One More Thing

To quote the American Greetings card I sent out this year-

A baby,
a manger,
a bright, shining star,
A shepherd,
an angel,
three kings from afar,
A Savior,
a promise
from heaven above --
The story of Christmas is filled with God's love.


All it took was one perfect child to chage the world.
How wondrous are the works of our Father!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Christmas 2005

There's so much to catch up on that I know I just won't get to it all, so if you want to catch up and haven't already looked, check out our two latest photo albums, linked on the right. (When you load the page, scroll down and locate the two latest albums by date and cover photo.) Since my last post we went to New Hampshire for my family's big Christmas party and celebrated Christmas at home. We also had a visit from Matt and Denise last night, who announced they are expecting their first baby in August! CONGRATULATIONS Matt and Denise! We are tentatively planning a trip to Connecticut for New Years and then have one last Christmas party the weekend following.

I worked on Christmas Eve, which wasn't fun, but since it was a Saturday I was able to take a full day off this week and have enjoyed staying home with Thomas for the last two days. Today is a PJ day. While I still have some presents to bake and prepare, Thomas and I went out yesterday to run errands so that we could stay home all day today, and I have been looking forward to that.

Our first project for today was making a train-a gift from the Calhouns. We mixed the plaster and filled the mould early this morning, and we have since removed the mould and added axles and wheels. We have it out drying so that we can paint it tomorrow. -Yesterday we made a gingerbread house, and when Matt and Denise came by they had a wooden pirate ship for Thomas that we watched Matt build. We also went out yesterday to buy some thread so that I can use my new sewing machine. (Yay!) I haven't used it yet, but hopefully I will get a chance to play soon. I have never had my own machine and am used to sewing by hand, so I am both looking forward to using it and hoping I can figure out how to thread it!

After a day of time with Thomas my intention is to bake some breads and watch my show (Gilmore Girls, in case you don't already know), which I also received for Christmas. I received the first season on DVD, but tonight I will watch it on TV. Last night we put in March of the Penguins and watched parts. We were busy, so we'll have to watch it again when we can sit and enjoy it from beginning to end, and I'm looking forward to it.

That's it for now. It has been a nice Christmas so far, and I'm happy that Thomas didn't seem as overwhelmed this year as last. He received lots of presents, but even though he wanted to play with each one immediately he managed to keep up. Most of his gifts had some educational or enriching qualities, and I think we've already tried each and every one (except maybe one or two of his movies). We have a few books to read today, but we have already read a few, played with playdoh, tried Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders, made funny creatures, worked with fridge gears, built a Lincoln Log firehouse, assembled two puzzles, made a new track with the water tower and new trains, fixed an imaginary car using a wooden tool set, listened to two great CD's, shot cannon balls out of the big pirate ship, and so much more. Thanks everyone! We love you!

Packages

Just a quick post today because I'm cold. BBBbbbbrrrrrrrrrrr. On the bright side I should be warm tonight because our new bedding came today. And my Swiss Colony order. And my Gevalia shipment. It was almost like an early Christmas... except that I paid for everything I received. In any case, it was nice. -I already sampled the petits fours. (I know the idea is for gifts, but really Swiss Colony is the only place I know I can buy inexpensive petits fours, plus they give free truffles... I have such a sweet tooth.)

Brian also helped me put the sheets on the bed. I tried to put the bed skirt on myself and knocked over a lamp in the process. I didn't break the lamp, but I did break the bulb. Welcome to life in the company of me. It wouldn't be right if I didn't do something clumsy!

I'm looking forward to trying the coffee. I tried two different flavors this time; Le Precope and Cafe Sperl (insert cool accent). The last two times I went boring with Traditional Roast, Breakfast Blend, Signature Blend, and Columbian. I didn't find any of them particularly exciting. The two new coffees are from the European Coffeehouse Collection. Our favorite coffee is Irish Creme, but Gevalia only sells Irish Creme grounds, and we like to use our fancy coffeemaker to grind the beans. We could just buy the flavoring, but for whatever reason, we probably won't.

Thomas' eye looks better today. It looked worse the day after and continued to look pretty bad for a couple of days, but now the bruise appears to be lightening up a bit. He doesn't seem to mind it either. He wore a band-aid for the first couple of days, and then when I took it off he had an extra irritated red mark from that too. Poor guy! On the bright side the cut seems to be healing quickly, and I think there is a good chance that it might not scar.

I completed my Christmas shopping for Thomas and Brian last night, except for stockings. I haven't shopped for anyone else though, and that is unfortunate, particularly since the family party is this weekend. Granted, the types of gifts I hope to buy will be better if I buy them last minute. This season has been so much more stressful than others. I know I had to work around last Christmas too, but this year I'm working on Christmas Eve, even though it's a Saturday, and work is crazy, so I have to try to work overtime in addition. Of course Brian's team is as busy as mine, so he also has to work overtime, and it seems like we never see each other. I'm trying to keep a happy spirit though.

On that note, I am sitting at the computer (I just wrote sitting "on" the computer... that wasn't right... ) not spending time with Brian, so it's time for goodnight. Check our site for a new picture of Thomas in front of our tree, being silly.

Goodnight!

Big Booboo

Thomas got a big booboo tonight. I was talking to Nana on the phone, and I turned my back to put Thomas' dish in the sink when I heard him cry. I looked over to find him upside down, completely verticle. He had tried to climb onto the computer chair to play his game and must have slipped. I put the phone down and picked him up right away. He had a deep slice right next to his eye, maybe a centimeter long. I almost brought him to the ER for stitches and will continue to wonder if I should have. It was hard to tell because he wasn't bleeding a whole lot, but the cut was deep, and if it opened any it could get worse. It bruised immediately, and I put ice on it for a couple of minutes, but that was torture. All he wanted was a bandaid, which I eventually applied. Now I just hope it doesn't scar. As I said to Nana when I called her back, Thomas' last doctor told us he "expected" us to be in soon with some sort of emergency because that is what happens at his age. I've been dreading that time ever since! ...Thomas told me he scraped his head on the desk. I didn't ask him exactly where because he became so sad when (after he had calmed down) I asked him whether he had hit his head on the desk or the chair. -While I'm glad we avoided a trip to the ER I really hope I made the right decision! I think this one might leave a scar.

Brian gave me a hard time for posting this picture on the Internet since Thomas looked so sad (I originally posted it on our family site), but I told him that it's sad but real, and it's how tonight went! I figured he was probably right that no one wants to go to our family site to see sad pictures of Thomas, so I took it off the family site, but I will post it here since I did tell the story and all. It actually doesn't look that bad in the picture. (Needless to say I didn't take a picture of the actual cut. I took the picture an hour or so later, when Tommy was no longer actually upset. He was watching his movie, and he was tired and worn out, but he didn't mind the picture. Some day he'll look at it and remember... )

Here's hoping your night was better than ours!

Very Cool

Tommy seemed older tonight. He looked so cool in his corduroys and navy blue turtleneck, and he had that sort of cool attitude that he so often does; he wasn't too cool to be silly, yet he was still so cool that it was, at times, hard to rember he was/is only three!

I had to work all day, but Matt and Denise finally closed on their house Thursday (yay!), and Brian and Thomas took a trip to the new digs today to help out. Apparently Thomas had a great time (not surprising) and learned some new things. I imagine he must have spent most of the time running around and keeping the spirit light. -While he may not be able to lift furniture or unpack china, he always does a very good job of protecting smiles. From Brian's account Thomas intently watched Matt's step-dad work on the plumbing, right down to the soldering. I bet he enjoyed that. He also pretended the hall closet was a store, and from what I hear, whenever there was a loud noise he ran to the closet and shut the door. (If you don't know Thomas well, understand that running to the closet and closing the door is a happy game that lasts all of two seconds before he runs out again, only to rush back to someone, tell them that something is loud, and run back in. -He isn't easily scared.)

I love my Tommy.

Here are some holiday pics. (Click here to see them larger.)

This, That, and Not Much Else

Today was a VERY long day, and I have to work tomorrow, so today's post will be quick. Mostly I just wanted to say, "Woohoo! Tommy's Christmas pictures are available online!" There. I feel better. If you have seen them, you may have noticed that he bit his lip in almost every picture. I really need to get him a haircut too. I know, I know; it's Tommy. He is, of course, cute no matter what. (Still though...haircut before Christmas! -I tried cutting it myself last time, and I was very disappointed in myself. It was the worst one yet. No more for me!)

Oh, and just in case you're paying attention, I know I'm behind on the poetry blog. ...I'll get there... Here. Have a polar bear. Does that help?