Obscure and Over-Looked Christmas Stories

When I was growing up the one ornament we always fought for the privilege of putting on the tree was the Christmas Spider. A spider you ask? There is an old German legend that explains...

On Christmas Eve, a long time ago, a gentle mother was busily cleaning the house for the most wonderful day of the year... Christmas day, the day on which the little Christ child came to bless the house. Not a speck of dust was left. Even the spiders had been banished from their cozy corner on the ceiling. They had fled to the farthest corner of the attic. The Christmas tree was beautifully decorated. The poor spiders were frantic, for they could not see the tree, nor be present for the little Christ child's visit. Then the oldest and wisest spider suggested that perhaps they could wait until everyone went to bed and then get a closer look. When the house was dark and silent, the spiders crept out of their hiding place. When they neared the Christmas tree, they were delighted with the beauty of it. The spiders crept all over the tree, up and down, over the branches and twigs and saw every one of the pretty things. The spiders loved the Christmas tree. All night long they danced in the branches, leaving them covered with spider webs. In the morning, when the little Christ child came to bless the house, he was dismayed! He loved the little spiders for they were God's creatures, but he knew the mother, who had worked so hard to make everything perfect, would not be pleased when she saw what the spiders had done .With love in his heart and a smile on his lips, the little Christ child reached out and gently touched the spider webs. The spider webs started to sparkle and shine! They had all turned into sparkling, shimmering silver and gold. According to legend, ever since this happened, people have hung tinsel on their Christmas trees. It has also become a custom to include a spider among the decorations on the Christmas tree.

So now you know about the Christmas Spider. I did make some spiders for my sisters and I to put on our trees. There is just something about this time of year that fills me with nostalgia and a longing for the way things were. What I've learned from the spider this year is NEVER put off or apologize for spending time with your family. Make the memories today that will fill your tomorrows with joy.

Whiny

Are you ready to listen to me whine?? I am having a pity party today (it's actually been going on for a few days). You are welcome to stop reading right now and I won't be offended at all...come to think of it I probably won't even know. I am trying to decide what gives me the right to complain. My family is relatively healthy, Jim has a great job, we are able to afford a pretty cushy life, my kids aren't too rebellious, and I have fabulous friends. So why do I feel like the world's whipping boy? Why am I beyond grouchy and snippy and just plain mean to the family I love so much? Why do I feel like crawling into a hole during my very most favoritest time of the year? I am without an explanation other than a few vague possibilities. Maybe it is the lack of sunshine, maybe my subconscious is trying to make sense of Christmas without my Mom (if that's the case I sure hope next year is easier), maybe I'm just too spoiled and self-centered to see my life as the fairy tale that it is. I don't know why I am this way and frankly, today, I really don't care why I'm grouchy. I just wanted everyone to know that I am aware of the situation and tomorrow if my party is over I'll try to figure out how not to be a hater. Until then, my family, friends and lurkers...beware...I may bite (and I'm really sorry if I hurt any ones feelings).

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

Were you able to read that without singing? Me either. I know you've all heard about my undying affection for my family and friends...but I wanted to get a little materialistic today. I love the people in my life and I feel so overabundantly (is that actually a word) blessed that it almost feels wrong somehow to praise the "things" in my life. But...that's what I feel like doing today...and since I never get to do what I want...here we go. An ode to shoes; Oh my shoes, I love you so...you always make me smile. I wish that you were comfy...Then I could walk miles and miles. (sing it to "Mother Dear I Love You So" it works better that way) It's true I LOVE shoes. Trivial and materialistic? Definitely...but oh they are fabulous and some day I will own a pair of Jimmy Choo's. ( This is just a sampling of the many pairs I love)Then of course there is the majestic handbag. Where would we be without its simple elegance, it's understated ability to carry our lives around in its zippered compartments? I feel guilty when I've used one for too long. I can feel the hurt and rejection from the others when they don't get their turn to compliment an outfit or make an appearance at a GNO. It's hurtful to neglect your purses...give them all a fair turn. I've even considered carrying more than one bag to ease the tension in my closet. It's tricky dealing with a herd this big. I have to be careful...they might rise up in rebellion. I'm just lucky they haven't formed a union...yet. Frosty the Snowman was alive as he could be....yes, I do love a good snowman. Funny though, I am selective in my collecting. Jim would tell you that I never turn any snowman away that wants to join my collection...but that's just not true. I only take the ones that are jolly and carrot nosed and a bit countrified. (you know you love it when I make up words this early in the morning) I wish I had the guts to leave them up all year. Someday I will...just a warning.

It may sound funny but my Darla is definitely in the top five of my favorites list. She is soft and snugly and she makes the most fantastic sounds. Yes...quiet really isn't her thing. When she get excited she gasps, when she's sleeping she snores, and when she's just breathing she gurgles. I just love her. Oh and she LOVES to sleep and hates to be bothered while she's napping. My kind of girl. Everyone needs a Darla. So now you know a few more of my favorite things...you know other than family and friends and Christmas and pizza and indoor plumbing and the Internet and fingernails. Now you know.

Recap

So here is my week in review. Let me just warn you, I forgot my camera (shocking!) so I don't have all the pics I wanted. I will put some of the ones my sister is sending me when I get them. So, we started out on Friday, the 21st at 3:30 in the afternoon. After driving through a freak snow storm and the deer infested darkness we arrived at my Dad's house at 7:30 in the morning. I had a hair appointment at 9:00 so I was able to relax and shower and hold Cylie for a bit. At 12:30 we went out to my Dad's old Jr. high school (my Aunt works there now) for a Thanksgiving celebration. I got to see some of my favorite cousins...with only one notable exception (maybe next year, Wendy). We had too much food and fabulous conversation...thanks for the laughs Tadd. My cousin Jodi gave my family each a sweet gift because we would be missing my Mom (especially) this year. She is such a sweetie. We got to catch up with Teresa (my bloggin' cousin) and see her girls. I got to hang out with my Grandma and see my Mom's sisters and brother and their families. We used to have such fabulous family gatherings when I was a kid. It was a good day. On Sunday we had Cylie blessed. She is such an angel. It was cool to see both of my men able to stand in the circle. I can't believe Kev is old enough to do that. wow. Monday was a hang out day. Jim and I got some running done while my sisters were at work. Tuesday my Grandma came to Dad's to hang out with me. We had a really good visit and I enjoyed seeing her. We set up my Mom's Christmas tree that afternoon. I wish we could have taken more time and reflected a little more...but once you get the ornaments out the kids go nuts. On Wednesday we went to have dinner with Jim's Mom and Dad. We got to visit with Jim's Grandpa too. He was such a big part of Jim life while he was growing up. He really learned a lot from his Grandpa. On Thursday we had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner at my Dad's house. We missed my Mom, but we cherished the time we were able to spend together. We tried a couple of new pies (and mine turned out great this time) and had my Dad's wonderful gravy on practically everything and went to bed full and thankful. On Friday, Jo tricked us into participating in the Black Friday madness. She has such fond memories of the last time we took her (the sisters don't remember it fondly AT ALL) but because she had such a great time, we decided the happy memories were worth the discomfort for us. We stood in endless lines, saw people we never expected to see (Lori Hansen!!) and went to see Twilight. I will tell you I did not love the movie. It was fine...but the actress that played Bella was so bad...I couldn't love it. Oh well. I still LOVE the books. That night we had to say our goodbyes as we were leaving at 3:00 the next morning. Dad got up to see us off and away we went. We loved our time spent in Idaho and hated leaving. We do wish we'd had more time so we could have seen some of our friends, but we decided we needed to see our family first. We are so thankful for the time we were able to spend with all our families. We love you all and can't wait for this summer.

Thankful

Since I will be at my Dad's on Thanksgiving...and no where near a computer...thanks Dad...I decided to tell you some of the things I am thankful for. As I thought about this entry and what to list, so many things came to mind. The obvious biggies, the smaller, more obscure blessings, there is just so many things to be thankful for. I guess that is the first thing that should be on my list...the fact that I have such a long list of things I am thankful for. I am thankful for my family, because I know not everyone has a family...or their relationships within their family are not loving, nurturing ones. I am thankful that my husband has a great job. Two reasons on that one; first, because so many people are without jobs right now and second, because it has allowed me the opportunity to stay home with my kids...even though they are now teenagers. I am thankful for my cozy house (especially today, bbrrrrr) even though we have a ghetto curtains. I am thankful that I have such wonderful friends. You would not believe me even if I told you how great my friends are. I have friends all over the place. It seems strange to me. I am a shy person at first. I know...you can all pick yourselves up off the floor. It's true, I tend to be cautious when meeting new people. Ask my sisters how I react to cute old men sitting too close to me...not pretty. I am thankful for my dogs. Don't laugh...I know I complain about them a bit. But I would be a sad girl indeed without them. I am thankful for the more over-looked blessings in my life like finger nails and trees and hair color and forks and flowers and warm blankets and forgiveness and hugs and the Hubert girls and my computer and flip flops and fabric softener and Christmas and that lotion that smells like new babies and so many more things that I can't even list them all. But mostly I am thankful for my Father in Heaven who gave me all these things through my Savior Jesus Christ. With out them my life would be a meaningless angry mess. I am thankful that every morning I get up, I have the opportunity to try a little harder to be a better more grateful person than I was the day before. And I am thankful for all of you...my friends.

A Sad Day For Pie

I know I've told you all about the ugly pie...but have you ever heard the story of the sad pies? No? Well, pull up a chair and grab a tissue...you'll need it. It happened on a very regular Saturday. I was feeling very ambitious...which is rare for a Saturday. I jumped right out of bed at the crack of 7:45 and cleaned my bathroom and hit the shower. I even dried and straightened my hair instead of the lazy curlyish route that usually guides my Saturday morning routine. Then I hit a couple of stores to pick up some last minute (hahahaha) Christmas gifts. After I guided the then cranky hubby to the football game and the big comfy couch...I headed to the kitchen to begin baking the pumpkin pies I had signed up to bring to the pot luck at church the following day. I decided that since I signed up to bring 3 pies I would make 4 since Kevin LOVES pumpkin pie. Well, my crust recipe makes enough dough for 4 small pies. It's kind of a stretch to get enough crust for my bigger pie plates so I decided to make an apple pie also and double the crust recipe (I can't really half the recipe because it calls for 1 egg). So I got out everything I would need and jumped in. I put the first pan of P.C. cookies in to bake and continue mixing and stirring and singing...actually I was kind of bent about something so I was venting to Jo...but I wished I was singing. I took the cookies out of the oven and didn't notice anything too strange about their appearance. Maybe a little uneven in color is all. They tasted ba-lish so I trudged on. The pies went in next and all was well. I cleaned up the mess and waited for the first batch of pies to come out. The warm yummy smell was noticeable absent when I pulled the first 2 pies out of the oven. Hey...something is weird about these pies...the top is burnt and they don't smell fabulous. hhhhmmmm. Well, with no time to waste I threw the next batch in the oven. Same result...creepy. Fast forward to Sunday at pot luck. My pies tasted TERRIBLE!!! They looked like crap and they tasted worse with a burnt top and a soggy bottom (there is nothing I hate more than a soggy bottom). I was so embarrassed. And believe me...they noticed. I wanted to crawl into a hole. The poor guys at my table (well, some of them anyway) tried to hide their sour faces. I wracked my brain for all the explanations for why my best pie recipe failed. AH HA! The milk. It had to be the evaporated milk. Dang...Mom always told me to check the milk before adding it to the pumpkin. Man...good advice. So as I was in bed last night trying to sleep, Kev came in and announced he knew why the pies had burned on the top and not cooked on the bottom. The oven had been set on the broil setting.
HUH? No way...oh yes it had. The genius man who designed my stove screwed up on the knobs.
My last stove had one knob to turn it on to bake, broil or the cleanning option. If you turned this knob on you controlled which set of burners was going to get hot. The other knob determined how hot the oven was going to get. Well, this oven is a little more tricksy. If the oven is set to broil, it will broil something at 350*...and leave you with a soggy bottom pie. So, the moral of the story is if you're going to vent to your daughter while baking...have someone else turn on the oven, or you'll have a tale of sad pies.

Happy Belated Birthday

I just want to wish my Dad a Happy 60th Birthday. His birthday was on the 11th...but I didn't have just the right picture...now that I do...let the public humiliation begin. Just kidding Dad. Sheesh...don't get so worked up. It isn't that type of blog. In case you don't know, I am the oldest child of Steve and Connie...hence the control issues. My Dad and I have had a tumultuous relationship. He tried with all his might to keep me from doing stupid things...and I tried with equal force to do them anyway. Neither of us won in this battle of the wills...in fact a lot was lost. Then the day came when I grew up...and he finally let me. I credit Kevin with helping to form those first tentative white flags. One thing I always knew growing up is that Dad was going to be there for me...always. He never drew that line in the sand...you know the one...the line, that if crossed means the end of the relationship. Now when I look back over my life I see a man struggling to hold on to his daughter and keep her safe. I admire that man for trying so hard. I appreciate him for setting boundaries and making sure I was given the skills to make good choices (not that I chose to use them). I love him for always being there for me when I needed him the most. My Dad is a man of few words...so I'm sure he'll think this entry is a waste of precious verb-age...so I'll make my point. Dad...I am the person I am today because I have a Dad that pulled me out of many (proverbial) burning buildings with out hesitating. Thank you and I love you. Dad playing with some of the grandkids...one of his favorite past times.

Dad making a snowman with (from left) Travis, his son Cade, Kevin and Gramps

"Camping" in Colorado.