So excited to almost be done, and I get to pay taxes too.

I am almost finished with Christmas orders; I had run extremely behind to the point of being about 10 rosary orders behind before I closed down the store. After reopening the store, I was a little more caught up, just to fall behind again. I decided to email all my customers to find out who needed their rosaries for Christmas, and that helped a lot because only about half of them needed their rosaries in time for Christmas. Today I finally shipped off my last two "have to be there by Christmas" orders! I have one more big order to get done today, though it probably won't get there by Christmas. She was the one customer who didn't email me back about when she needed the order, so hopefully it's not something she needs for Christmas. I will still bust my butt to get it out to her though.

All the people who have waited for their orders have been so helpful--you have no idea the pressure I was feeling, and it was so nice to know that they weren't going to be upset with me about waiting for their orders. So I can't wait until tomorrow--because the next big batch of orders that I'll be doing is the for the people who have been waiting for almost a month now.

Today I got an email from Etsy saying that I need to fill out a W-2 form for taxes. (Or is it a W-4? I never can remember.) You would think that I would be unhappy giving my money to taxes, but no! Because to me, having to pay taxes means that I am finally working a part-time job! This has been my goal for months now; I have never made enough money to have to pay taxes which to me, that meant it really wasn't a real "job".  I remember two years ago, when I first opened my Etsy store. For the first 4 months, I made a total of 2 sales. Two! And this was during the time of Christmas too. Not one person ordered anything during Christmas. So in January, I closed down the shop. I was a little disheartened, but not completely ready to give up either. After looking at my rosaries through the eyes of a customer, I decided I needed to lower my prices and brush up on my clay techniques. After practicing for a few months and expanding on rosary designs, I reopened in May. From May until December of that year, I made 46 sales. I knew it still was below money making range,  but I was just grateful for every sale and I was doing something that I loved.

And this year, I have jumped from 46 sales to 117! Still well below what most Etsy shops make, but I think I've realized that at this point, trying to balance a rosary business with a young family, part-time is all I can handle right now. But still, it's a job! After being unemployed for two years, it's nice to pay taxes again, as strange as that may sound.

On a completely different subject, today is Lucy's birthday and she is 7 years old. She is so proud to be 7. I heard her say to Anna today, "I can turn on the lamp Anna, because I'm seven years old." Seven years old means "grown up" around here; it means that now every Sunday, they are expected to attend Mass like the rest of the grown-ups. Seven years old also means receiving First Communion (though she will be doing that next year.) Seven years old is grown up all right.

 Before I sign off, I thank you again for those who are still following Dominic's story. I've stopped blogging about it, only because most people are finding their way to Dominic's blog, but it doesn't mean that he and Mary still couldnt' use your prayers. He made it through his second surgery fine this time, and it sounds like his feedings are going well. The biggest thing right now is the cerebral leaking in his brain, and for his diabetes to stay under control. So please keep the prayers coming! Wouldnt' it be great if Dominic could be home by Christmas? (I mean the temporary home that they're staying at.)

Okay, supper's starting and I smell cake.