together.  And the food!  It was soo good!  We made our first ever turkey (which our one friend assured me was the best thing on the table) and a huge pot of mashed potatoes.  There was roasted ham, pork, noodles, meatballs, roasted vegetables, and an insurmountable smorgasbord of desserts.

A highlight was the arrival of Santa, who was ushered in by a quiet hall and the gentle jingle of bells.  The handful on children there weren't very impressed, but our vast congregation of Asians swarmed Santa like he was Justin Bieber.  Santa spent the next half hour taking photos and giving gifts to all the good boys and girls.  Lucky for me, he still had some stamina at the end and I was able to steal a kiss.  I'm very biased towards our Santa.

At the end of the night, we walked home exhaustedly happy with legs and feet aching.  By all accounts we should have crashed into our bed and slept the sleep of the dead, but we didn't.  My chest cold caught up with me and I awoke every hour on the hour hacking miserably.  At about one in the morning, I finally took some nyquil and hoped for the best.  My sweet husband cuddled me the whole night through, rubbing my back and holding me close when the coughing got the most severe.  He never murmured about being awoken for the umpteenth time or that I was shaking the bed horribly.  He just told me he loved me and did all that he could to make me feel better.

Well, now it is Sunday, and neither of us woke up even remotely on time for church.  I am writing this from the comfort of my bed while listening to the BBC Pride and Prejudice and plan on staying here for the duration of the day.  My body made it through so much this week, it only seems fair that it should have a break, too.