Gracious Rain

December 24, 2015January 14, 2016

My First Christmas Eve~

As I pulled out of the driveway from my daughter’s house, close to midnight on Christmas Eve–to spend the very first night at my very own little house, of course I was excited. Then, I looked back up at the big picture window and I could see them, Lyndi and her husband moving around in the front room to get everything ready for Santa Claus’ visit. I got the strangest clutch in my chest. My first thought was, “What am I doing?! Family and love and Christmas and happiness is happening right there, right now and I’m driving away from it–to be almost alone!”

I’ve lived with my daughter and her family since before her children were born. Since both boys went on their missions. Since before Jillian got married. Since before Dane got married. Eight maybe nine Christmas’–I don’t know, I’ve lost count. It’s all we’ve known for a long, long time. Everything just the way that it was.

I kept driving out into the night with all the funny, scared, lonesome thoughts going through my head. By the time I was half way to my house it was snowing hard. After sliding a bit on a slow turn, I pulled over into a gas station parking lot…and started to cry. I was quite prepared to sit there for however long it took, to calm down and get a hold of myself.

Then my phone rang. It was one of my other daughters calling to wish me a Merry Christmas Eve and to just see if I was ok. I think some little angel must have nudged her to call at that very moment. She told me that she was proud of me and that some things would be hard and different, but that they would also be good and wonderful. She told me that my family was still the same and close by and mine. She said that the scary things that were changing would be great. Most importantly, she said, “Mom, everything is going to be all right.”

Insert big, heavy *sigh* right here.

Funny how those last few words have such an incredible ability to actually make everything all right.

I drove the rest of the way home singing, “Chestnuts roasting…” with Nat King Cole, and it was warm and soft and lovely.

New. Different. A little scary.

But all good.

Here we go.

Merry Christmas my friends.

December 23, 2015December 22, 2022

The Christmas Shelf

Of course this isn’t really a Christmas shelf–as in, that’s all we will ever use it for. It’s just that the very first official use of the thing was to set up a bit more holiday cheer–so to speak. Most of our Christmas storage boxes are nestled deep in the shed or back patio with 80,000 more boxes and tubs stacked on them. So, all that we are decorating with here are the new things acquired this year, or whatever didn’t get put away from last year.

Slim, but still decent pickings, indeed.

I saw this in Target one night and it reminded me so much of my daddy and all his gingerbread making skills, that it worked it’s way into my cart–at the expense of two boxes of cereal.

Had to be done.

This is a cute little “shelf elf” of sorts, that I won last year from the local toy store called Blickenstaff’s. I don’t remember what I had to do to win, but he was worth it.

My dear friend Sue made the little wooden nativity and totally fulfilled my quest to get a new little set, from somewhere each year. Thanks, Sue!

Then there is our most beloved manger scene that Rhen brought back from Kazakhstan. Here’s the little shepherd with his lamb, his donkey and his enormous dog.

Here are the three wise men with their gifts.

And of course, Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus–in his wooley manger bed. Being a non-Christian country–this had to be specially and very quietly ordered, ahead of time. It’s really beautiful.

Our plan is to sleep over for the first night in the new house–tomorrow–Christmas Eve.

It’s becoming a sweet, cozy place–and guess what~

My bed is getting set up tomorrow.

Merry Christmas to me!!

Wahoo–it’s happening!

December 23, 2015January 9, 2016

Christmas Essentials

With the goal being to actually move into my cute little house by Christmas, I figured that putting up the tree–fake as it is, and some decorations might just light a fire under the project.

I could only find a few of the boxes but it had just enough stuff in it to give the place a little Christmas sparkle.

Rhen found a few of his decorations for the tree.

You know, the important ones.

In the end it was just enough. So now we have a couch and a Christmas tree.

A couple of beds would probably be good.

Working on it.

December 22, 2015December 22, 2022

doTERRA Christmas Party

Normally, I wouldn’t be going to the great, huge doTERRA Employee Christmas Party, but because my cute son works there, AND he isn’t embarrassed to hang out with his mom–I got to go!!

The food was incredible, and sincerely, I could have gotten about a boat load of the Spinach Artichoke Dip–hiding under the chips. It was wonderful and I swear, I’m going to learn how to make that stuff. Yummo.

The entertainment was a fabulous guy group called GenTri. Yeah, look them up. All the pictures I took of them were blurry because…well because I take lame pictures sometimes when I’m eating Spinach Artichoke Dip. Fact.

The owners gave away presents for about an hour and then they said, “Your dessert is under your seats.” White chocolate popcorn, a gourmet chocolate toffee cookie, and a lemon bar. Dang. Dang. Dang.

It’s been a lonnnnng time since I’ve been to a company Christmas party. It was perfect. And when we came back out to the car about 6 inches of snow had fallen. Magical.

Thanks Rhenny boy.

I love you.

mom

December 21, 2015January 8, 2016

Underneath~

I got brave one day about a week before Christmas and decided the bedroom carpet had to go too. It was the ugliest burnt orange piece of nastiness. Luckily, I knew there was hardwood underneath it, but I almost didn’t care. It was too gross to stay. But as you can see, even though the pad was much newer than the mummified stuff in the front room, it was still old and creepy and…this time…

wherever it was deteriorating, it stuck to the floor.

No, no…I’m not kidding. It was really stuck. But I’m a sturdy mountain woman…

so I got out the equally sturdy shop vac and scraped and hosed it all up.

I’m certain that someone much smarter and waaay more savvy about such things would have told me not to do it this way. But you know, whoever that was, wasn’t here and I was actually feeling pretty dang clever.