Wrapping Gifts shhhhh, it's really OT

It's been odd today not having Jordan and Evan around. They were able to go with the FLOW group (Future Leaders of the Wiregrass, a volunteer group within our homeschool group) to the Operation Christmas Child warehouse in Atlanta Ga. to help pack/check shoeboxes.  Jay took them at 6:30 this morning, they had roughly a 4 hour drive to get there. I think there were 14 7th-12th graders going.  They were working two 4hour shifts and spending a night in a hotel, and will be home late afternoon tomorrow.  It has been so quiet in the house today.  I always think of Jessie as being the noisy one, but without Jordan and Evan here for her to play with, aggravate, instigate trouble...it has been way TOO quiet. 

Jessie and I wrapped some gifts today, the first ones that have been wrapped this year. It is so slow, letting her "help", and I don't always have the patience for it, but today it wasn't so much about getting them wrapped as it was letting her do it.  We had such a sweet time together.  She cut ziggedy zag (these gifts are all for our immediate family), wrinkled the tape as she pulled it off...and all the things that CAN make me crazy.  Today I was determined to let her do as much of it as she wanted and take the time needed.  It was precious time spent together.  She chose the paper, bags and color of tissue.  She has a very distinct opinion of her own, which always tickles me.  She writes too large to fit on the regular tags so she made homemade ones for the gifts. Last year she learned to spell the word to and learned how to make a colon from making homemade gift tags. She is also very happy to practice handwriting on something like this that feels useful and necessary.  Jessie has a love hate relationship with the tape dispenser! She doesn't really have the control to do it perfectly, but has definitely improved.  I had taken Jordan shopping and let her choose some clothes that are some of her Christmas gifts.  I want them under the tree, but she choose them and knows what they are.  Instead of wrapping them the usual way, we used white gift boxes and Jessie put lots of pretty Christmas stickers on the box.  Jessie's ability with stickers has improved so much, but some stickers, especially small ones are still a bit of a booger. 

I had planned to accomplish a lot more around the house today, but my back bothered me all day and I never could get the burst of energy I was looking for.  After a somewhat lazy day at home, Jessie and I met Jay for a quick supper at at the Taco Shop (where none of us ate anything Mexican!) before racing to church.

I'll end this post with a sweet thing that happened at church.  Jessie, Gracey, (I posted about their friendship before) and Grady wanted to walk across the parking lot into the grass to look at a Nativity scene.  Jessie can step off the curb by herself but it makes her a little nervous, especially in the dark.  They were headed that way together then Jessie stopped and Gracey after a minute realized Jessie wasn't with them.  Without a word said she walked back to Jessie held out her hand to her, Jessie took her hand, stepped down the curb and off they went.  Her mother says she wishes she was as kind to her twin brother!  When they walked off their mom (Heather) told me something Gracey had asked her recently.  Gracey asked, "Does Santa bring presents to kids with Down syndrome too?" Heather said "Yes".  Gracey then asked, "What if they are naughty?" Heather replied, "it's the same as for you" to which Gracey responded, "that's not fair!"  The love for Jessie in that statement, wanting to be sure Santa was sweet to her friend was a sweet ending to our already sweet day.