A Miracle

Watching the grey turn to purple and blue in the predawn is an awesome sight.  Knowing that with the sun comes a new day.  The purples and blues fade into pink and orange.  Splashes of gold and bands of blue.  Suddenly the first glimpse of the sun is there.  Inexorably climbing.  Bringing with it the light of day.  New hope.  Refreshed.  Rejouvinated.  A beautiful new day.

Under the Tree

Christmas Eve.  The anticipation.  The eager-to-bed.  The grins and giggles as they fall asleep.  Although, around here it is a little different.  It isn't so much what each one was given.  Yeah, the presents are cool, and we all get nice things.  But it is about what the person.  The person who recieved the gift.  Do they like it?  Is it something that they will enjoy?  That is what Christmas is to these little kiddos.  Yeah, Santa comes and gives them treats in their stockings that they get to eat for breakfast.  Yes there are gifts for them under the tree.  But the real excitement comes when another person is opening something that they gave.  Something that they thought and pondered over (for at least 2 minutes).  Something from them. 

In Red Poinsettia Paper

There are so many wonderful things about this time of year, that it is really impossible to list them all.  There are the cookies, the tree, the lights, ornaments, candy canes, music, snow (if you are lucky), and many many more.  One thing stands out this year for me.  Over the last two weeks we have had a Secret Santa dropping off a little package every morning.  The tiny slips of paper each read something like this: On the 7th day of Christmas we'd like to give you a wise man visiting the King.  They change each day with each new package.  It is so sweet.  Someone taking time out of their day to make this season that much brighter for us.  The scene is unfolding like it was written in the Bible.  First came the stable for the weary couple who had knocked on doors all day, only to be told that there was no room.  Then entered Mary and Joseph, Mary ready to give birth to that precious child.  Joseph doing his best to stay strong and help his wife with the ordeal of labor.  They were alone, friendless in a strange city.  There to be counted and taxed according to law. 

Following the light of the star in the east to the stable rode the wise men.  Coming over the treacherous terrain as quickly as camels could go.  That night beneath the stars, slept shepherds with their flocks.  They were awakened up from their sleep by an angel of the Lord telling them to go and see the wonderous sight.  Everyone was in Awe.  Even the donkey and sheep were quiet for the new King.  Time seemed to stand still at the birth of the most wonderful person to ever walk the earth.  It is Christmas, and because of some wonderful person, we are enjoying the reason for this season in a whole new light.  Thank you, whoever you are.  For giving us hope.  With this simple manger scene, we are reminded that with God, anything is possible.

The Wait

A night to remember.  Everything is ready.  Waiting.  Will he come? 

Will he stop here?  Does he know where we live? 

Yes, yes and YES. 

Who's?

As I sit here on Christmas Eve, there are a few thoughts that are running through my mind.  We live in a nice little house in a  nice little town, for which I am very grateful.  We have a wonderful family and lovely friends.  We have so much more that I'm not even going to list it.  We are happy where we are.  Here, in this place, with these things, we are happy.  If it were all to disappear tomorrow, we would still be happy.  Sure life would be a little stressful, but our overall happiness would remain.  Why you ask.  How could we be happy with nothing.  Well, I refer you to Whoville with the Grinch-mas.  Yes, he only stole what he believed was Christmas from the Who's, but the concept is the same.  It is all about the attitude.  If all we have is each other, then happiness can be found.  Happiness is not purchased or obtained.  Happiness is an attitude.  A choice.  It does not matter how many or how few possessions you have, you may still not be happy.  Unless you choose to be.  Happiness is not a destination, it is the Journey.

Thin Blades of Steel

I love all the seasons.  Really, all four of them.  The year would not be complete without Spring and the newness of life.  Summer with all its heat and dust.  Fall and torrential rains.  And Winter with bone chilling winds and snow.  Each year I seem to fall more and more in love with each season.  Each one brings more and more things to light that just mean so much more to me.  We are enjoying a mild side of Winter, currently mild, right now.  Rain, wind, and the odd freeze.  Now I know that it probably won't last, and I'm not complaining either way.  But with Winter comes something that cannot be done in any other season.  Skating.  Ice-skating.  In a tent, next to a fountain that is still running in December.  I love skating.  Always have.  It was something that just seemed to be natural for me.

The first couple times on the ice I fell like any other beginner.  But soon I had the basics and began to really go with it.  Oh what fun!  The joy of the smooth glide over fresh ice.  The cool wind rushing past.  The slight insanity of knowing that all that was between me and frozen water was a pair of shoes with shaped metal on the bottom.  Skating is a part of Winter.  This year, for the first time since, well, a long time, Handsome and I had the opportunity to go.  We were invited by a close friend and took the kids along.  They loved it!  Putting on the skates for the first time caused a little skepticism, they weren't entirely confidant that those weird shoes would keep their feet warm on the ice.  But then, we go onto the ice.  Whee!  Those kids took to it like pros.  They each fell a couple times, getting back up and trying again.  Wow, they really took off.  Mr O and Peaches were both skating on their own by the time we were done.  That is definitely something we will do again.

The Forever Kind of Things

As I sit and type this post (for the third time) I am reminded once again how precious the little things are.  Time spent with those we love.  Little snippits of songs sang to each other.  Stories upon stories read to one another.  Flying kites in the wind.  Hugs.  The little things.  Someday, when my children are grown, I want them to be able to look back at their childhood and say that it was good.  I want those little things to stick with them forever.  Things that they will, in turn, do with their children without knowing why really, just knowing that it is a good thing.  Remembering the good times and sharing them with those that they care about.

What Else is there to Say?

Just a little something.  These photos were taken after the Provo Tabernacle burned down.  Now, it doesn't matter what faith or religion you are, this is amazing. 

Pokies

Some days just are precious.  Where everything about that day is just something that you want to save forever.  We had one of those wonderful days.  It began with a bang.  Mr O's class had their Christmas Craft Day, and I was able to go.  There was snowman soup: delicious hot cocoa that we stir with a candycane.  Ornaments to finish for the tree.  A Santa face to make.  Cookies to frost.  And the one that all the kids were jumping up and down for was the Yule Log.  Taking a simple log and turning it into a beautiful centerpiece.  Starting with a ribbon.  Each child tied a pretty bow and then added the candle. 

Then came the prickly part, the branches.  Adding on enough green to be beautiful to each participant.  The excitement was palpable as each branch added more loveliness.  Once enough branches were placed there were more choices.  How many pine cones?  Where to put them?  Will mom want just one, or lots and lots?  The decisions, the chewed lips and fingure nails, the stress of a 7 year old.  But each finished product was beautiful.  Each child took home something lovely.  Because really, it isn't about the end product, it is about who made it.

One Cup Butter, Half Cup Milk, Dash of Vanilla, and Powdered Sugar

This year, as I have in years past, I did a gingerbread party.  There were a few differences.  We have new neighbors that we invited over for the evening.  Our children are significantly older and enjoy the process much more.  There wasn't as much mess as in years past.  Yes, the baking took a week.  I totally enjoyed every minute of it.  Baking is honestly something that, if I had the time, I would bake daily.  If there were enough hours in the day and if my family would eat my baked goods that quickly.  But, I'm a mom with other demands on my time, and as a family we don't eat many sweets.  Baking gingerbread is wonderful.  The whole house smells delightful.  As if it is readying for a festive night too.  Then comes the construction.  Our wonderful neighbor, Cassie, came and supplied the second needed set of hands.  Up went 12 houses in about 2 hours.  We worked fast.  Sticky frosting, delicious smelling sheets of gingerbread, and foil wrapped cardboard squares.  In not very long, there was a town where before there was just a pile of flat squares of gingerbread.  Lovely. 

Then there was the anticipation.  The opening of all the different candies.  Mixing up multiple batches of icing.  Giving each decorator a bag of icing.  And then the fun began!  Pass the M&M's please.  Oh it was lovely.  All those kids around our table, each having an idea of how to decorate their house.  Each one turning out beautiful.  Yes, there was the spilled frosting, wrappers on the floor, and sugar high kids.  But it was so nice to share our little tradition.  The grins and giggles were worth all the cleaning and baking and building.  Worth every second.

Shadows on the Wall

The past several years have been markedly different than the first Christmas that Handsome and I were together.  That first Christmas we had a lovely tree that smelled like a Christmas tree should.  Crisp and sharp and fresh and pine.  Naturally there were the other not-so-fun things about having a real tree: pine needle pick up, constantly watering, and the tree disposal after Christmas.  That is one of my favorite smells of winter.  The pine.  It is so sharp and fresh.  The smell seems to be in contrast with the deadness of winter.  When I think of winter, it is of sleeping trees, hard brown earth, snow and ice.  Pine just seems to break into that preconceived mould and let it be known that winter is beautiful and clean and fresh too.  This year, for the first time in many, we have a real tree.  Real as in it smells like pine.  It used to be alive.  Now I have pine needles to sweep and a tree to water every day.  I love it.  The whole house has that lovely smell of fresh and clean outdoors.  None of the mud or other unpleasant odors, just the freshness of a breeze as it wafts through the boughs of fir trees. 

The children loved having a "real" tree to decorate.  The giggles and grins, laughter and love. 

And when it was all done.  We stood back to see the final result.  Beautiful.  Breathtaking.  Wow.  Mr O and Peaches stood in awe when the lights went out and the tree shone on its own.  Bringing the tree into the house seemed to bring with it the spirit of kindness, helpfulness, and generosity.  Those two kids have been angels since we put it up (of course I'm probably saying this too soon).  All in all: totally worth it.  Every needle.  Every jar of water.  The pain of recycling it later.  Worth it.  Because for a little while we will have something beautiful, delightful, and lovely in our living room.  And also, I won't have to smell the dog for as long as we have the tree.

Noteworthy

Yesterday evening was a lovely time for our little family.  Mr O got a chance to participate in the Christmas program.  Oh my word!  So many cute kids!  The fun thing about this little concert is that all the little girls dress up in cute frilly dresses that I'm sure they only get to wear once or twice.  The little boys all look dapper in nice shirts and shiny shoes.  Then there was Mr O. 

His shirt of choice was bright blue.  With clown fish on it.  In his defence, it was button up, so technically it is a "dress shirt."  But, clown fish? 

And then there was tinsel.  It was Red, and shiny, and it swung from side to side.  Mr O couldn't resist.

On top of that our boy didn't really want to be there for the entire length of the concert, which was only 30 min.  So during the last couple songs he began drifting farther and farther towards the edge of the steps.  Just waiting for that last song to be done. 

All said and done Mr O did very well.  He sang most of the songs (singing is not something he enjoys at all), did wonderfully exuberant hand motions where they were used, and totally enjoyed himself.  That grin said it all.

That One. Yup, That One

Today is the beginning of the holiday for me.  Today is when the house starts to take on the Christmas feel. 

Today. 

I start baking gingerbread today.

Gooshy Socks

There are honestly very few things that I want out of life.  Firstly I want my wonderful husband to be able to retire early.  I want our two delightful kiddos to have happy and fulfilling childhoods.  And for me, I'd settle for warm toes.  You may think that it is a simple thing, but it isn't.  For me, warm toes is a rarity.  Especially once with weather cools off in the Fall.  It's nothing big, not really, but for someone with bad circulation, it is big.  Warm toes.  Fun fact: did you know that 80% of your body heat escapes from your head and feet.  True.  Which is why it is so important to have good boots and a warm hat on in the cold weather.  No I'm not asking for foot warmers for Christmas or anything like that, and I don't want to move to a warmer climate either.  It would just be nice to have warm toes. 

Silver and Gold

There are so many days in our lives that just seem to be downers.  Those days that are just dumpy.  When everything about life is hard.  No one does what they are supposed to.  Your inbox is full.  The kids are going crazy.  The dishes have been sitting for three days.  Laundry has piled up so high that no one has clean socks.  Driving to work you forget that one document that you needed.  Walking in 5 minutes late to a meeting that you are presenting at.  You know: those days.  This little post is just to remind you that despite what is going wrong, despite how you feel, there is sunshine.  The sun is just behind the clouds, it will come back out.  There is always, always a silver lining.  No one is perfect, and no one is expecting you to be.  Just be you.  Put your chin up and face the sun.  Get that vitamin D.  The sun is there.  The silver lining will turn to gold, and then the sun is there!

Seasoning

Just recently our little family made the trek across the snow covered mountains to a town.  A town that has grown in size since Handsome and I moved away so many years ago.  A town that holds many memories for both of us.  A town that still holds most of my extended family.  So we went.  Trekking with the trusty truck over the pass.  It was beautiful!  Glittering snow, huge icicles dangling from rocks, trees hugging to them their blanket of snow.  Lovely.  As we drew closer to our destination the excitement level inside the truck went up and up and up.  I'm not sure if is was in reaction to the people that we were going to get to see or that we were almost there and could get out of the truck.   But either way, the kids were bouncing off the windows by the time we arrived.  There was snow to play in, lots of food to eat, games to play, activities to do, and lots and lots of extended family to visit with.  Oh it was so good to see all of those people with whom we don't have very much face to face contact.  Getting the chance to actually visit with cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents was fantastic.  I would love to see these people more often.  But we live over here.  It is nice to visit though, catch up on the news, and see everyone again.