It's Over!!

I must admit that I am so very glad that Christmas is over. I love Christmas. Or so I thought.

I promise not to wax on endlessly about my conclusions of the Christmas season ~ all the work, the high expectations, the excitement, the clean up etc. It's a wonderful time of year and I'm happy to have it overwith.

But it's back to the grind...and I'm excited about this. We had Christmas on the 25th and on the 26th with our families and by noon on the 27th, the tree was in the front yard, the decorations were down, the extra sweets were in the garbage and all the new loot had found a home.

I sat in our living room, took a deep breath and finally felt like there truly was Peace on Earth.

As for our spindly little tree...the kids nicknamed it "The Twig." I'll post a pic as soon as I can. In our 12 years of marriage we have never yet paid for our real tree. My only explanation is this: Nate. We have cut them down from a friends forest, taken them on the 24th from the Home Depot dumpster and even removed the one from our church and put it in our living room. I am not proud of this but somehow it's become a part of who we are. This year Nate rushed to a friends property, ran about 8 feet into the forest, found the first tree under 6 feet tall and snapped it off at the base. Okay, may be he cut it down, but he didn't need to. He could've pulled the thing out by it's roots. But no matter how it gets in our living room, all we need to do is throw a few lights on, toss a decoration or two at it, and voila! It's Christmas.

Hope you all had a wonderful few days...and you're probably just as happy as I am that the whole deal is done with.

Christmas in the Home

Today we had our family Christmas with my great aunt Ines. Dear old Aunt Ines. What a life she has lived and yet what a sad existence she now endures.

The woman lived in deep dark Nigeria, west Africa for 28 years of her life as a missionary. She's dealt with more poisonous snakes, nasty living conditions and illness then I ever could imagine yet now she lies in a nursing home living out her last days, wondering if she'll ever even get to go outside again. She's single ~ never married and had no children of her own. All her kids were the ones she loved and lived with in Africa...a bit too far away for them to pop in for a visit.

We spent three hours in the basement of her stinky nursing home celebrating Christmas with her. Singing Christmas songs, eating Festive Specials and generally making a lot of noise. This, my dear readers, was the highlight of her entire Christmas. Sixteen people coming to see her for just three hours practically brought her to tears...tears of joy and gratitude.

It's a scary thing to come face to face with life in a nursing home. I know all of us have seen it at some point, but it seems especially miserable during the Christmas season. What choices does the woman have in her day to day life? None. She doesn't get to chose what she eats. She doesn't get to chose what she wears. She doesn't even get to chose when she goes to the bathroom.

We were sitting at the table, eating our dinner when I leaned over to my sister and whispered, "If it comes to this for me...just get a gun." I can't imagine this for myself or putting my parents in a place like that, or my kids having to come see me in those conditions. And yet that is the reality of life. We don't chose how it starts or how it ends.

If you have a loved one in such a place, don't forget them this year. Be sure to pop in with a smile and some Christmas cheer. I think I know how much it meant to my great-aunt...and that made the whole thing worth it.

Just a little poll...

If any of you have ever had to make up bunk beds (change the sheets etc), I just want you to know that you have my sympathy. This has got to be one of the worst jobs in the world. I can't stand it. And I can't decide which is worse, making the top bunk or the bottom bunk.

With the top bunk, you have to stand on the edge of the bottom mattress (or continually move a chair around the bed), jamming your stomach into the side, balancing precariously, while you bruise and batter your knuckles trying to jam the sheets in between the bed rails. But with the bottom bunk, you constantly bang the back of your head reaching across to spread out the sheets and blankets.

So which is worse?? We have two sets of bunk beds in our home. Can you figure out what I had to do today? I won't even come close to admitting how often (or not often) I change these dang beds because it is such a task of dread. What's wrong with a few dust mites and bunnies hanging around the house...it's gotta be good for the immune system or something.

This is my grown up Christmas wish (list)

If I could have anything at all in the world this Christmas, wrapped up and under the tree, these are top few things I would ask for. None of these things are possible (that I know of) for me to have so that's why this list is so fun. It'll never happen. These things are only possible to people like the Trumps and the Jolie-Pitts etc. Not little ol' me living in the 'burbs. Here goes...

#1. I would like for a magic fairy to come and clean my house every day. I would wake up each morning for the 2009 year and it would be spotless. Laundry done, floors washed, baseboard wiped etc. I realize that I could make this come true with a couple hours of work each night...but that's what the fairy is for.

#2. I would give HALF my kingdom for the perfect pair of jeans. I'd like them to do the following things...
-make me look thin
-fit me COMFORTABLY
-look cool/up to date but NOT show my butt crack whenever I bend over to wash the floor (but if the fairy came in wish #1...)
-be available in a store and not be discontinued the minute I fall in love with them
-come in several shades of blue

#3. Have good hair every day. I could set aside the round brush, the flat iron, the curling iron & all the product to wake up at dawn with a gorgeous set of locks.

#4. Come up withe ingenious meal ideas every time I make supper.

#5. A green thumb. I can kill most any plant. I've killed hostas, a norfolk island pine I loved, an african violet, jade trees, ivy, 2 trees etc. I want things to live when I touch them.

#6. Peace on earth...of course...that one goes without saying.

A Little Update...

Just wanted to let you know some good news...if I can't share it here then I can't share it anywhere.

Jack has had two completely successful potty training days. No accidents. No infractions. We were even shopping today from 9:30 am till 1 pm and he was dry as a bone.

It's truly a Christmas miracle.

A Little Festive Rant...

I am seriously irritated by the lack of the word Christmas in the world, or at least in Canada. I know there are other festive holidays being celebrated during this time of year and I'm happy to wish a Happy Hannukah, Merry Ede, Joyful Ramadan, to all those who wish to hear it.

But it feels like the word "Christmas" is taboo in our society and for heaven's sake, it's Christmas time! It's been Christmas time for over 2000 years and now we're going to blot it out of history by calling it Holiday? A holiday can be taken any time of year, a holiday is a break from work, a holiday is a PD day from school. This is CHRISTMAS.

Remember the true Christmas story? The original one that got this whole thing started? The one with a baby, a manger and star?? Where God sent His son? The King of Kings in human form? This is how the whole thing got started. It started being about Jesus and it shouldn't have to be renamed. Walking into stores and reading the flyers with the words Festive, Holiday, and Seasonal is ridiculous. The marketing genius' behind all the big stores want to sell and since Christmas is considered exclusive, they need a broader term to reach bigger demographics. How do they get to decide the name of this day?

On Saturday, I went to Second Cup to buy the tea I love. It's called Christmas Tea. Actually, no it's not...anymore. It's called Holiday Tea. New package, new name.

What other major holidays will we be removing from history for the sake of marketing?? How about St. Patricks Day -- that one is about a saint...that's fairly religious~let's cut it. Oh, and so is St. Valentines Day. Let's not forget about Easter...that one is totally about Jesus again. With all the trouble in our government, Canada Day is probably even being chopped.

The ideal of Christmas, even for those who aren't believers in Jesus, is a wonderful, meaningful time of giving, reflection, gratitude, joy and peace. I know that many, many people don't get to experience it that way, but the ideal should stay the same.

Even St. Nicholas wouldn't have given his gift to those poor daughters if it hadn't been Christmas. So truly, Santa wouldn't even be around if it weren't for Christmas.

The Holiday messages of today are things like, "Get the things you never even wanted." and "Shop, buy, spend!" We stress over what to buy each other when we don't need a thing.

What happened to "Peace on Earth, Good Will to Men?" Is there a loftier, better message out there? I don't think so. Can we bring tidings of comfort and joy rather than those of plastic and fabric?

Christmas is a once a year celebration of family and friends, of giving and receiving, of beautiful music, children's plays, and so much more. I think the best gift we can give our kids is the gift of Christmas. Let's keep the spirit of Christmas alive...sounds a little cheesy, I know! But I'm getting the feeling that Christmas is on the at-risk list these days.

Henceforth, I shall not mention this burr in my saddle again. It's out. I've ranted. And from my family to yours, we wish you a very Merry Christmas. And in the words, of Tiny Tim...

God Bless Us, Everyone!

Oh, it's just embarassing...

We're back on for potty training Jack and it has already gone much better in these first four days then it did way back in the summer when I first gave it a try. For the most part, the pee is in the pot and not on the floor...although I'm not actually trying to count his infractions because it's probably fairly discouraging.

Yesterday, we had an energy efficiency audit done on our home. Very enlightening, I tell you. The man who came to do it was very friendly and tolerated the four kids in the house fairly well. The best part was near the end of the audit, when he (the audit man) and I were sitting at the kitchen table chatting about the results of our audit. He was sitting facing the living room where Jack was playing. As I was jotting something down, the man was chatting about windows and doors and all of a sudden, I see him trying to talk to me with a smile creeping up on his face. He continues talking but is trying to suppress a laugh. Then I hear Jack cry out, "Mommy!! Poo-Poo!"

I turn to look, and there's Jack. Peeing all over the floor. The audit man tries to continue his little speech, but by this time, the pee is spraying all over the living room floor. I politely pull my chair from the table and say, "Pardon me for a moment, please." (And start laughing my head off.) The man made no kind comment like "Oh, that's alright, we've been through potty training before." In fact when I returned to the table from cleaning up the mess, I took a peek and noticed there was no wedding ring on his hand...so he might not have had children of his own at all. No sympathy from him.

He left in a hurry as soon as he could.

Only a couple of hours later, there's a knock at the door. I'm was trying to make gravy and was irritated by the interruption. It was a person on behalf of a charity wanting money. However the background noise coming from inside the house was a little distracting as the man at the door was explaining the needs of the charity he represented. Kylie is screaming (and no exaggeration there at all!)
"Poop! Poop! Jack went POOP! MOM! MOM! POOP!!!!" This went on for what seemed like several minutes and I didn't hear a word the charity guy said. He left without a dime of my money and I turned to celebrate with the kids on the big event that had gone on moments before.

Seeing as Jack will "go potty" for the kids, I've offered them all money to train him. It'll be the best $30 I've ever spent.

Please, Lord, let him learn quickly.

Birthdays and such...

Birthdays are a big part of the fall and winter for my side of our family. Starting from the beginning of October right past Christmas, there seems to be a birthday every other week.

On Sunday we celebrated Ethan's 10th birthday and my brother in law Grant's, 33rd birthday. Ethan is super easy to buy for. Pick out some Lego and you're all set...or as in the pic above, a new bow.

We sent Ethan to camp 2 summers ago and he signed up for archery. When I worked at camp years ago, archery was the worst assignment you could get as a counselor...so dull. But this kid was thrilled with it. We bought him a cheap little bow and he loved to shoot. He took a few lessons through our home school group. Then we found a place with super cheap lessons and the rest is history. He's hooked. And when he opened his birthday gift to find a "real" bow...well, the pic tells the story. He was just a little bit excited about it.

The scariest thing about the whole deal is not putting a bow and arrow into my ten year old's hands...it's actually the fact that my eldest is TEN! That's really scary.