With Visions of Sugar Plums.....

 dancing in my head, I went to sleep having finally finished the gingerbread house and taken it down to Macey's for their contest. Surprised at all the entries, I will now anxiously await the announcement of the winners. Macey's is closed on Sundays, which is almost unheard of for a grocery store, but they believe in honoring the Sabbath and giving their employees a day of rest. I really like that, and wish more businesses thought that way. There was a time they did.

 See how many different candies and goodies you can find in this design. For me, the philosophy of creating a gingerbread house is to utilize as many different candies in a design as possible, but still have the house look pretty and inviting. The idea is to make a gingerbread house look yummy, don't you think?

Candy selection has changed over the years, so that creates a new challenge, but I've already had my 3 am creative muse where I thought of ways to use what I did find available, for next year. I'd better write them down though as I know I will forget. I need to get ready for church, and my class of 7-8 year olds, but I wanted to share what I've been up to this week.
This was the last major project of the year, everything else is going to be slow and perhaps will teach me to really think through what I do rather than launch into creativity without a real plan. My father-in-law is struggling through his last days here on earth, and I'm the primary caretaker so although I may have a little time to create, for the most part my days are filled with keeping him comfortable, and helping my family deal with this. I've always tried to find a special way to serve others this time of year, but this time I need not look any farther than my own family. It's a hard but special time as we prepare for the change in our family, with gratitude that we know that Heavenly Father will be waiting for Dad, and He and the Savior will welcome him home with loving and open arms. What more can we do at this time of year, but to serve as we have been served?