Christmas Re-cap

The days leading up to Christmas were so enjoyable. Last Sunday AH’s family had their big extended family annual Christmas dinner, program and white elephant gift exchange. I especially liked seeing cousins who we haven’t seen in a while and admiring their families and how they’ve grown.

Tuesday evening we went ice skating with the kids (see earlier post) which proved to be a very fun activity for us all.

On Wednesday evening I went to a production of Anne of Green Gables at our local playhouse. It was a musical and as delightful as could be. The music, actors, singing and set design were just spectacular and of course I adore the story. It was a really wonderful way to spend an evening.

On Thursday I took the kids to my mom’s for the day while AH stayed home to wrap up the installation of our entertainment built-ins (which never goes as smoothly as you hope). We enjoyed time with my brother, sister and one of my nieces. My mom made a wonderful lunch for us all and both the kids enjoyed playing/tormenting her little dog all day. Regretfully it was a short trip – I much prefer the longer ones that give more time for visiting and playing games.

Friday evening we went to AH’s parents for a big turkey dinner with all the trimmings. Following dinner each family provided a little entertainment by way of a skit, reading or activity. AH read the nativity while the children all dressed up accordingly and acting out their parts, and this was followed by the annual lighting of the Christmas tree (real candles) as we sang carols in English and German. This is always such a beautiful way to bring on the true Christmas spirit, singing beautiful hymns by candlelight.

Christmas came very early this morning. Mr. B was warned repeatedly last night that he was not to get up before 7am AND that he had to have his bed made and room cleaned before any presents were opened. At precisely 7am the squeals of delight poured into our bedroom as Mr. B saw what Santa had left for him. Beeb was much more restrained and I think still half asleep since Mr. B woke her up. The madness had officially begun and I reluctantly dragged myself out of bed and onto the couch.

The kids delighted in their gifts and AH’s parents and sister stopped by with more gifts for us and stayed through lunch. I was able to remove some of my most wanted items off my “materialistic list -->” – I am so happy for that list.

As the day went on AH went to work on our family room (new custom entertainment system went in a few days ago) and its long list of “must be done” before the carpet can be installed next month. I had woken up with a sore throat so I went back to bed after gifts were open but before the parents arrived. The kiddo’s played with their new gifts and in the afternoon I played with them. Beeb got a couple of beginning sewing kits so she decided to try sewing a “build-a-bear” that Grandma gave her. It took a little coaxing but she caught on and did a really good job. I followed up behind her and did another stitching over hers just to reinforce the seams.








Mr. B and AH worked for a bit building new Lego creations. Mr. B loves to get Lego’s and then have Dad put them together.




It’s always fun to see what gifts come from our Japanese relations each year. I rather like their “lego” variation that Beeb and I put together.



Beeb asked me to photograph her in her new PJ's and robe tonight just before bed:




At the end of the day I am thankful for those who’ve enriched our lives; our family and friends, acts of kindness from strangers, teachers and volunteers and all others who touch us so dearly. I am especially thankful for our health, as I’ve lost several friends recently, and appreciate the gift of life and being here to see my children grow. I am always thankful for our savior, Jesus Christ, and the significance of His life – the real reason we celebrate at this time of year and give honor to Him. Sometimes I sit and ponder what that means to “give honor to Him” – do you? It is a motivator for me to do a little better, try a little harder.

Merry Christmas to you all – may you invite His love into your hearts and know peace and comfort throughout the entire year.

Pre-Christmas Activities

A few days ago AH and I took the kids to our local upscale mall for their winter snowflake parade. I was a little reluctant since it started at 7pm and my kiddo's are usually in bed by 7:30pm but after seeing pictures that friends have posted of this event I thought it would be a fun way to celebrate the season and worth the late night.

I must have been at the wrong location despite following the directions posted on the mall website. The event we attended, with people lining both sides of the street, had no actual "parade" but instead some drummers on stands located throughout the crowd. They drummed while some music played - that was it. No princesses, no one marching down the street waiving to us, no candy being thrown to the kids - nothing. I felt stupid for dragging my very tired husband out of his warm house to stand shoulder to shoulder with strangers for a drummer and a few bubbles sprinkling down on us from the tops of the buildings.

The kids were crushed and I was irritated as we walked back to our car. It was on the way that I proposed to AH that we take the kids ice skating in the park. Thankfully AH agreed not to waste the trip and so we headed to the ice rink.









We had a lot of fun! The kiddo's struggled initially but got the hang of it and were able to skate for short distances without holding on to one of us or taking out all the other skaters. Beeb even announced that having mastered ice skating she is ready to take on snow skiing.

In a Moment Everything Can Change

Tonight started out rather rough. After struggling with Mr. B through part of his homework and then having both kids playing very loudly together, obviously hyper, and being too rough with each other (Beeb got hurt twice) I thought that the rest of the evening would have to be endured.

So I did what any mother of continuously squabbling kids would do - I snuck upstairs to work on cleaning out my craft room. Shortly after I started working Beeb came up to complain about her brother and his latest offense toward her. I had just found an ornament kit that we did for an Enrichment activity the previous week (there were extras so I took one home) and I asked Beeb if she wanted to make it. Together we worked on creating the ornament and it was fun. When we finished Beeb proudly hung it on the tree.



After hanging the ornament Beeb asked if we could make snowflakes. I can honestly say this is not a craft skill of mine, which I told Beeb, so she taught me how to make snowflakes. We each did our first one and then Mr. B came to see what we were up to and wanted to join in as well. The room was filled with the quietness of my two kids concentrating - folding and cutting paper and then excitedly showing me their creations. This quiet winter activity invited a sweet peaceful spirit into our home that only shortly before was filled with loud voices and the makings for a stressful evening.




As went to help get Mr. B ready for bed I entered his room and noticed a beautiful scene that served as a wonderful reminder of whom I am to be thankful to for the change in atmosphere in my home tonight.



I have been praying to find more meaningful activities to do with my children and while my prayer was answered tonight I forgot to give thanks until I saw that gentle reminder.



It softened my heart even more to see how my son had reverently arranged his dresser with deep honor and respect to those things which we hold dearest to our hearts. Mr. B (and Beeb) is working faithfully to finish the Book of Mormon before his 8th birthday. It is really hard right now but he has demonstrated a spirituality that I did not expect when we started. Just tonight as I read to him he would stop me to ask the meaning of a word he was not familiar with. This is tough stuff as 2nd Nephi references Isaiah and the language is very difficult to understand even for most adults. My heart is touched to see his love for the words of our Heavenly Father and an eagerness to choose the right.

The true spirit of Christmas filled my heart the evening and my gratitude to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ is immense, even over powering - in the very best way.

When I Grow Up . . .

I have decided, 20 years after leaving high school, that I finally know what I want to be – I want to be Terry Gross. More specifically I want to interview all the diverse people that she does on her NPR radio show Fresh Air.

Yep, that’s it – that’s my dream job. I told AH tonight about my dream. He encouraged me to go back to school and study journalism (sarcasm) but that’s not really what is standing in my way. What I really need is for Terry Gross to quit so I can have her job and yet, somehow, I don’t think that is going to happen. Oh, and her cool voice – that would definitely help too.

Tonight Terry interviewed Dan Charnas about his new book “The Big Payback – A History of the Business of Hip Hop”, a completely fascinating interview.

About a week ago she interviewed New York Times Supreme Court correspondent Adam Liptak. It was a so captivating, informative and yet her style is easy to follow and her connection with her guests feels so relaxed - as if you are in the room with them overhearing a private conversation.

New Hobbies

The kiddos have each recently taken up a new hobby. Mr. B decided he needed to learn the board game Settlers of Catan and now pesters us non-stop to play. I will admit that he doesn’t do too bad and actually plays much faster than his Uncle’s (on AH’s side) which makes the game tolerable for me.

On Monday it was Mr. B’s turn to pick out the game for our Family Home Evening activity. Of course he chose Settlers of Catan which had us wondering what Beeb would do. I didn’t think the game would hold her attention, which was true, but in the process of keeping her entertained I introduced her to her newest hobby; styling my hair. She had fun, Mr. B had fun and I still won the game – fun for me (not so much for AH).

Fast forward to this morning when Mr. B presented our game Settlers of Zarahemla and requested we play it this evening. I was surprised that when this evening rolled around AH was a willing participant so we made Mr. B happy by playing. Shortly after the game started Beeb asked if she could style my hair again, explaining that she had quite the skills for styling. I relented and my poor scalp is still suffering – ouch! I hope she continues to hone those skills lest all my hair gets pulled out.

Beeb's pose for me:


The culprit:


The goofy bunch:


I continue to dominate the Settler's games but Mr. B did manage to tie with AH tonight. Not too shabby for a 7 year old.

TRON

When I was a little girl in elementary school my brother would sometimes take me to our neighborhood corner market, aptly named The Pink Store with it's pink exterior, to play video games. I remember watching him play Tron and wishing I could play it was well as he could.



When the original movie came out I thought it was amazing and watched it repeatedly. Bruce Boxlietner was at the height of his popularity with his role in Tron (1982) and then Scarecrow and Mrs. King (1983). (My mom thought he and Gil Gerard (Buck Rogers) were quite the hotties so we had to watch these shows each week.)

Today I got an invitation to the premiere of the new Tron. I invited AH to come along but now am wondering if that was the right decision. AH has not shown that he has the love of Tron necessary to appreciate or pick apart the new Tron since he hasn't seen the original movie (seriously neglected childhood). He has a week to brush up on his Tron trivia or suffer the wrath of his wife.