Christmas 2007 – The Family Christmas Letter

I do an annual Christmas Letter and what follows is the latest creation…enjoy…

Christmas 2007 

(A fairy tale of the family told so a 4-year-old could understand…) 

Once upon a time, in the land of merriment and wonder, called familyland, there lived a family of one father, one mother and two lovely children. This is the story of this family…. 

The father of this family was named Larry. Now, Larry was a giant among men – he towered over most people, and usually that would be very frightening, but Larry was a very kind man. He enjoyed being with friends and family. During the past year, Larry still enjoyed spending time counting things at the local school. He counted students. He counted chairs. He even counted teachers. And the teachers didn’t seem to mind all that much. But most importantly, Larry liked to count the number of fish in the lake at the little cabin in the woods (also known as Northern Wisconsin). When the days became really hot in familyland, Larry and his family would be whisked away by a really big bird (airplane) and go to the cabin in the woods and count fish. It was a lovely, magical place. In the evening the deer come out to play with the mosquitoes (blood sucking vermin). Larry also liked to sing about God and help teach people about God at the little church down the lane (freeway). He made many wonderful friends at the little church and his work there was truly a blessing in his life. 

The mother of this family was named Susan. Now, Susan loved to sing to all of the little animals that followed her around the house (the dog, the cat, the infestation of crickets). She would even sing at the little church down the lane. She also worked at the little church and would spend many hours a day making sure that the people who went to church there would have a pleasant time and be able to worship God. She also drank a lot of coffee there too… 

This family also had a beautiful daughter who’s name was Jamie. Jamie turned 9-years-old during the past year, and she loved to sing, dance and make merry in only the way that 9-year-olds can make merry. She was very good in her studies and loved all of her little animal friends that she made (mostly the stuffed ones).  One of her favorite places to visit was right next to the country of familyland. It was an even more magical place called Disneyland. Jamie and all of her family visited this even more magical place in early December when all of the streets were festooned (yeah, look it up) with Christmas decorations and the sound of Christmas was everywhere (not to be confused with the magical place called the mall). Jamie even made a new friend when she received a special gift for her birthday. She was given a special hamster (furry rodent) named Snuggles. Unbeknownst to Jamie, Snuggles was a magical hamster that could grant her three wishes…but that’s another story… 

Finally, in this family was a young boy named David, who dreamed of sailing a pirate ship and seeing the world, as long as he was back home before dark. David turned 4-years-old this year. He loves to play the game of ‘balls of base’ and ‘balls of foot’. His soccer team was so valiant that they defeated all of their opponents on the field of honor (were undefeated). But the thing that he enjoyed doing the most was find ways to annoy his lovely sister. That’s when things in familyland become somewhat less merry…but it was considered only a phase…(yeah, that’s it)… 

So that’s the saga of the happy family in Familyland. And as we end this story, you can almost hear the family say…”Merry Christmas and God bless you this next year!!!” 

The End

Hail to the Chief….

Last weekend was a pretty amazing weekend for my husband and I. Yes, part of it was being away from the kids for a weekend. We hadn’t done that since….let’s see….oh, about 7 years!  Yes, I felt guilty and yes, I worried about them….but the payoff was fantastic! I actually got my husband back! The man I fell in love with and joked around with and spent idle time with Before Kids (B.K.). Sigh…..

The other amazing part of the weekend is what we did. I’d never been to Washington D.C. before and, through my husband’s work, we were able to go out for a 3 day weekend, go see some of the sites and watch the Arizona Cardinals lose to the Washington Redskins (but just barely!!!!)….

It’s amazing to go someplace that you’ve always seen in the news or in the movies and actually visit there. We flew in on Friday and our group (about 20 in all) were bussed to our hotel in Bethesda, MD. I had my nose glued to the bus window the whole time driving there.

First the place is surrounded by woods whose fall colors were just coming out – my favorite time of year! Then, as we got closer, we drove by several large federal buildings – like the NIH (National Institute for Health). Pretty impressive for a small-town girl.

We got in late so the group went to a local restaurant and came back to the hotel and crashed. But the next day was great! We were able to take a tour of the White House (ok, a small part of the White House since most of it is blocked off now…). Walking through the rooms, I couldn’t help but think of the amazing people who had walked through these rooms (Jefferson, Adams, Lincoln, Nixon….oh, wait….). But looking around it dawned on me – I now know why most politicians are the way they are – - the furniture looked so amazingly uncomfortable! I think that if they’d just move in some nice comfy sofas and tvs with remote controls, well…politicians would be able to relax a bit more and finally get stuff done in Washington!

After the tour (and deciding that it’d be cool to have a Green Room, Blue Room and Red Room in my own house), we went to the mall and, on our own, were able to walk around the place. Honestly, I felt just like Jimmy Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. We visited the Lincoln Memorial and I just started getting teary-eyed when I read his 2nd inaguaral speech on the wall. *Sniff*

We visited the Vietnam Vets Memorial, Washington Monument and the fairly new World War II Memorial. Then we headed on over to the National Archives to take a gander at some old stuff – like the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. Wow……I saw it with my own eyes…..pretty cool….

Tired but happy, we climbed back on the bus and went back to the hotel. That night, we went out to Georgetown for dinner. That place is insanely crazy on a Saturday night – lots of young people – I definately felt my age walking through there. Most of the younger people on the tour group went out to a few bars….my husband and I ended up at Barnes & Noble!

The next day we went to the game. The Cardinals did not play well, but neither did the Redskins. I tell you, those Redskins fans are extremely passionate about their team! The heartbreaker loss (missed field goal to win it) hurt a lot! Right after the game, we were whisked out on bus to the airport to fly back to Arizona.

So my observations during my visit? Amazing architecture (some of those buildings are an entire block long), amazing history, and yet it seemed like such an insulated life – I can see where people who work in that environment can easily lose track of real life beyond the beltway!

We will definately have to go back with the kids in tow – probably when my children are 13 and 9 (after they’ve had some kind of Civics lessons at school). Really, one day in Washington D.C. proper is nearly impossible – I’d recommend 3-5 days!

…out

Happy Birthday?

Well, yesterday was my birthday. I remember looking forward to that day every year as a kid – until I hit about 25. Now I just hear more of my body complaining about having to get up in the morning on that day! I hit the big 45 this year – officially careening into my 50s…sigh…

So for my birthday, I had a special day. Went to church (got to sing with the band which I always enjoy), the service was awesome, had to say goodbye to some very dear friends of mine who were moving that afternoon to Fargo, ND. (Don’t get me started on that one!), went to the Disneyland of outdoor sporting good stores (Bass Pro Shops) with my hubbie (that was my birthday treat from him…don’t get me wrong, it was cool, but a new fishing pole isn’t in my top 5 of things to get overly excited about), got to see my little son become less energetic and spike a nice fever, went home and took my daughter over to a sleepover, then took my little boy to urgent care. Hmmm… Happy Birthday to me, happy birthday to me…

OK, I’ll stop whining…’cause really, it won’t solve anything. The kicker, though, is having a sick little guy. We’re planning to go on vacation tomorrow (heading to the windy city to catch a Cubs game and then northward to Wisconsin), but I dread travelling with a child that has a fever. We took him last night to urgent care but he didn’t have the recurring ear infection that I thought (or even hoped) it might be. The doc said he had a red throat, but they tested for strep with a negative result….so…..he has some kind of viral thing going…the day before vacation…sigh…

This parenting stuff…all the best laid plans of mice and parents….I guess it teaches you that you can really try to prepare for everything, but when it’s all said and done, you are not in control!

Well, I gotta go…gotta take my little guy’s temperature…

…out 

The perfect beauty of softball

Before I met my current hubby, I was probably one of the most unathletic souls that walked the face of this earth. Of course, after being married to Larry for almost 12 years…well…I probably still am pretty untalented in the sports arena. But Larry's passion is sports…anything sports….and I gamely try to tag along with him.

We courted when we both played on the company's bowling league (yeah, nothing smacks more of romance than the smell of rented bowling shoes and stale beer…).

Larry loves to golf – and, Lord knows, I've tried (and tried….and tried….) but golf just isn't meant for me. I've taken tons of lessons, but for the life of me, I cannot get that stupid little white ball in the air. Thank goodness golf balls are round, as that's the only way I can scoot the stupid thing from the tee to the hole…sigh…I enjoy the scenery of golf, but hate the frustration.

When Larry (finally) proposed to me, we were still in our softball uniforms – dusty, dirty, tired – we are sitting on our sofa and he takes off his baseball cap long enough to get down on one knee (avoiding scraping the carpet with his cleats) and asks me to marry him. Tears were running down both of our dusty faces…sigh…

So now Larry is coach of our church softball team. We are in a leauge of about 8 other churches and we have tons of fun. We've been playing together for over a year now and it's been a blast getting to know these people in this fun environment. And everybody has been very patient with me…yes…I'm the worst player on the team…I think it helps that (1) I'm the coaches wife and (2) it's a church team (so we have to all try to keep our competitive streak in check – and stay humble).

Staying humble has been my mainstay during our time playing softball. Actually, my strength is being able to gauge if a pitch is going to be a ball or strike. A walk has been my usual way to get on base.

Well, a week ago Sunday, we played a team that's pretty good in the leauge. And we were keeping pace with them pretty well. I managed to strike out twice (with players in scoring position, I might add). Bottom of the last inning comes up…we are down by 2…runners on 2nd and 3rd…2 out….and I take strike 3 not swinging….game over, thank you very much for playing. Sigh….

The next day, I go to our local sporting good store, buy me a decent bat – and hit the batting cages until there were blisters of my fingers. I'm determined….really determined…

Well, we had a game last night and I'm ready. I've got my shiny new bat…a little more confident…life is good…one of our youth players put together some music to play while the batters walking up to the plate…you can just feel it….first time up at bat – I walk. Second time up at bat – ground out (but I advanced the runner!). Third time up at bat – I walk again.  Ok, so I didn't hit the dream home run – but I scored two runs and we beat this team 9-7. (And the new bat was used by a few players who hit in the park home runs with it…they like the new bat…)

I really have come to love softball. I still stink at it, but there are just moments that make you think…"did I just do that? Where did that come from?" It really is amazing what a game like softball can do for the human soul – it can make you feel really angry at yourself, but then you pull yourself up by the bootstraps (er..I mean cleats), practice and get better, and then you start to play decently and you get to feel just a tad more confident about yourself. It's a beautiful thing…

…Now, if only I could figure out my golf game….

…oh well…gotta go hit the batting cages….out.