Faux Hawk

Since our son's best friend at school sports a faux hawk hairstyle, our son has been wanting to wear a faux hawk, too.  His hair finally grew long enough after his daddy nearly scalped him over Christmas break.  By the time I got up and got dressed this past Tuesday, his sister had already styled his hair for him.  He loved it!  I just prayed that the students would be kind, and I suppose they were. One of my engineering buddies, however, commented, "Sisters can only take you so far in life!"

Lumbar Spine Update

In December, I posted about the improvements I am finally and miraculously experiencing in my cervical spine.  At that time, I was still waiting to receive the results from my lumbar spine follow-up X-ray.

I just went in for another consult to review my lumbar X-rays.  Most orthopedic doctors will say that once the disc degenerates, it cannot regenerate itself.  While my untrained eye can barely see it in these photos, my doctor says the discs are thickening (i.e., regenerating).  The spacing between discs has improved, and the curvature is improving. That much I can see.  I had too much forward curvature initially, and it looked like my back froze in baby carrying posture.  The ultimate goal is for the last horizontal line representing the top of the lower disc to touch the red vertical line.

It takes much longer for the lumbar discs to make permanent changes, so I will continue with my treatments until I reach that point.  Much of these alignment issues were likely due to two serious car accidents.  Difficult pregnancies and deliveries combined with excessive running on a subluxated spine accelerated disc degeneration.  My doctor says he has seen ultra-marathoners in their 20s with much worse spinal problems than average exercisers in their 90s.

The best news of all to me is that if I get my ankle and knee issues to heal with appropriate rest (very challenging for this busy mom), physical therapy, and continued adjustments, then I should be able to run again within the next year.  The ankles and knees are chronic, so I'll need a miracle there, too.  If God chooses to give me another miracle and heal my ankles and knees, then I will praise Him.  If He chooses not to heal me in that way, and I never get to run again, then I will still praise Him.  God is always good, for goodness is His very nature, and allows what He does for His glory and for our refinement. If pain brings me closer to Him, then I will rejoice in it.

I am continuing with my weight training regimen as best I can without being able to do any running or jump training.  Pull-ups and the superman are some of the best exercises for the back.  Core strengthening has also been very beneficial for my lumbar spine.  I do a wide variety of pull-ups to target different muscles in the back.  I recommend the following:

• Standard pull-ups
• Wide pull-ups
• 4 Position pull-ups
• Chin-ups
• X Pull-ups
• Vaulter pull-ups (targets the core)
• Pull up crunchy curls (targets the core)
• Lever pull-ups (good for the core, back, shoulders, chest, & arms)
• L pull-ups (HARD! - I really need to invest in an assist band to help me do this move, but I keep hoping I'll master it without an assist as I have with the other exercises, but I can't eek out more than one rep without returning to the floor.) 

Standard Pull-Up

Basic free weight exercises have helped strengthen my shoulders and neck so that I can hold my neck in the proper posture.  They also help me maintain my adjustments.

Never, ever, take a healthy spine for granted! The central nervous system, every joint, muscle, and ligament, and all major illnesses are influenced by the health of the spine.  It takes a lot of money, time, and effort to work toward healing, but it is so worth it!

Poopy Parenting

Mary Cassatt is known for her idyllic paintings depicting the love between a mother and her child.  Her paintings capture the most beautiful and intimate moments a mother shares with her child.  While I do not have an enormous appreciation for her paintings of mothers nursing their babes, I do appreciate the simple elegance with which she portrays motherhood.  She gives the high calling of parenthood due respect and draws attention to the sacredness surrounding a mother's love for her child.

Summer time by Mary Cassatt

As precious as those moments depicted in her paintings may be, there are days when mothers would call them all a farce, for some days are difficult, exhausting, and downright stinky.  While my memories with our children are filled with Cassatt style moments, I've had some challenging days as well.  When I consider that parenting is God's tool to refine and fashion me, exposing deep rooted sinful attitudes I never knew existed, bringing me to my knees as I cling to the feet of Jesus in tears, I know that those difficult days are sacred too, for they are preparing my children and me for eternity.  

"Mothering is no second-rate ministry for the spiritually and intellectually mediocre. Mothering is a Christ-rated ministry for soul and mind sculptors and what could ever be substandard about passing on Christ’s standard? " (Ann Voskamp)

Father, please refine me so that You may work through me to mold each child's heart, mind, and soul.  Give them hearts that chase passionately after you and the courage to stand for truth through any circumstance and even when the whole world seems to stand against us.  You are for us, Lord, and that's all that really matters.

Romans 8:31

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?

I must often pray for peace in our home.  One moment our children are best friends, and the next moment, they are arguing.  When my precious little angels fight, I am vividly reminded that self control is indeed spiritually given.  Only when we allow God's Spirit to take FULL control over the heart and will driving each of us, does He give us the supernatural power to pour out love when angered, kindness when frustrated, and gentle words when offended. 

Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

When my 6-year-old sat in on an at-home kickboxing workout this past weekend,  I took time to explain each kick and punch, which could be used in self defense, hoping he would get interested enough to do the workout with me. Instead he said, "So, when I get into a fight with my sister, I can use these moves?" Mommy fail!

When I look back on those especially trying days, sometimes I just have to giggle.  I'll describe an incident from this morning as an example of these frustrating yet humorous moments for weary mothers.  Our son's room has had a strange smell for quite some time. I have cleaned and sanitized almost everything in his room including the bedspread, sheets, mattress pad, closet and dresser drawers. Yesterday, the carpet cleaners came to deep clean all the carpets. I picked up all the toys and smaller pieces of furniture so they could get to as much carpet as possible, but they did not clean under the beds. We spent a fortune on this carpet cleaning bill, and the whole process was a huge inconvenience, especially since the kids were home for MLK day, and we all had to sequester together in a one room for four hours.

This morning as I was still trying to pull myself out of bed, my son came to me and said, "Mom, the carpet cleaners didn't get the black stain out from under my bed."

I replied, "What stain?  Why didn't you tell me there was a stain under your bed when the cleaners were here?"

So, I hopped out of bed and conducted an investigation.  I discovered that at some point in the past, our boy had accidentally pooped in his big boy underwear.  He had changed out of the dirty underwear quickly and threw the underwear in the washing machine, hiding his shame so that his mother would not find out.  Apparently, the poop must have fallen out and rolled under the bed. It had been there for who knows how long but long enough to soften and stain the carpet.  So, I spent my glorious morning scrubbing human feces out of the carpet while thinking that the carpet cleaners could have done a much better job yesterday while they were here.

I shared this story with a friend who had been up late last night cleaning the debris from her newborn's diaper explosion out of her designer love seat.   And I'll never forget when a dear friend came to visit me at the hospital right after our firstborn's birth.  As do most anxious new moms, I told her how our infant had met all the critical milestones required for hospital discharge except that she had not had a bowel movement yet.  Just then, our precious firstborn blew out her diaper with her first poop, and meconium oozed out all over my friend's fingers and hands as she had been holding my child admiringly at that moment. Grose!

Before motherhood, the subject of human feces was one I would have never EVER mentioned to anyone except a doctor should she ever ask.  Now it is the subject of a blog post and a right of passage for new moms.  It is also the bond that unites mothers and confirms their commitment to this parenting oath of office similar to the primitive spit handshake or blood oath.  Poop may unite us, but Christ's blood sustains us through even the stinkiest days.

Psalm 55:22

Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.

As the children like to say

Since 2013 began, it seems like we have experienced winter, spring, and winter again, and it's only January 17.  The first week in January was cold but not cold enough for snow.  The next week was warm with temperatures in the 70s.  I donned shorts and flip flops and soaked in some sun.  Over the past few days, it has grown colder, and the forecast is calling for anywhere between two and six inches of snow tonight.  Tomorrow (Friday), the temperature will climb into the upper 40s, and by Saturday we should be back into the 50s again.

Our daughter is gearing up for cooler temps.  Do you think four blankets will be enough? 

This photo makes my eyes hurt with all those bright colors piled on top of her adding even more visual noise to her already mismatched pajamas.

During cold winter days, instead of sitting by the hearth listening to the crackling of the fire, we stand next to our gas logs listening to the crackling sound of all the nails popping out of the walls as our children stampede through the house with "crashings and thrashings" like a herd of wild buffalo. We need a bigger, more durable house to contain all their energy or at least a gymnasium with padded walls.

One calmer creative outlet for our kids has been Reader's Theater.  The kids enjoy the play acting, but our daughter is picky about which part she gets.  When doling out roles for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, she said, "I want to be Tom because he has more sense than Huck Finn".   I wouldn't exactly call Tom discerning, but compared to Huck, I guess he's okay.

Our 6-year-old has a more easy going temperament than his sister.   He's more like his daddy overall, but he has my high hunger for hugs.  I love our goodnight hugs and the way he tries to keep me from leaving his room after I tuck him in at night.  After I tucked him into bed recently, he attempted to strap me down so I would not leave his room by placing his arms tightly around me.  He exclaimed, "I am your seat belt! I will hold you in place."  That seat belt sure does loosen up when tickled.

When I told my son goodnight on another night, he held me down with all his might and said with a tone of authority, "You aren't leaving! You will stay here with me all night long."

So I asked, "Is that so?"

He answered, "Yes...but you probably need to check with Daddy first."

At least he knows who is the head of our household!

 
^{Another evening, he and I had the following conversation:}

<sup>Boy: Mom, please hug me now!

Me: (While giving him a great big hug) Some day you'll no longer want to climb into my lap for hugs like this.</sup>

<sup>Boy: But why, Mommy?

Me: Because you'll want to spend most of your time with Daddy since he's the one who can best show you how to become a man.

Boy: I'll still come to you for hugs, though, Mom.

Me: Do you promise?

Boy: I'll try.

Me: Well, that's a wise answer, my boy. Did you know that Jesus taught us that we must always keep our promises, but since we don't know if we will always be able to keep our promises, it's often safest just not to make promises at all.  So avoid making promises when you can, but when you do make a promise, never break it.

Boy: Like our President does so often?</sup>

Mommy and Daddy need to discuss government affairs more discreetly, because that comment stabbed me.

I love our bedtime hugs, but I also really enjoy our bedtime conversations.

Me:    So what did you learn today?

Boy:   I learned that Enoch walked with God so closely that he got to walk right up to Heaven without dying first. I want to be like Enoch and walk right up to Heaven. Did you know there wasn't any death at all on earth until Adam and Eve sinned?

Me:   That's exactly right. So if there was no death, could there be survival of the fittest or evolution? Some try to merge the truths of the Bible with the theory of evolution (which is taught as if it were true in public schools & universities) into something called theistic evolution, but if there was no death before Adam and Eve sinned, then theistic evolution simply could not be true. So tell me, what happened after Adam and Eve sinned?

Boy: (bored and drifting to sleep by now)  The Big Bang?

So I tend to get over zealous and forget that he is only six, and he thinks that the Big Bang was a loud noise God made in frustration when Adam and Eve sinned.

^{***************************}

The political, economic, and moral state of our nation continues to vex me.  I'm trying harder not to vocalize those frustrations as much, especially on a platform where I might stir up anger.  

James 1:19-20

This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger;  for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.

^{It is somewhat therapeutic, however, to discuss government issues with my kids.  One recent exchange went like this:}

^{Me:     What do all corrupt human rulers since time began have in common?}

^{Them:  Desire for more power.}

^{Me:      So would you prefer our government to have more power or less?} 

^{Them:  Less.}

^{Me:      What about those wise rulers we read about in the Bible who had lots of power but avoided corruption?    What made them different?}

^{Them:  They loved God more than power!}

<sup>That's music to my ears!

I think God sent our daughter into our family to refine us.   When I was feeling especially exasperated with all the government corruption, she said to me, "Mother (in a very snooty voice), I think God is allowing all this political mess to stretch your faith."

My faith....and that of 70% of Americans. 


At times, my little girl sounds much older than she really is.  When she received the photo shown below (lower photo taken in November 2012) from an 8-year-old friend,  I realized that she is growing up much more quickly than I thought.  It's amazing how much little girls can change in just six months.</sup>

 
***************************

Fortunately, our family does not get sick often.  With so many visits to the chiropractor for my neck, back, knees, ankles, and feet each week, it's been nice not to have to deal with viruses, colds, and infections.  However, with the flu at an epidemic level across the country, we were more susceptible this year. 

My son complained of stomach pains last week, so I asked him to describe his bowel movements.  Ever fond of figurative language, he replied,  "It's like a machine gun firing off rounds."

I guess whatever was ailing his stomach lowered his resistance because when he woke up this past Monday morning, he had a headache, fever, cough, and achy limbs.  During breakfast he said, "I don't feel like shaving today."

 

What?  That was my clue that something was not right with him.

I  took him to the pediatrician's office that morning, and my boy tested positive for the flu.  That's the first instance of flu ever in our family.  After dragging him all over town in search of a pharmacy that did not have his RX out of stock, I sent him to bed.  By the time I had prepared a huge pot of  homemade "Flu Bustin' Chicken Noodle Soup", he was already feeling much better.  He was fine the next day with no fever and no aches or pains.  So, he went back to school on Wednesday.   We obviously didn't offer the flu much hospitality because it didn't stay here long.

When I picked him up from school on Wednesday, I asked him if anyone missed him while he was out with the flu.  He softly mumbled this reply, "I think so. Two of the girls in my class made me a blanket with my name on it. I'll bring it home when it's finished."

He has already received a stuffed Christmas tree from a girl at school.  He loves that tree. So, I can't wait to see this next token of endearment. 

New Years Day: Party right off the cliff and thoughts on beauty

Our family began the year 2013 at Myrtle Beach.  I hope to spend my retirement years near a tranquil beach some day, so it was a great place to start a new year.  Sometimes I consider myself already retired since I left my career to raise my children, but I hope to return to the career world some day.

As my husband drove us home that day, we discussed finances while I drafted our family budget for 2013.  With our healthcare costs expected to increase between 50% and 400% depending upon employer contributions (if any) and with payroll taxes increasing 2%, it was the most difficult budget to draft ever.  We don't even know yet how much taxes will increase again when all the new Obamacare fees go into effect later this year.  When I found out the extent of pork contained in the government's fiscal cliff deal which includes $41 in tax increases for every $1 in government cuts (those cuts never happen) vs. 2:1 or 3:1 ratios under previous presidents, and that all those tax increases were being used for more government spending instead of paying down the deficit, I found the first day of 2013 to be downright depressing.  God is in control, though, and this financial crisis could bring more people to their knees at the foot of the cross than ever before.

The kids brought some joy and festivity back to our New Year's Day by throwing us a spa-themed party that evening.  They set up stations throughout the first floor. They labeled each room with homemade signs.

When preparing the beauty salon, our 6-year-old asked me, "Do we have any pickles that I can place on your eyes?"  I suggested that cucumbers might work better.

They set up a massage parlor where my daughter played soft music and gave back rubs.  There was a game room where they set out their favorite board games to play.  And my son insisted that we have a laser tag area.  My daughter challenged me to a lazer tag duel (the game manufacturer spells it "Lazer Tag"), so I vented my frustrations with our corrupt government in a friendly game of laser tag.  My daughter, who receives love best through "quality time," cherishes those fun filled moments with her mom, even if I beat her!  Okay, so she's not the only overly competitive one in the family.

Please pardon the old workout clothes and lack of make-up or hair styling in these photos.  The truth is that I spend most of my days looking about as unkempt as I am here.  I have found that whenever I start to obsess over the outward appearance, my inner beauty fades.  One of my goals for 2013 is to focus less on the outside and more on the inside, releasing more of my selfish heart to my sovereign King so He can take full residence.

1 Samuel 16:7
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 

Why do we as women try to cling to our youthful beauty, coloring our gray hairs and pouring anti-aging creams into our wrinkles?  Why is cosmetic surgery such a profitable industry?  Why do magazines air brush and photo shop models to the extent that they barely recognize themselves?

Why can't we just accept the truth?  We are growing older every single day, like it or not.

Proverbs 31:30

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

I'll soon be 40.  Instead of rounding down this past year when someone has asked my age, I've been rounding up.  I've been "almost 40" for the past nine months.  I guess I've finally decided to celebrate my years on earth, especially those years in which I have been growing in my relationship with Christ.  Each day I wake is an accomplishment and a gift.

Some of us have experienced so much joy in life that deep laugh lines are prominent facial features.  For a time, I refused to smile because my lines are so noticeable.  Why am I ashamed to show the world that I have lived a joy filled life?  I have spent more time smiling than frowning, so I'm going to start showing off those wrinkles and accept reality.  Each day I grow older, my outward body is slowly falling apart.  Each day I live puts me one day closer to eternity with Jesus. Will I be ready?  Some may disguise the aging process, but none can stop it.   When our days on earth are over, will Jesus say, "Well done, good and faithful servant"?  Or, will He look at a plastic complexion and say, "I barely recognize you because that's not how I fashioned you.  You never took time to get to know me, so depart from me for I never knew you"?   I am resolved each day to know Him more deeply and experience His presence more intimately than I did the day before.

2 Corinthians 4:16

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.

Disclaimer:
This resolution does not mean that I will no longer use hair color or wear make-up, although after my last do-it-yourself home hair coloring disaster, I may try to establish a new fad of wearing a bag over my head.  I asked my husband what he thought about me letting my hair go gray, and he said, "No problem, but if you go gray, I'm shaving my head."  I think it's important to make ourselves attractive for our husbands, and I rather enjoy rubbing my fingers through his soft, salt-n-pepper hair.  But I will not obsess over the aging process itself anymore.   It is what it is, and God knows better than I do what is best.

Christmas Celebrations - Part 9: Myrtle Beach

After returning from my parents' house for the second time this Christmas, we finally had a day at home to unpack and take down all the Christmas decorations.  We also learned some tragic news about a dear friend's mother whom we both knew and loved.  An undetected UTI was ravaging this sweet woman's body.  Just when the doctors had her heart and kidneys stabilized, a blood thinner caused a blood clot so she was facing amputation and possible death if the clot entered her lungs.  The very next day the doctors called my friend and her dad in for a meeting.  It was time to pull life support.  Jesus took her home before they had to make that decision.

Another friend in our community group who is a tad younger than we are had just been rushed to the ER for gallbladder issues after already dealing with serious heart problems earlier this fall. Another couple we love so much had each been diagnosed with a serious health condition in the same week.  He had prostrate cancer and would be having major surgery very soon.  We also heard that day about several fatal car wrecks involving teens in my home town and students of some teacher friends of ours.

We were still reeling from the CT shootings killing so many precious kids the same age as our son.  Many people we knew were also dealing with hurtful relationships.  We were also facing the fiscal cliff with the rest of the working citizens of our country knowing that our current administration, which had already spent so much money that each of our kids already owes approximately $53,000, would continue to increase reckless spending.  While traveling for the holidays, I had enjoyed a brief respite from all the terrible news, but now that we were back home and my head was out of the sand, my heart and soul ached.

We had one more Christmas trip to make for the season, and I am so glad our destination was the beach.  Many of my most profound encounters and life-changing experiences with the Lord have taken place along the ocean shore.  Even though it was about 25-30 degrees colder this year on the beach than when we went last year at this time, I just had to walk along the sand and gaze across the ocean until my heart was soothed and filled with God's peace.

New Year's Eve at the Beach: 

After getting my fill of sand and surf, we celebrated a belated Christmas with Ju-Ju and Troy over a traditional New Year's meal.  We ate collards, rice, black-eyed peas, and ham, so we're hoping for health, wealth, and prosperity next year.  Myths aside, we know that in this world, we will have troubles but Christ has overcome the world and in Him alone we find our peace, hope, and secure salvation.

We all exchanged gifts, and I found myself buried under all the kids' presents and gift wrap. When the kids got ready for bed, they put on their matching pajamas.  Since the pajamas look just alike, they got mixed up in the suitcases, so the kids ended up wearing the other's size.  They were so cute in their too long and too short pajamas.

He loved the 4 foot sock monkey which conveniently matched their sock monkey Christmas pajamas.

Christmas Celebrations - Part 8: Christmas with my Family Again

Except for a small delay, our flights home from OK were uneventful.  After all the drama we've had in the past, we could not be more thankful for no drama this time.  We sat beside delightful people on the plane, hailed our shuttle bus rather quickly, arrived at our car to discover that we were missing my largest and my crucial piece of luggage, found it on a different shuttle bus, and got home around midnight.  I unpacked and got to bed my 3:00 am.  When we awoke, we all climbed back into the car, headed to the doctor's office for a quick adjustment, and then set out for another road trip to my parents' house.  Usually we do our nuclear family's Christmas celebration and the extended family Christmas dinner and gift exchange all during the same trip.  Mom wanted to be first, but the extended family couldn't come that day, so we came back again after our big trip to OK to celebrate with my extended family.

Our family tradition is to have breakfast for dinner.  I prefer a Paleo, gluten-free diet, but there sure were a lot of simple carbs on the table that were entirely too delicious to resist.  It's Christmas, so we went ahead and enjoyed the casseroles, sausage balls, cinnamon cakes, apple dumplings, pumpkin breads pies, and fruit salad. 

My aunt always buys each of the kids new pajamas and a classic book for Christmas.  Half of the kids were already in their PJs by the time I could gather them all together for pictures with Nana and Pops.

In addition to gift cards, my other aunt and uncle gave the kids in each family a surprise gift to enjoy as a family.  My brother's kids received the largest and most sophisticated remote controlled stunt helicopter I have seen.  We have already been through two different helicopters since the kids enjoy crashing flying them so much they eventually die.  We all enjoyed watching it fly and crash about the living room.

My brother's kids have lots of pets including a dog, but our kids don't have a pet because we were waiting until we no longer had a house on the MLS to adopt a pet.  So, my aunt and uncle gave our kids a robotic puppy named Lucky.  We've had robotic pets before, but this dog beats them all because he performs so many hilarious tricks.  Lucky has kept the kids entertained for many hours.  The kids wanted to change the dog's name to Noah.  Thankfully, Lucky was smart enough to learn how to respond to the new name and now performs all the same tricks even if they call him Noah.

Lucky

Christmas Celebrations - Part 7: Last 2 days in OK

The last two days in Oklahoma provided a time of rest, recovery, and relationship building.  The kids enjoyed slumber parties with their cousins at various houses, and they spent lots of time enjoying all their new presents.  They went swimming at an indoor pool while growing ever closer to their beloved cousins.  They could not bear to separate for even a moment to pack, so they extended their stay at their cousin's house while my husband and I packed up all their things back at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  I'm amazed at how close they feel to these cousins who live 1200 miles away.  My husband's family members are all very intentional about making the most of our time out there, so I give them much credit for facilitating such strong relationships despite the distance that separates us.

It was very cold and dry during our week in Oklahoma.  Had there been moisture in the air, there would have been lots of snow.  Yet, cold temperatures did not keep the kids from playing outside in Grandma and Grandpa's adventure land.

They also took fast rides with Grandpa on his Kawasaki.

Christmas Celebrations - Part 6: Oklahoma Day 4 (Chistmas Day)

Christmas Day in Oklahoma is crazy fun.  Sheer chaos abounds as kids go wild opening presents, but as the kids get older, the chaos is becoming slightly more contained. The kids take more time opening each gift, appreciating each one instead of trying to tear open all the wrapping on every gift in 30 seconds or less.  Still, I found myself opening my own gifts alone in the living room while the family enjoyed Grandma's famous cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate because I was so focused on watching others enjoy their gifts that I nearly forgot about mine.  Here are a few snapshots from our Christmas bliss.

Grandma's cinnamon rolls always rise unlike those we try to make at home.

Christmas bliss for our little girl

Christmas Day for our little boy

The following scrapbook page pictures Grandma and Grandma opening the big gift from all the kids combined.  I had just looked at old photos of a brother-in-law getting a new bicycle as a kid. Then I looked up to find him sitting on the youngest grandson's new bike.  My husband is holding a card from our daughter.  She addressed it to "Pappy" because that's the name she prefers to call him.  He isn't fond of the name, nor do I like being called "Mother" in her prim and proper tone.  She's always going through some stage or another, and the current stage is to talk in old upper crust English.  I'm still amused over the way Grandma tagged each gift.  Instead of writing our names on them, she printed out a different photo of each of us for each gift.

The photo at the bottom of the four brothers in their scarves is significant. My husband's grandmother (Grandma's mother) died this past summer.  She had been our kids' last living great-grandparent.  My husband is one of about 37 cousins.  One of the cousins took all the yard their grandma had left behind and knitted a scarf for each of the cousins out of her scraps as a special reminder of their precious grandmother who loved to knit, quilt, and sew.

Scarves with a note in each wrapped gift box

The note she included with each scarf

Christmas Celebrations - Part 5: Oklahoma Day 3 (Christmas Eve)

Our third day in Oklahoma was Christmas Eve.  It was filled with family, faith, and little bits of adventure.  The cousins came over rather early that day for lots of fun cousin play time.  One of the twins had a red shiny sticker on her nose and said that she was Rudolph.  I snapped a picture of her pointing a toy gun at me and captioned it:

"Grandma got held up by a red nosed reindeer
When the twins came over to her house Christmas Eve."

I really wanted a side-by-side picture of the youngest grandson, age 3, and our son, age 6.  They wear the same size despite the age difference.  It's almost difficult to tell which one is oldest.  My husband and I are both rather short, so our son has been tracking along the 20-30 percentile curve his entire life.  Our nephew, however, has a father who is a 6'4" and a maternal grandfather who is at least that tall, so he's on his way to becoming a super tall young man.

The kids in the family, including my husband, had fun playing Rock Band by the Christmas tree.  I posted a pic of my husband and my son rocking out on Facebook, and friends liked Grandma's Christmas tree so much I had to take another picture at night so they could see it all lit up against the dark sky.  So, it looks like my husband spent the entire day playing Rock Band, but he did take breaks here and there.  Grandma has always believed that Christmas trees should be made out of real trees.  She probably abhors our artificial one with fiber optic lights.  However, some of her sons are allergic to the tree needles, so she has always used a real tree without any leaves painted white for her Christmas tree. Her latest tree is not a tree but a series of wood planks nailed together in a very nice geometric pattern with hooks for hanging ornaments. She really should start selling them on Pinterest although a lot of labor is involved, so she would have to sell them at a high price.

Here is some evidence that my husband did not spend the entire day playing Rock Band.  He took some time to inspect his brothers' new shotguns and took me out to Grandma & Grandpa's pond to practice shooting skeet.  He did not miss.

I find my brother-in-law's shotgun to be very awkward to hold.  He's 6'4" and has a significantly larger arm span that I do.  The first skeet he threw out hung low in the air and took veered sharply to the left.  The guys laughed, considering it a dud, but in a last minute impulse, I decided to shoot anyway.  And by some stroke of luck, I nailed it.  Just don't ask me how well I shot the other skeet that were thrown along a normal trajectory.

Jingle bells, shotgun shells, 4 skeet got away.
But the one that flew far left got blown to bits today.

Sommer, one of the multiple super models in the family, showed off her domestic skills by leading a cookie baking/decorating project with the kids all afternoon.  She used her grandmother's famous cookie recipe, and the cookies turned out fabulous.  The kids had a blast watching, helping, and decorating.  We love you, Sommer!

My husband's family has some great Christmas Eve traditions.  After enjoying a fabulous meal prepared by Grandma preceded by some fine appetizers supplied by the boys (which this year included the largest cocktail shrimp I have ever seen and the prettiest veggie& cheese tray in the shape of a Christmas tree), the family gathers in the living room for the reading of the Christmas story from the Bible.  Then envelopes are distributed to each member of the family.  Inside is a note indicating that a donation has been made to a charitable organization (carefully selected to suit each family member's passion) because of Christ, the greatest gift, and in honor of each family member.  Here are two examples with real names replaced with blog names.

Then, each family member receives a gift bag.  Every year since my husband, the oldest, was a small child, every single family member, both young and old, is given a set of matching pajamas.  The older guys usually get a t-shirt and sleep pants, but some years, they have gotten pajamas to match the rest of us as well.  Then Grandma insists that we all put on our new pajamas for pictures.  The next morning, we still have our new pajamas on for the opening of gifts.

Listening to the Christmas story, cookies in process, and grand sons in their matching pajamas.

This year a new tradition was added.  We all watched a Christmas movie that was written, produced, choreographed, and designed by the oldest grandchild. She had the leading acting role and also played the piano, sang, and dance.  She selected costumes for herself and her twin sisters who also sang and danced in the movie.  She even wrote in parts for our kids which she filmed during the early days of our visit.  Her brother helped edit and add sound effects.  It was hilarious.  One of my favorite songs was "Carol of the Cats" (revised words to the tune of "Carol of the Bells") featuring her two cats sitting on the sofa, looking annoyed.