Up until this year, I've always been one of those "no Christmas until after Thanksgiving" sort of people. But I've been looking forward to enjoying Christmas with a little one who is old enough to somewhat understand things and get excited. So I told Kris earlier this week that I wanted to get the tree up this weekend. In fact, I never even decorated for Thanksgiving, which I usually go all out for. (Having a needy baby played a part in this decision.)
Sadie and I were looking at a Fisher Price catalog and talking about the nativity set that was advertised. I bought her one last year and said that we should go find it. So off to the attic we went. I dug out boxes and boxes (big ones!) of Christmas decor. The whole time, Sadie was saying - Baby Jesus, where are you? Baby Jesus! Over and over. I'm thankful that I stopped myself from vocalizing what was in my mind. I came so close to telling her that Baby Jesus was buried in here somewhere. Oh my. Under all the Santas and snowmen and ornaments, Baby Jesus couldn't be found. My heart dropped. Dear Jesus, I am so sorry.
I found a ceramic nativity set that she was excited to unwrap. She found Baby Jesus and started playing with the set. Then she dropped a piece on the floor and chipped it. I told her we had to put it away so she didn't break it. She immediately started crying and saying - more Jesus. Again, conviction.
Back to the attic we went. This time I wasn't stopping until I found her nativity set. I dug and dug as she continued to sing - Baby Jesus, where are you? More Jesus, more Jesus!!
That is my prayer this holiday season. I want to have the heart of my two year old. Let us continue to search until we find Jesus. And may we not cover him up with Santa Claus and snowmen. Yes, we will enjoy the lights and ornaments and presents under the tree, but I say....MORE JESUS!!
Friday, November 16, 2012
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Memories....
OK, so I have nothing exciting to write about. However, I was feeling a bit nostalgic this morning when a particular commercial/advertisement came on tv, so I thought I'd share my engagement story. (I realize that most of you will now stop reading. That's fine. My feelings aren't hurt.)
Let's see....Kris and I started dating the Sunday after Thanksgiving of '04. It didn't take long for us (well, me) to realize that we wanted to get married. I was ready! I tried not to push him or act too impatient, but I was getting to that point. We never discussed rings or dates. After a year of dating, we went to a Christmas party at a friend's house. On the way home, he started asking me about my friends' rings since most of them were already married. I remember calling my mom that weekend upset - mom, he's just now asking me about what style of ring I like, which means he hasn't even started looking yet!
A couple weeks before this party, I had gone home for Thanksgiving. He stayed in Houston to study for finals. His mom called me saying something like - Kris has worked really hard this semester, I want to surprise him by sending y'all to a play or something. Pick a date and a show you'd like to see, I'll buy tickets, mail them to you, and the morning of you can call him and let him know that you have plans for the evening. OK, sounds good. I chose the last day of school before my Christmas break for us to go see A Christmas Carol.
Fast forward to the day of the surprise. I sent him an email that morning telling him to get home from work early because we were going out, maybe we could even grab dinner before the show! Who knew how sick I was going to get that day. I had a migraine. Thankfully my migraines aren't severe like they used to be, but this particular day was bad. I came home from school and went to sleep.
When he got home and realized how sick I was, he said that we didn't have to go. Yes, we do, this is YOUR day, Kris! We went on to dinner, but I just sat staring at my food, too sick to eat. Let's go home, Traci. NO. Can I just rest a bit before the show, though? So we sat in his parked car and I slept until showtime. I slept through the entire production. As we were leaving he asked if I wanted to go look at Christmas lights or just go home. Might as well look at lights since I had been asking him to take me. So we got to one spot downtown and we got out of the car to walk around.
We were walking around when he began his speech with - I've been lying to you. Uhm, what? My heart sort of dropped. He then goes on to tell me that the night had been all his idea because...blah blah blah, will you marry me? Of course! Why did it take you so long? And amazingly, my headache went away and I felt fine!
Unfortunately, there's something with me getting sick during major events in my life. Just wait until the day I decide to talk about my wedding week!
Let's see....Kris and I started dating the Sunday after Thanksgiving of '04. It didn't take long for us (well, me) to realize that we wanted to get married. I was ready! I tried not to push him or act too impatient, but I was getting to that point. We never discussed rings or dates. After a year of dating, we went to a Christmas party at a friend's house. On the way home, he started asking me about my friends' rings since most of them were already married. I remember calling my mom that weekend upset - mom, he's just now asking me about what style of ring I like, which means he hasn't even started looking yet!
A couple weeks before this party, I had gone home for Thanksgiving. He stayed in Houston to study for finals. His mom called me saying something like - Kris has worked really hard this semester, I want to surprise him by sending y'all to a play or something. Pick a date and a show you'd like to see, I'll buy tickets, mail them to you, and the morning of you can call him and let him know that you have plans for the evening. OK, sounds good. I chose the last day of school before my Christmas break for us to go see A Christmas Carol.
Fast forward to the day of the surprise. I sent him an email that morning telling him to get home from work early because we were going out, maybe we could even grab dinner before the show! Who knew how sick I was going to get that day. I had a migraine. Thankfully my migraines aren't severe like they used to be, but this particular day was bad. I came home from school and went to sleep.
When he got home and realized how sick I was, he said that we didn't have to go. Yes, we do, this is YOUR day, Kris! We went on to dinner, but I just sat staring at my food, too sick to eat. Let's go home, Traci. NO. Can I just rest a bit before the show, though? So we sat in his parked car and I slept until showtime. I slept through the entire production. As we were leaving he asked if I wanted to go look at Christmas lights or just go home. Might as well look at lights since I had been asking him to take me. So we got to one spot downtown and we got out of the car to walk around.
We were walking around when he began his speech with - I've been lying to you. Uhm, what? My heart sort of dropped. He then goes on to tell me that the night had been all his idea because...blah blah blah, will you marry me? Of course! Why did it take you so long? And amazingly, my headache went away and I felt fine!
Unfortunately, there's something with me getting sick during major events in my life. Just wait until the day I decide to talk about my wedding week!
Monday, November 12, 2012
To Laugh or Cry? Or Both.
So this afternoon I had to go to the grocery store. I mean, milk and eggs cannot wait in this house. The world crumbles if Sadie doesn't have her milky.
I load up the kids and talk up the Randall's shopping cart with the little red car in order to get Sadie excited about going. (That's the one thing that Randall's does better than HEB - provide easy to maneuver kid-friendly carts.) I only go to Randall's in emergency situations. Like being out of milk. Anyway....get to the store, Sadie gets in the red car, and I put Harrison in the cart while still in his infant carrier/car seat. This only leaves the rack on the bottom of the cart for your groceries.
I had planned on making soup for dinner but had yet to start working on it at 4:30 when I went to the store. Since Harrison started getting cranky on the way to the store (because, of course, he was tired but wouldn't nap), with his crankiness only getting worse, I thought I should come up with Plan B while at the store. Milk, check. Eggs, check. We go through the freezer section and Sadie says - stop! Open that door! She wanted me to open the freezer door so she could show me which popsicles she wanted. Oh, that child!
OK, what if I get some chicken from the deli and go home to make some sides. You know, something nutritious (and quick/easy) like macaroni. And salad, which consists of lettuce, dressing, and croutons. So off to the deli we go. The 79 year old lady working the counter says - I'll be with you in a little while. She said it as though it was going to be quite a wait. I asked how long? With annoyance in her voice, she says - I gotta get this lady a half pound of cheese. Fine, I think I can wait while you get a half pound of cheese, how long will that take? Uhm, long. As we wait, Sadie wants out of the red car. I help her unbuckle. I finally get my chicken....Sadie, let's go. She climbs back into the car and we head to the checkout.
Checkout at Randall's - ugh! It's 5:00 by now, why don't they have every register open?! Remember how I mentioned that Harrison was tired and cranky? He's now tired and cranky and crying. Has been for a while. We finally get everything paid for and head to the car. But we didn't make it. Sadie leans her head out of the cart, and with excitement in her voice says - mommy, look! She proudly shows me a cheese tray that she had in the car with her. Yes, it was a tray decorated with Christmas ribbons. However, the ribbons were gone, and the price sticker was in shreds. Seriously, Sadie? aaahhhh!!!
So, I take the cheese tray from her, which makes her cry. There's no sound more beautiful than two crying children in the grocery store while everyone looks at you to see what's wrong. I turn the cart around and go back in in search of a sympathetic looking cashier. I stand in line again and finally had a chance to share my story. I'm so sorry, I already paid for my groceries and was leaving the store when my daughter showed me what she had. Unfortunately she took off the ribbon and shredded the price sticker (and shook the whole tray so that the cheese is a jumbled mess)....I sort of trailed off thinking I'd get a little laugh, maybe a grin, hopefully a - oh, don't worry about it, I'll take it. But when I saw no expression on her face, I said - I guess I need to pay for it. She rang it up, and now we're the proud owners of a $10.38 cheese tray. Party at our place? We'll provide the appetizer!
Kids still crying, we get to the car. Sadie's cries now aren't just whining cries. What now? Her lip is bleeding. I didn't even try to figure out what she did. I just put them both in the car and drove home. When we got home, what did we do? We ate cheese. And I laughed. That about sums up what my days are like lately. My children....how I love them!
I load up the kids and talk up the Randall's shopping cart with the little red car in order to get Sadie excited about going. (That's the one thing that Randall's does better than HEB - provide easy to maneuver kid-friendly carts.) I only go to Randall's in emergency situations. Like being out of milk. Anyway....get to the store, Sadie gets in the red car, and I put Harrison in the cart while still in his infant carrier/car seat. This only leaves the rack on the bottom of the cart for your groceries.
I had planned on making soup for dinner but had yet to start working on it at 4:30 when I went to the store. Since Harrison started getting cranky on the way to the store (because, of course, he was tired but wouldn't nap), with his crankiness only getting worse, I thought I should come up with Plan B while at the store. Milk, check. Eggs, check. We go through the freezer section and Sadie says - stop! Open that door! She wanted me to open the freezer door so she could show me which popsicles she wanted. Oh, that child!
OK, what if I get some chicken from the deli and go home to make some sides. You know, something nutritious (and quick/easy) like macaroni. And salad, which consists of lettuce, dressing, and croutons. So off to the deli we go. The 79 year old lady working the counter says - I'll be with you in a little while. She said it as though it was going to be quite a wait. I asked how long? With annoyance in her voice, she says - I gotta get this lady a half pound of cheese. Fine, I think I can wait while you get a half pound of cheese, how long will that take? Uhm, long. As we wait, Sadie wants out of the red car. I help her unbuckle. I finally get my chicken....Sadie, let's go. She climbs back into the car and we head to the checkout.
Checkout at Randall's - ugh! It's 5:00 by now, why don't they have every register open?! Remember how I mentioned that Harrison was tired and cranky? He's now tired and cranky and crying. Has been for a while. We finally get everything paid for and head to the car. But we didn't make it. Sadie leans her head out of the cart, and with excitement in her voice says - mommy, look! She proudly shows me a cheese tray that she had in the car with her. Yes, it was a tray decorated with Christmas ribbons. However, the ribbons were gone, and the price sticker was in shreds. Seriously, Sadie? aaahhhh!!!
So, I take the cheese tray from her, which makes her cry. There's no sound more beautiful than two crying children in the grocery store while everyone looks at you to see what's wrong. I turn the cart around and go back in in search of a sympathetic looking cashier. I stand in line again and finally had a chance to share my story. I'm so sorry, I already paid for my groceries and was leaving the store when my daughter showed me what she had. Unfortunately she took off the ribbon and shredded the price sticker (and shook the whole tray so that the cheese is a jumbled mess)....I sort of trailed off thinking I'd get a little laugh, maybe a grin, hopefully a - oh, don't worry about it, I'll take it. But when I saw no expression on her face, I said - I guess I need to pay for it. She rang it up, and now we're the proud owners of a $10.38 cheese tray. Party at our place? We'll provide the appetizer!
Kids still crying, we get to the car. Sadie's cries now aren't just whining cries. What now? Her lip is bleeding. I didn't even try to figure out what she did. I just put them both in the car and drove home. When we got home, what did we do? We ate cheese. And I laughed. That about sums up what my days are like lately. My children....how I love them!
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