Misc. happenings and the fourth Advent

There are so many things that we've done over the past few days that I'm behind on sharing with you all. Here's a brief summary of some Moss happenings:

- Christmas shopping! Patrick and I have been playing tag-team in going out into the mad, mad shopping world to purchase gifts for each other and our family. We both have done our share of shopping and I think we're finally done!
- Christmas baking! I made some sugar cookie dough on Friday afternoon. While I had been shopping that night, I picked up a container of 100 cookie cutters with all kinds of shapes and sizes. Patrick thought I was crazy buying all those cookie cutters, but I saw years of baking cookies down the road and they were only $10. Anyway, when I got home, Patrick and I rolled the dough and cut out some Christmas shapes and enjoyed piping hot sugar cookies while watching Christmas Vacation. It was a fun late-night snack and movie event!
- Christmas parties! We went to Patrick's office Christmas party on Saturday night. We were able to bring Mallory and she was a big hit. It was nice to socialize, show off our daughter, eat some good food, and be a part of a nice gathering.
- Christmas wrapping! After church on Sunday, Patrick and I spent a lot of time that afternoon wrapping gifts for each other, Mallory, and our family. I usually watch "It's a Wonderful Life" when I wrap gifts, which is what I did. I ended up watching it one and a half times! It's a great movie...and we had lots of gifts to wrap!
- Christmas worship! We enjoyed church again this past Sunday. They're a loving and hospitable body of people in a God-loving church. We attended both morning and evening services and joined in on a good ol' Southern Baptist social afterward. Good food. Great fellowship. Mallory has been having issues with being in the nursery. She DOES NOT like being away from Mommy. She almost hyperventilates as she works herself up. I feel so bad for her and the nursery workers! The nursery workers have been very patient with her and I've been so appreciative of their service to us by handling a crying 8-month old!
- Christmas worship (at home)! We enjoyed our fourth Advent service this week. We read about who our promised Savior was (from John..."In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God") and reviewed a little of the prior weeks. We sang "One Small Child" and "Hark the Harold Angels Sing". As we approach the holiday weekend, we're looking forward to reading about our Savior's birth and the response of Mary, Joseph, Wisemen, and Shepards to His coming. We're looking forward to being with extended family this weekend and sharing our final Advent services with them!
- Christmas fellowship! Last night, we had our first guests over for dinner (other than family, of course)! There is a couple we met at church who we seemed to click with quickly. We invited them over last night and enjoyed a fun evening of food and fellowship. Josh is a physical therapy student at ETSU, so he and Patrick had a lot to talk about. Rosana just graduated with a Business degree, so we had a lot to talk about! They just got married back in May and just joined this church we've attended back in the summer. They don't know a lot of couples either, so we both really needed this time with each other. Anyway, I think we've found some good friends!!! God has definitely provided fellowship we so greatly needed!

So, that's it in a nutshell. There is so many other things to share, but I'll have to stop there for now. Today is Mallory's 8-month birthday, so it's picture day. Plus, I've got a bunch of errands to run before my folks come up for a visit tomorrow. They'll stay through Friday morning and then we'll leave on Friday afternoon to Charlotte for the holiday weekend.