New Year's Eve

Dangerous Cousins

We had the pleasure of cousins for new year's this year! Auntie Heather, Uncle BJ, Sophia and Phoebe came to spend the long weekend with us and we had a wonderful time. The cousins played so sweetly (and the weather was perfect all weekend, so they lived on the trampoline) and the adults got in plenty of chatting, game playing and movie watching together. It was a great weekend and I'm so glad we got to enjoy it with loved ones. Unfortunately, we left all the picture-taking duties up to Uncle BJ and his fancy camera, so this is all we got.

The Talk (The Talk Version)

After the introduction to adulthood that Gwendolyn had received in our talk about Santa Claus the other night, you might think that we assumed that she had no more innocence to lose and so opted to have "the talk." In fact, we'd been planning the conversation for some time; we had promised Gwendolyn that we'd have a special evening, and had been building up the discussion for the past week at least. Since she's eight, we knew that she would be encountering hints about sex (in the same way that she picked up her uncertainties about Santa), and we simply prefer that she receive the information from us. We hope that having frank conversations about love and sex, now and in the future, will enable her to turn to us when she does have questions.

It probably says something about Gwennie's personality and her current perspective that she was less interested in the revelations about where babies come from than she was in our reminiscences about her own birth and infancy. And far from being an awkward conversation, the discussion -- particularly our recollections about her joining our family -- was emotional, even spiritual. I hope that she'll remember that, if nothing else.

Gwendolyn pictured here modeling some dress-up clothes she got for Christmas. She even left in the middle of unwrapping presents to go and put them on. Only a child would do that, right?

All the Hits

This is a leftover photo from Christmas morning depicting Gwendolyn's actual reaction when she realized what she was holding in her hands -- a collection of the first six Harry Potter movies on dvd (several of which she may not be allowed to see for another five or ten years).

Why does Santa do delivery but not assembly?

The Talk (Santa Version)

Since just before Christmas, Gwendolyn had been asking us about Santa -- specifically, whether he actually exists. She explained that one of her friends had been telling her that he was not real (and neither were his comrades in imagination, the Easter Bunny and dragons and fairies). Even though she wanted to believe, she said, she wanted a straight answer. She was no longer willing to accept our evasions.

While we thought that she was a little young for this conversation -- especially since her imagination is so active and so important to her view of the world -- we don't want to put her off when she sincerely and repeatedly asks a question. Jen explained that we would answer her in detail if she really wanted us to, and when she replied that she did, we sat on her bed and started to talk.

We started by chatting a little about fables, the way facts sometimes get expanded over time to carry new and important meanings. A story like that of King Arthur began with a man who lived and achieved great things, but over time his story grew to include new details; even though the story as we tell it may not be exactly as his life occurred, it is important because of the truths it expresses. I briefly told her the story of St. Nicholas, who spent his life helping people, and who loved to give gifts to people in need, especially children. We talked about how different cultures have different versions of St. Nick or Santa Claus who represents the values of generosity and Christlike service, but they all share a common element of selfless giving. The stories are real and important because they are one way which we can understand those truths.

Of course, when we arrived at this point, she asked directly: So, Santa isn't real? Well, sweetie, if you're asking whether a fat man in a red velvet suit uses his ungulate conveyance to travel across continents in one night, slipping into the world's chimneys with candy canes and trampolines -- then, not exactly. But in the spirit of St. Nicholas, there are people who do that same work because they love to give presents, and they give the credit to Santa Claus because he represents the purity of sharing without expecting anything in return. Who are those helpers?, she asked. So we told her about the people who contribute to the story -- the man who came dressed as Santa at the ward party, the parents and grandparents who come together to gather things which she and her brothers could get excited about. If someone asked me whether Santa is real, I told her, I would say yes. He is real because his story has meaning for a vast number of people, who understand something true because of that story. And she seemed to understand and to accept that (admittedly subtle and abstract) idea.

In some respects, I wish that we could have evaded the question a little longer. The look in Gwennie's eyes was heartbreaking -- not that I don't feel that she deserves a more grown-up answer to such questions when she asks them, but I wish that she could have kept that part of childhood a little longer. I think that she felt a part of her birthright passing by, and that she was being inducted into adult mysteries that she might not have needed to grasp so soon. But I also feel that it was important at this moment to be frank with her, and to give a legitimate (if perhaps too-complex) response to a serious query. But ultimately, I think that we should celebrate it. For better and worse, she knows the larger meaning of Santa now.

Christmas Day

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

We had a wonderful Christmas. As is our tradition, we got up early (except for the boys who slept until after 8.30, incredibly) and started making bran muffins to deliver to all our friends and neighbors (something like 16 dozen muffins this year). It was a chilly morning and even though we started delivering around 8 am and tag-teamed baking and delivery duties, we didn't finish up until about 11.30. When some of us aren't bickering over who gets to actually hold the plate of muffins as we walk to the door, we all love this tradition.

When we got home, we dug into stockings and got to see what Santa brought. I wish we could post the hysterics that followed the discovery of a trampoline box in the playroom. Thanks, Santa!

We paused for lunch and then took our time opening presents that afternoon. It was a relaxing afternoon, with everyone so happy and content. We rested and played with all the new toys before Todd went outside to tackle the trampoline assembly. Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

Don we now our gay apparel!

Tiff's gifts

Auntie sent the kids a favorite treat for Christmas: bath bombs from LUSH. We love these around here and the kids were fighting over who got to take a bath first, except for Casper, who takes the word "bomb" very seriously and is afraid the bath product will explode on him -- he lets his fizz in a cup of water before letting it enter the tub.

Grandad's visit

The kids enjoyed Granny and Grandad's short visit and were sad to see them go (Casper even threatened to go home with them and leave all his Christmas presents here).

Granny's visit

Granny and Grandad stopped in for a brief overnight visit this week. They came bearing gifts and babysitting services. We let the kids open one gift each, but saved the rest for Christmas. The kids each got a set of Moon Dough, which I guarantee will keep the boys occupied for hours each week. They love that stuff. Casper also got a bonus gift -- his long awaited handmade quilt from Granny. His is covered in John Deere tractors and he adores it.

Granny and Grandad also watched the kids, took them out to dinner, and put them all to bed so Todd and I could go to Houston and visit the temple. Our date seemed a little bit ill-fated at first: We lost the cards we had planned to take, our van sprung a flat tire as we were pulling out of the driveway forcing us to take the Subaru whose air conditioning had gone out earlier in the day (that might not seem like a big deal for December, but it was 82 degrees and humid). We also got lost on our way -- twice. But the day ended nicely with a wonderful session, a great dinner, and a comfortable drive home.

Backyard Quartet

I live with really cute people, lucky girl that I am.

Up on the Housetop

Chalkboard drawing by Gwendolyn. I love the gigantic dome-style house with the chimney, and the glimpse of Santa leaping down.

besweatered boy

Every once in a while we get a day cool enough to warrant wearing a sweater, and we take advantage of it.

park portrait

One of my attempts to get a good Christmas picture of the kids to send out with Christmas cards. Well, squinty-eyed Casper looks as though he's strangling Gwennie, and Linus is looking at his friends on the play structure and wondering why he isn't with them. So no Christmas cards this year. This blog post instead. Merry Christmas.

exotic feather dance

A favorite toy around here for the boys? Our new feathery cat toy.

nighttime injury

Poor boy! Apparently, Linus got a bloody nose in the middle of the night, and it bled and bled. It was all over his face (even his forehead), his hands, and his sleepers. He also chose this particular night to sneak into Mama and Daddy's bed (where the incident actually took place), so we woke up with blood all over the sheets, pillowcases and comforter. He was a little shocked to see his own reflection this morning.

sits with Santa

We had a great Santa at our ward Christmas party this year and all three kids were anxious and willing to get their photo taken with him (this will probably be the last time that happens). "Santa" is from a different ward and also happens to be the manager of the grocery store near our house. A couple of days after the party, we ran into Mr. Manager while doing our shopping and he came and talked to the kids about their plans for Christmas, etc. Of course, the kids had no idea who they were talking to, but I enjoyed hearing them tell Mr. Manager all about seeing Santa a few days before.

The Nutcracker

Gwendolyn made some specialized Christmas cards for a few of her favorite people (above is the one for her piano teacher, Miss Emilee). In them, she pasted nutcrackers or ballerinas which she had drawn, colored and then cut out. Why not just draw the nutcracker on the inside of the card and forgo the cutting and pasting? I have no idea...

crecharoos

We haven't unpacked our nativity collection for the season, but Gwennie has already decided to add to it by creating her own sculpture of the holy family. She accomplished this with bendaroos, the waxy craft supplies which the children use to augment their other building tools (tinkertoys, legos, bristle blocks, and the like). If you can't make it out, Mary is kneeling over the baby, and Joseph is looking down, his arm around Mary's shoulder. The manger is especially fine.

Note the beatific expression on the Christ child's face visible in this shot:

stowaway

We devoted Monday night to picking out our Christmas tree at the hardware store. We chose a handsome Douglas fir and strapped it to the van without much trouble, then hurried home to raise it and add the lights. (We're going to spend Wednesday night decorating it fully.) As I was placing the lights around its crown, I felt something large brush against my head and land on my shoulder. I expected to see a moth which had made its home in the tree, but instead found a large green grasshopper. Gwennie escorted it outside.

grateful sunday

This week I am thankful for:

• my health. I've had a cold with a nasty cough for the past couple of weeks and I'm finally feeling healthy and whole. So very grateful.
• Todd's new calling in the Elder's Quorum Presidency. He's had this gig before, but he's so good at serving others, I know it will be a good change for him. Maybe we'll get a little more family time as well?
• my marriage. I get to be married to my best friend. Forever. Isn't that incredible?
  
• good food. I really like good food and Todd and I have done just as much cooking this week as we did last week for Thanksgiving. I'm confessing that I've had two pieces of (homemade) pie every single night for the past 4 nights and it has been awesome.
  

The Texas Christmas-and-Tractor parade

It's that time of year again: time for the small-town Christmas parade! The kids love it (Gwennie's friend pointed out that it's a little like Halloween except that you don't have to do anything and people run up and give you candy) and we had a great time with friends. Our parade begins with the best -- the University's marching band -- and then follows that up with a long line of farm equipment, horses, and low riders (driving in formation and showing off their rims and hydraulics). Merry Christmas!

babes in arms

On Friday, we agreed to watch an infant so that our friends could attend some kind of Renaissance carol dinner. Since we were hosting our own dinner party at the time, with our great culinary-and-otherwise friends Jamie and Nicole, it made for a tricky evening. But Gwennie was especially excited to have a baby in the house, and was very good at attending to her needs. (We've heard from many friends that once Gwennie is a teenager, she'll be in demand as a babysitter because she's so good with little children.) In fact, Gwennie, who had been under the impression that the baby was going to spend the night, went to bed crying bitterly because we don't have a baby living in our house.

And the company and the food was typically fantastic: our theme for this dinner was "seasonal," and we enjoyed a creamy squash soup with toasted walnuts, cranberry and orange bread, braised short ribs with mashed potatoes, and two pies: a sweet potato and a deep-dish chocolate cream. The dinner was capped off with a juvenile owl sighting -- Nicole and Jamie left the house to find it sitting on their hood!

fashion plate

It's not the picture so much as the posing.

holdover

This is an image that wasn't included, for whatever reason, in last month's posts -- but was so cute and characteristic of Linus that I thought it should be seen.

banter

The other day, Linus announced the title of a new book which he wanted to read: Harry Potter and the Forbidden Dinosaur. The other children hastened to add to the wish list, Gwendolyn calling for Harry Potter and the Disappearing Doorway and Casper supplying the punch line (as usual) with Harry Potter and the Gobbling Goblet.

At dinner, Gwennie started singing the climax of the primary song, "My Primary Color is Yellow!" Linus chimed in, "My Primary Color is Red!" And without missing a beat, Casper sang out, "My Nursery Color is Blue!"

climbers

Gwennie's always loved climbing, whether up the doorjambs of our house or up various child-friendly climbing walls, but she only just figured out how to get into the tree in our back yard ("The Talking Tree") without lugging a chair back there. She now scales the "privacy fence" blocking (part of) the apartment complex, then leaps over and shimmies up the largest limb. Linus still needs help getting up, and he's much less eager to get up past the main branches -- a source of frustration to Gwennie, who always wants her playmates to share her verve and fearlessness.

grateful sunday

This week I am thankful for:

• the amazing Thanksgiving we had.
  
• the giving side of this holiday. We have so much and I'm so thankful that we have enough to share with others. I hope I'm teaching my children to be charitable and generous and to find joy in giving.
• couponing. Seriously, folks, I'm kind of addicted. It combines three things that I really enjoy: finding a bargain, organizing things on paper and shopping!
• the cinema. We live in a small college town and movies at the cinema are so cheap! On Friday we took the kids to see Megamind ($3.50/ticket) and on Saturday afternoon I saw Harry Potter while Todd went to see it that evening (a whopping $5.50 for his ticket).
• that the Relief Society lesson I taught today is over. Right before I stood up to teach, I realized that the lesson I had written was at home on my printer! But I learned a valuable lesson: I'm not very good at winging it.
  
• the change in weather. I realize that I mention the weather ever other week, but on Thanksgiving day we went from warm and muggy that morning to cold and windy that evening. It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.
  

dolly rides

moving