Nativity

Luke 2:40
40 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.

As I watched my grandchildren running wildly through the house during our annual Christmas pajama party, I sat (amongst the Mr. Potato Head parts and Lala Loopsey dolls) and wondered how Mary and Joseph felt when Jesus was three. OK, really I was wondering where Mr. Potato Head’s nose went (hopefully not into Roko’s mouth) and how come the three years olds never step on Hot Wheels when my feet are totally bruised from them. But I have been thinking about Jesus as a toddler all season long.

Mary and Joseph knew they were raising the Son of God. So what was it like for them? Were they more diligent in telling him stories from the scriptures? Were they more careful not to let him get hurt? Did they worry they weren’t feeding him the best foods or keeping him warm enough? In other words were they like any other parents?


Did they marvel at his smiles and giggles?


Did they watch him run with his cousins and hope he didn’t fall and get hurt or put a hole in the wall?


Did they teach him to play nice with everyone even girls and even if they’re having a tea party?


Did they build forts with him and snuggle him close?

The scriptures don’t tell us what He was like as a toddler except for that one verse in Luke. But I’m sure He was sweet and kind and polite and fun. Just like my grandchildren.

Now, if I could just find Mr. Potato Head’s nose.

No Snow

We don't have snow here. So we have to make our own. This year we have plastic snowflakes in the windows and hung from the trees. We have snowflake lights on the house.




So we're TRYING to have a white Christmas. But mostly we have rain.

So today, Kelly and I had a rainy day adventure. We put on our rain boots instead of snow boots. Mine are new; they were a birthday present. Kelly's are pink with flowers.



We kicked the leaves on the ground because there were no snow drifts.


We visited Rudolf and an angel.


And we found one small puddle to jump in. But no ice to skate on which was OK because neither Kelly nor I have ice skates or know how to ice skate.

We don't have snow here. We have rain.

Don't Shoot!

Most people who know me, know I don't much care for Thanksgiving. It's all about cooking (which I hate). It's messy. The china has to be washed by hand. And table cloths; I hate them. This year we have table cloths and leaf shaped place mats. And the noise, noise, noise! Screaming grandchildren that are so excited to see cousins that they haven't seen since...last weekend!

We spend hours cooking and preparing. Well, mostly it's all done by my oldest daughter because she is a control freak. Anyway, all the work and then we sit down and in less than half an hour it's over. OK, so maybe we laugh a lot, mostly at Harry to embarrass him in front of his girlfriend. We remember old times and family members that aren't with us anymore.

Then the battle over who's going to do the dishes starts. It takes almost as long to do the dishes as it did to cook the dinner. Although, again, there is a lot of laughing, mostly at Harry because

he's the youngest.

Finally it's time for dessert. This year most opted for ice cream. I know, weird, huh? Then people start gathering up kids to go home. Trying to find shoes, blankies, the dog's leash, and toys.The kids cry because they don't want to go. Those left gather around the table to play Apples To Apples, and there's more laughing.

We still haven't planned our strategy for Black Friday, but that's OK because it's only Wednesday and we will do this all again tomorrow, which is actually Thanksgiving. Yep we do it all twice. What started out as Thanksgiving on Wednesday night and leftovers on Thursday so we could go to the movies has turned into two complete meals. But we do get to go to the movies.

So, although I'm not a big fan of the dinner part of Thanksgiving, I am a huge fan of the family part. I am so grateful that all of my kids live close enough to come to Thanksgiving dinner and they like being together. So I put up with the cooking, the tablecloths, the screaming kids, the mess and the clean up.

But now, let's move on to Christmas!

A Shared Birthday

I have 2 granddaughters. Sabrina and Kelly. They were both born on the same day...9 years apart. Today is their birthday. Kelly is 3 and Sabrina is 12. Each year since Kelly was born they have their picture taken together in matching outfits and they go out to dinner together (This year it was Kelly's turn to choose. She chose Chuck E Cheese.). Then they have separate parties at some point. This year, Sabrina's is a swim party tomorrow and Kelly is having pink cupcakes at her house tomorrow night at 7. They are such good friends (of course being the only girls helps). They love to shop and dance. Sabrina will occasionally play Barbies with Kelly and Kelly will sometimes let Sabrina hold her on a floaty in the pool.
I hope Kelly and Sabrina always have fun sharing their birthday. I think it's great


PS. Ya know what's really strange? My sister and I (we're twins) share our birthday with our cousin, Anita. And we are 9 years apart.





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad.

Miscellaneous Stuff

On Sundays I doodle on little scraps of paper. Sometimes I will post them on facebook. But most often they just sit around until I throw them away.

I came across a few that I decided to color and finish and share, along with what was going on in my head while I was drawing.

ONE JUMP AHEAD OF THE BREAD LINE

Harry played Aladdin in his school's muscial. I was really proud of him. Lots of kids came to see him and he was so sweet to take pictures with each. While thinking of him one Sunday, I doodled an Aladdin.

IF WISHES WERE VWs WE'D ALL DRIVE

I'd like to be able to draw cars and rockets, but I really can't. The cars always look like this one:

And the rockets almost always look like this one:

A HOPE FOR SUMMER

We had a really wet spring this year and it seemed as though Summer would never get here. We'd have a couple warm days and then it would pour. And the snails! They were every where. Waiting for warmer days and dead snails led to these Sunday doodles.

THE THICK AND THE THIN OF IT

One Sunday I was thinking about my continual battle with weight. I am round. I've tried to be skinny and managed it for a few weeks here and there during my life. But I always return to my plump self. Why is that? And then it hit me. It's about carrots and Fudgecicles. Which one would you choose?

OLLIEBOT

Kelly had her second baby last month. His name is Oliver. We call him Ollie. And sometimes Olliebot. I made him a cute romper to be blessed in and embroidered robots on it. Although two of the robots came from Stampin Up, I drew one and his little dog too.

CANNON BALL SPLASHES

And then summer was here with hot days filled with swimming and cannon balls. We've had some great parties so far. We've swum into the dark of night while the Tiki Torches blazed. There have been under water voyages and jungle cruises. And Andrew can do an AMAZING cannon ball!

THE BLACK CLOUD

If you read my previous post, you know that my life is not going the way I'd like. I'm mad at God, the Church, BYU, all the perfect people in sacrament meeting, and I have no intention of coming out from under my black cloud any time soon.

SO THERE!

Hands Which Hang Down

I've been struggling lately.

Every day I have to choose to be obedient to the principles of the Gospel and the tenets of His church.

The world's view of what an OK life is, makes that choice more difficult every day.

And even though I make the right choice every time, I'm getting tired.

I'm tired of being tested. If the lord issues a test it'll have my name on it. Oh and pop quizzes? Practically every day. You'd think I'd get used to it. But I don't.

Then one Sunday as I was watching all the perfect members in the ward being perfect. I felt a little black tornado forming over my head threatening to pull me in and away from choosing the right.

So I opened my scriptures to a favorite:

Doctrine and Covenants 81:5-7

5 Wherefore, be faithful; stand in the office which I have appointed unto you; succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees.

6 And if thou art faithful unto the end thou shalt have a crown of immortality, and eternal life in the mansions which I have prepared in the house of my Father.

7 Behold, and lo, these are the words of Alpha and Omega, even Jesus Christ. Amen.

As I read it, instead of understanding it (as I usually do) to mean I should help those who need help, I felt something different:

Where is the someone to lift up my hands which hang down? I know that Jesus loves me. I know that His spirit can comfort me. I know He hears my prayers. But this scripture was written to members (specifically Brother Frederick G. Williams) so where are they?

Surely, I can not be the only member who is struggling. Is everyone as perfect as they appear to be? Or do they all hide (as I do) what doesn't fit into the "Perfect Mormon" mold?

I wonder. Was I the only person who had a little black tornado overhead that Sunday?

BTW, I continue to struggle. Tests keep coming. And I keep choosing to be a member of God's true church.

The Third Shoe

THE FIRST SHOE

The motor in the pool pump blew. I really thought my world would end. The pool turned green...GREEN! If this had happened in October it wouldn't have bothered me, but in the Spring? All winter I dream about floating in the pool. It's what keeps me from going mad during the long, ugly, rainy days of Winter. Nightmares of swampy swims kept me awake along with thinking about how much it could cost to fix?...Well...it's just the First Shoe.


THE SECOND SHOE

10 o'clock at night the phone rings. It's Sabrina. She and Sandi have been in a car accident in a round-about. As I'm trying to get my clothes on, I'm praying that they are alright and what do I do if they aren't. They weren't hurt. But the car was another matter. They were driving my PT. The driver's side was totally bashed in. Rich couldn't remember if we had anything other than liability insurance on it. GREAT! So fell the Second Shoe.

We all know that when shoes begin to fall, they don't fall in pairs. Which is totally weird because how many people do you know who wear more than 2 shoes at a time? So we kept waiting for the Third Shoe. We knew it was gonna drop. it was only a matter of time. Oh and by the way...the pump motor? $325. The PT? $500 deductible. (Thankfully, we had kept full coverage.) And eventually that Third Shoe fell.

THE THIRD SHOE


It fell with a "Clunk! Clunk! Clunk!"-ing sound. The washer. No matter how I rearranged the clothes in it, it wouldn't balance. This is my third washer since I got married. And it's a Maytag. (By the way- that whole Maytag Repairman who never gets called out to repair Maytag washers-IT'S A TOTAL LIE!) And, of course, it happens the day after my extended warranty with Sears expired. ugh! And it was 2 days before we were leaving for Disneyland. Going to the Laundromat. One of life's true "white trash" experiences. Renewed the warranty and got it fixed. I LOVE Sears.

3 shoes. All within one month. Sharp, pointy toed, stiletto heeled and not one that I could wear!

Pajama People

As I see it, there are 2 kinds of people in the world: pajama people- those of us who LOVE our pajamas and find any excuse to wear them- and people who WISH they were pajama people.

Pajamas are usually loose and comfy. Flannel for winter, cotton for summer. I love Nick and Nora and Gilligan O'malley. My mom loved Karen Neuburger pajamas. Pajamas are the one article of clothing that looks good in even the silliest print. I have some with sock monkeys on them. Did you know you can send pajama grams?

The best part of being sick (even just a little) is that you can wear your pajamas all day. And if you are very sick you can ask your kids to go to Target and buy you some new cute ones that will make you feel better.

And Slumber Parties! A party invented to celebrate what you wear to bed but never going to sleep.

Schools have "pajama day". A real favorite even with high school students. Harry loves a day when he can wear his robe all day. I often see girls shopping while wearing pajama pants.




On days when it's rainy and cold I feel it is best to stay inside wearing pajamas, wrapped in a quilt, and watch old movies. If you should come to my house on one such day, be prepared to find me in pajamas. In the spring when mornings are starting to warm up, I love to sit out by the pool in my pajamas.

I clean house in my pajamas. I mean, really, why shower and get dressed just to get all sweaty cleaning and then have to shower again when you're done.

Christmas Eve is fun celebrated by having dinner while dressed in Christmas jammies. It also makes it easier when it's time for little ones to go to bed in anticipation of the arrival of Santa- who I'm sure can't wait to get home and put on his pajamas.

When you get home from church on Sunday, do you stay in your church clothes or do you rush to change into your pajamas and maybe even have a nap? Because it's totally OK to sleep in your pajamas.

So...go put on your pajamas! Have a comfy day!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad.

Anatomy of a Valentine

Wonder how a drawing comes to be? Well, even if you don't, I thought I'd share how my Valentine came to be this year. Especially since, because I'm sick, I won't get them mailed out.

It started with my new obsession with crocheting.




A cute valentine heart. I crocheted lots of little hearts of varying sizes. They could be found all over the house. There was one in the bottom of the laundry hamper. I gave one to Harry to give to his girlfriend. Anyway, I finally settled on this heart and crocheted 20.

Then came the doodle.




I drew it during Sacrament meeting. I decided I didn't like the pushing and pulling of it so I did more drawing.




I decided this little boy and girl were too stiff.

Oh, and in the meantime I did some other Valentine doodles:










I finally found the perfect little boy and girl and the drawing FINALLY came to life.



I Am Giving You My Heart

I love the old fashioned look. A boy declaring his love! It's every little girl's dream!

Some times drawings come easier than this one. Sometimes it only takes one little doodle. But most often I fret and tweak and draw and erase...
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad.