Last Christmas, with the loss of my husband still fresh, I didn’t feel much like entertaining. It just seemed like too much work. I did have my stepson, Mike, and his family over for dinner along with my youngest son and his wife, but it took me two days to prepare. I do as much as possible the day before; set the table, make the dessert, make sure I have all my ingredients for what I’m serving. Even so, it took many hours, both having the dinner and cleaning up. I always had it at our home as the background noise of a restaurant made it nearly impossible for my husband to hear what anyone said. He would sit there and nod his head and look like he was listening but missed most of the conversation. Since he is no longer with us, this year we have decided to go to a nice restaurant for lunch! My daughter-in-law, Vicky, is a corporate CPA so getting into a busier season than usual. Mike has a job that takes him out of town from time to time. My youngest son, Brett, is a busy electrical contractor and daughter-in-law, Natalie, manages the office for a Christian roofing company. It seems I’m the one who might be considered not busy, yet with three trips: a Road Scholar trip to Scotland with my daughter, another Road Scholar week in North Carolina studying the Cherokee and Appalachian women, and a packed week at the end of this month with another Road Scholar trip to the Getty Museum, the Ronald Reagan Library, two missions, the Channel Islands, and the Rose Parade, I’m having a busy fall. In between, I finished the book on Esther for Whitaker House and am working on a book on Abigail for Guideposts, for their “Lesser Women of the Bible” series. After that I begin work on my memoirs! No time to twiddle my thumbs! It seems we all are busy, but make time for those things that are important to us. For me it is my family. This weekend I’ll drive to Simi Valley near Los Angeles to stay the weekend with my oldest son, Steve, and his family. We’ll have an early Christmas dinner together and watch my grandson Brady’s championship basketball game. I’ve hosted my book club, and my morning Bible study ladies this week, and when I get back from Simi Valley I host our Life Group from Newbreak Church for a potluck! No time to waste…let me see, did I get the apple cider and…