Christmas Issues

So I'm having a hard time getting in the Christmas spirit this year. Perhaps it's the late nights, or perhaps I'm just getting aged. JK. I know I'm only thirty but man- I'm becoming a Scrooge. My husband grew up in a family where they had very little. I mean they had very little at Christmas time and I'm afraid his feelings around the season are wearing off on me. But, I'm trying to see it differently and get over the fact that I can't go up to Canada-my fav. place at Christmas. Perhaps the best way to have a great Christmas is to create new traditions. One thing we started this year was creating a gingerbread house. I thought, my boy likes treats so why not. But half-way through the gingerbread house fell totally apart. A friend had suggested to make a Christmas ornament with my son for the tree. We found the few items at the craft store and that were on my list and then when I went to look for the pieces of the ornament Mark and Peter both had melt downs so we left the store with no ornaments. Then I thought we'll make my Grandma's signature Almond Rocca. I didn't want to call my Mom for the recipe but my husband encouraged me and I thought ok sourpuss, you need to try. So I called My Mom, got the recipe which was vague- (something about smoke rising when it's finishes)my husband looked up the temp. and I heard it wrong. So guess what, my husband got busy, I used the wrong temperature and let Mark help and the candy was crystalized and overdone. This week we're going to get a tree and if that proves hard I think I'll throw in the towel. Merry Christmas anyways! Hope this doesn't make you feel scroogeness but makes you count your own blessings.

Thoughts

So there are seasons in life where we go through painful transitions. For some reason I wanted to look up some famous poetry and so I wikipedied Robert Frost. It said:

Robert Frost's personal life was plagued with grief and loss. His father died of tuberculosis in 1885, when Frost was 11, leaving the family with just $8. Frost's mother died of cancer in 1900. In 1920, Frost had to commit his younger sister, Jeanie, to a mental hospital, where she died nine years later. Mental illness apparently ran in Frost's family, as both he and his mother suffered from depression, and his daughter Irma was committed to a mental hospital in 1947. Frost's wife, Elinor, also experienced bouts of depression.^[3]

I know it sounds silly but it warmed my feelings towards my own situation and to being a new Mom again with two kids. At least I'm not grieving the loss of a loved one or anything similar.

Thankful Thursday

So you know how life sometimes give you answers in strange ways. Three months ago I had a desire to read a book from high school, the book the stone angel by Margaret Laurence. Why I thought of reading it again after 13 years, seemed strange at the time, but I read it and thought nothing of it. Anyways, the book just was made into a movie with Ellen Page. I watched it the other day on tv and do you know the feeling hit me that I was meant to read the book to answer some questions. I wouldn't necessarily recommend the book because it has some crude parts, but it was like an answer to prayers for me and I realized that god speaks to us often in strange but comforting ways. Isn't it funny how life works? Discovery number two this week was Mark in his costume, discovering how Halloween works. I can't believe how quick he caught on to the trick or treat deal. Also with us were our good friends the Andersons.

My First Entry

So this is my very first blog, and what better way to celebrate then with some pictures of our kids! Peter was born on September 20 at 11:07 after 13 long hours of labor with a home midwife. Mark and him get along well so far and we can't wait for him to grow up as a playmate of Mark's. These pictures are taken south of Provo on our hike. We've noticed that these days Mark loves hikes and we enjoy the exercise every week. It's becoming a tradition to get out each week and see a new place. He really has a good time running thorough the forest and hiking on trails. The only problem seems to be keeping him in sight. The week before we went to the grotto and found that Mark was still wanting more so we had to hike further on another trail. If only we had a GPS for him. My Dad also bought us a bob double stroller and so we are enjoying the warm last few weeks of fall and getting out with the two boys. Mark loves walks and he's helping get his Mom back in shape with frequent requests for the new stroller. Peter's newest thing is that we've discovered he loves warmth. Unfortunatley, he's still quite fussy at times and the other day I was pulling hot laundry out and in an attempt to carry the clothes upstairs stuck him in. He calmed right down and stayed there for over an hour just looking up. He's also fond of the heating vent so we stick his swing in front of it in the kitchen and find it works better than holding him. Necessity is the Mother of invention. Hope this is not too boring and you stay tuned. Thank you Dad for the funds for our new stroller!