Thursday, December 16, 2010

Some Day

Some day I will be able to decorate my Christmas tree exactly the way I want it.  I won't have to use plastic ornaments, or string popcorn and cranberry garlands, and I will use any color scheme I so desire.  The ornaments won't be bunched up with big patches in between, because kids want to keep their special ornaments together.  There won't be a loud train constantly being turned on and then knocked off the tracks from the excitement of watching it go.
Some day I will be able to do holiday baking without interruption.  No one will cry because they are getting some orange slices with a cheese stick instead of the gingerbread girl with all the sprinkles.  Nothing will burn because I am dealing with baby drama.  Holiday treats will go out to the neighbors on time, instead of sporadically throughout the winter season and maybe even March.
Some day I will have to decorate my tree all by myself, without small hands to help.  I will be the only one to sing with John Denver and the Muppets; I will be the only one to see if all the lights are working.  It will be quiet and maybe even a little somber, instead being full of voices and joyful  impatience and life.  Ornaments will go up without the excitement that only comes from a child unwrapping a welcome surprise.
Some day all of my holiday baking will be done with efficiency and some degree of cleanliness as well.  There will be no small and warm body pressed against mine and the counter while we try to measure together. I will have to figure out what to bake by myself, without the help of strong and loud opinions or promises already made to teachers and friends. Instead, there will be rows of naked gingerbread people and no ideas as to what they should wear.
Although I may at times wish for Some day, I need to remember the little joys that I can be a part of today.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Thanksgiving and Lots of Other Stuff

I am angry.  Oh, I am absolutely furious.  And I am to blame.  I lost our camera's memory card while on the way to the store to print out pics.  I even had a little nagging thought that I should upload the pics to the computer first, but didn't because I am lazy.  So I lost everything on that card from our trip to Delta.  Sigh.
This first pic was going to be of all the snow we have received, so you could see how incredibly brave/crazy/delusional/stubborn we were to attempt the drive in the first place.  In fact, after it started snowing on Monday and didn't stop, we were all prepared to have Thanksgiving up here instead.  Then we got a phone call Thursday morning and were persuaded to try.  The roads were ice until Pocatello, where they miraculously started to clear up.  I swear there is an invisible weather line there, and up north things must stay icier and colder than down south of this line.
The next picture I wanted to show you was of Brandon and Braedon playing Wii basketball together.  Brandon dominated the game.  Not my word.  Braedon is getting a very fine BYU sports education.
Nadia had some toe drama and had to be driven from Delta to Springville.  I did not take any pics of this, either of the toe or of the drive.  That toe is something that not even a mother could love, and the drive is just kinda meh.
We started Brandon's birthday early, since we were with lots of cousins and grandparents.  We went to Nickel City and let the kids loose with bags of nickels for arcade games, and they also got to play laser tag.  This is where I could really kick myself.  I had pics of the kids playing and getting ready to unwrap presents and even of the little confectionary delights that go by the name of cupcake from Deseret Book.  Those were bites of heaven, my friends.  And pics that just can't be replaced.  Ugh.
We then went and saw our good friends the Styers, and had a great time visiting with them.  That should have been the end of the trip, but it wasn't.  After getting back on the road and merging onto the interstate, Cliff got a call from his high school best bud.  He and his family were currently in Salt Lake.  We couldn't miss that chance, and so we went to Temple Square and visited with them as well.  It was so well timed, and so wonderful to see them again!  I love to see Temple Square at Christmas time, and love to see old friends even more.
It was perfect.  The roads on the way home were okay, and we did have to take it slow from Tremonton UT all the way home, but I am so glad we left when we did.  The next day one of the big news items was how many cars were sliding off the road from Provo to Salt Lake. It would have been a miserable trip if we had waited!
So this week I am going to continue to hunt for that card, and then probably buy another one next week.  And I'll find the lost one right after that.