Nate's Blessing Day

Yesterday was the day. Nathan was finally blessed on December 27th. David blessed him and my brothers, Andy and Jon, and my grandfather Derby were in the circle. I was happy that my father and my best friend from high school (and her husband) also came to see the blessing. It made it a very special day for me. I am happy that we waited to do the blessing in Ohio; I felt like it was the right place and the right time. I know it especially meant a lot to my grandpa because this is the first great-grandchild he has ever met (even though he has five other great-grandkids besides Nate) and possibly one of the only ones he'll ever be able to participate in the blessing of.

One thing I failed to realize, however was the thinness of Nate's blessing outfit. Because the thing is dry-clean only, I honestly didn't even take it out of it's plastic cover until the day I put it on him. The material is not as thick as I expected it to be. Also, on the hanger it looks like it has pants, but in reality they're just large shorts. It was very sharp, however, and I managed to get it off him before it was thrown up on or anything, so maybe my next son will be born in the summer time and then it won't look so out of place. After sacrament meeting I changed him into corduroys and a sweater vest, so he was plenty warm.

Here is a picture of our family after the blessing:

Christmas Eve in Ohio

It is Christmas Eve! I am very excited for tomorrow. It should be full of good food and good company. I am looking forward to seeing much of the family tomorrow, however there will be some obvious absences; namely my brother and his wife as well as my aunt and uncle, all of whom will be making later appearances (well, except my brother's wife). It won't be the same without them, at least to me.
Here is an update on how our trip is going so far. We enjoyed on time air travel from Salt Lake City to Memphis and then from Memphis to Columbus. I was most grateful that my dad agreed to pick us up in Columbus because it did save us quite a bit of money. Nathan traveled quite well, although I hear that is common at his age. The vibration of the plane put him to sleep the same way the car does. The only annoying thing was that he is not allowed to be secured in his carrier while in flight. Oh well, I'm still glad I brought it; it was much easier to get on and off the plane and through the airport with it. This picture is the mountains above the clouds as we were leaving Salt Lake City.

We arrived at Grandma's around 8:45 PM local time (we left for the airport at 6:15 AM local time in Utah). Long day! Grandma was very excited to meet Nathan. I'm sure Grandpa and Katie were as well but Grandma didn't give anyone else much of a chance to hold him for a bit. Haha.

The next day Katie took David and I to the Derby's. Grandpa met us at the door; he was so excited to meet Nate! Jon and Grandma were still sleeping but we woke them up to meet the baby. Then we left David and Nate with them while Katie and I went to get her hair colored and cut at Textures Salon. After that we stopped by Acme and Katie got to introduce her nephew to all her friends while we got some shopping for her birthday dinner done. When we got back Lindsay and Matt came over and Grandpa went and got Amy and Jason (all my cousins). Then it was cookie day! This was the first cookie day without any of the "middle" generation (my dad and his siblings). My dad, my uncle Mike, and my aunt Sue were all working and my aunt Lynn isn't coming until New Year's Eve. However, I think the "younger" generation was up to the task! All of the grandchildren were in attendance (except the aforementioned absence of my brother and his wife who are the oldest of the grandchildren). Lindsay, Matt, and Jason did the Tic-Tac-Toes, although I admit it was mostly Lindsay from what I saw. Lindsay and I did the Spritz cookies, and then we all helped with the main cookies. We all took turns doing different things and had lots of pictures and laughs. I did most of the frosting this year, but Katie did some and one of the sister missionaries did a bunch, too. (The sisters came and Katie took them to lunch and then they helped with cookies for a bit before their dinner appointment.) When all the cookies were done we all helped clean up. Katie and Lindsay made Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo and cooked celery casserole for dinner and I helped by making the bread (this involved slicing the bread, buttering the bread, and cheesing the bread with 3 different cheeses. It took longer than I expected but it was sooo yummy!!). Matt, Amy, and Jason set the table and this ended in a conversation about table manners/etiquette and the "younger" grandchildren's complete lack of them. Grandma appreciated the time to rest while the rest of us took care of dinner. Dinner was excellent! I was most impressed especially by Lindsay's chicken cooking abilities. After dinner most everyone played "Loaded Questions" and then we had cake. Most people left after that but Dad stayed and played Euchre with Katie, David, and me. We each won a game.

The next day was Katie's birthday! I went to Wal-mart with my mom and then David and I went to Akron with Nate so Dad could show him off at work a bit. It's too bad most of his co-workers took off early for the holidays. Oh well, we had fun anyway. Dad is a super proud Grandpa! When we got back David went to Wal-mart to finish his Christmas shopping and I fed Nate, although we both ended up taking a nap. Katie got home soon after and then her friends Shavonne and Nate came over. We made Buckeyes (well, Katie and Shavonne did) then played Catch Phrase before dinner. For dinner we ordered pizza and then we went carolling. We carolled at the houses of several ward members, half of whom I didn't really know. Everyone was really nice, though. After we got back we watched Muppet Christmas Carol, although I fell asleep about a third of the way into the movie and so we went up to bed. I couldn't believe how tired I was!

Today I finished wrapping all the presents. We'll have dinner at the Derby's tonight. I have maybe a couple hours left before the madness ensues. Hahahaha. More updates later!!

Bah Humbug

Christmas is in 6 days. I feel like Scrooge.

What am I getting myself into this year?





Seriously considering just holing up here until January. Not really feeling the drama.

We're Looking Forward to...

...Christmas morning with Nate.

...Introducing Nate to his great-grandparents as well as his Aunt Katie and Uncles Jon and Andy.

...Ming Cheng. Enough said.

...Nate's blessing in Rootstown on Sunday the 27th.

...Spending Katie's birthday with her, something we can't do with either of my brothers very easily.

...Seeing the faces of family when they open their gifts.

...Cookie Day.

...Vacation from work.

...Just being back in Ohio, with family, enjoying the holidays.

We leave in 6 days! AHH!!!

The Spirit of the Season

I have always loved the Christmas season and the magical feeling that always seems to surround it. I remember a Christmas long ago when after the usual Christmas Eve dinner and movie at my grandparents' we drove home through the dark, quiet streets. There was snow on the ground and I remember looking at all the houses we passed with their beautiful Christmas lights. I pictured families asleep in their houses and the joy they would have around their Christmas trees in just a few short hours. Everything was quiet and still as we drove home, and everything felt so peaceful, so magical; I was sure that this was the feeling I would get every Christmas Eve. As I got older that feeling faded, the stresses of the season started to take over. My belief in Santa came to an end and it got to the point where I would wait for that feeling to hit me on Christmas Eve and it would not. Don't get me wrong, the anticipation would remain. I have had difficulty sleeping on Christmas Eve my entire life. Even as a married woman, I have a hard time sleeping past 4 or 5am on Christmas morning. (Something tells me this may change this year, however, since sleep is such a commodity nowadays.) However, I've noticed in the last year or two that my magical feeling of Christmas is starting to return and I think I am finally understanding why: my attitude and my focus is changing.

I've discovered that the more I focus on the Savior and the gifts I'm giving rather than receiving, the more that magical, unearthly feeling returns. If I think more about family and the joy of just spending time together, then other things come into focus as well and I find myself with fewer regrets and greater appreciation. I have been thinking recently about a lesson I had in church back in Rootstown years ago about the spirit of the season. The lady who was teaching spoke about keeping Christ in Christmas, and she made a point that has stuck with me for all these years. She started talking about how people are always looking for shortcuts, even in small things. In this day and age of text messaging and e-mail, shorthand is becoming more common and accepted. Most people see something like "lol txt me l8r 2day b4 u leave" and they know exactly what it means, whereas years ago that same person might have said "huh?" Around this time of the year, "X-mas" becomes a phrase people see all the time. This teacher said that this small, seemingly innocent shorthand word is the first step in taking Christ out of Christmas. Despite the convenience of the quick spelling, I have stopped using the phrase "X-mas" because of this lesson. Even though I know it doesn't really mean that I have forgotten Christ or anything, I use it as a personal reminder to keep Christ in Christmas. Whenever I write or type the word "Christmas" I think about the fact that by not using the shorthand, I am writing the name of our Savior and it reminds me to refocus on what this season is all about. I don't want to even start down a path where my Christmas is not focusing on Christ.

As much as I try not to, every year I get swept up in the commercialism of Christmas. I worry myself to death about the gifts I am giving to family and friends. I worry about the cost of everything, if I'm coming across too cheap, if I'm doing enough, if skipping over this person or that person is worth it in the end. These last 2 years I have worried about holiday-time travel and all that entails. I worry about decorating for Christmas and feel guilty for not having enough time or energy to hang lights. It is easy for my focus to get hazy and to get lost in the things that really don't matter in the end.

This year I have been trying extra hard to remember the true meaning of Christmas. I've found this a bit easier having so recently been blessed by the birth of our son. I watched "The Nativity" and felt a closer kinship to Mary because I better understood the love a mother has for her child. As I thought of my own experiences with childbirth, I realized how difficult it must have been for her to go through what she did, without all the conveniences of modern medicine that I was able to take advantage of. I think of how my life has changed in just the few short weeks since Nathan was born; how my perspective has changed. My priorities have been rearranged and I've found myself really taking the time to consider what is truly important. All of a sudden the money that is spent is not as important as the time and thought invested. Finding a way to get to the temple is more difficult but just as important to me if not more so. Even with a host of extra legitimate excuses, it means more to me that my son grow up seeing David and I put the temple as a priority than that he sees us hiring a babysitter a few times less often in order to stay home with him. I am more grateful for a warm house and a reliable vehicle because I suddenly have someone else to keep warm and safe. My own needs and desires are less important.

I think, in the end, that magical feeling I remember from all those years ago was more than just childhood excitement and a belief in Santa Claus; it was the spirit whispering peace and understanding to the heart of an innocent child. As an adult, if I can keep Christ as the center of Christmas and remember the true reason we celebrate this time of year, that is when the spirit is able to return to my heart and restore that magical feeling that should accompany every Christmas. I pray that everyone this year can stop for just a minute during all the hustle and bustle and just ponder about the Savior, his birth, and what that meant to the world. Listen to Christmas hymns, dim the lights and sit quietly by the Nativity or lighted Christmas tree, and let the spirit whisper to you the peace and love that defines the nature of Jesus Christ. Walk outside or look out the window on a quiet evening when the snow is falling and appreciate the stillness. The specific traditions and gifts are not really important. What is important is that we remember the Savior and try to follow His example. However we decide to follow that example is a very personal thing; we have to decide what it means to us to remember Christ and then act accordingly. May we all be able to find some way to show the Lord that He is not forgotten this season.

Merry Christmas!

One Month

I can't believe Nate is already a month old! Time has been flying by. I just finished my thank you notes for my baby shower TODAY. *sigh* How pathetic! There were a bunch I wrote out about a month ago but never mailed. I apologize in advance for those...

We got our Christmas cards printed I just need to get them stuffed and addressed. I managed to write a letter of sorts to go with the card as well but it needs printed. The bad news is we never ordered address labels for this address so I have to either hand write them (fat chance) or figure out how to run all the envelopes through the printer. I'll probably have to write everyone else's addresses by hand, though. My brother has this fancy thing where he keeps everyone's addresses updated on his e-mail contacts and so all he needs to do is print them on labels. That would be nice but I'm just no good at keeping my records up to date, let alone in a program that would allow me to easily print labels. Oh well, I have nice handwriting. Hopefully I can get those done before time passes me by again and I find myself in Ohio.

We took Nate in for a weight check on Tuesday and he was 8 lbs even. He gained almost almost 1.5 lbs in 2 weeks! That's really good considering that last time he was weighed he had only ganed 4 oz in a week's time. The doctor said he is doing well and cleared us to fly for the holidays. I am very much looking forward to a vacation visiting with the family! The best news is that if I get too worn out I'll practically have an army available to babysit while I catch up on sleep. Score.

Ohio in 16 days!