The holidays this year have been particularly mixed in part because our kids have been sick most of the week, which has added extra exhaustion on top of all of our preparations (I think that last night I was up 6 times between 11 pm and 6 am--with both kids. Granted, four of those times were between 11 and 12, but still . . .), and has led--for me at least, for a more than usually tumultuous emotional terrain, in both good and bad ways.
I was particularly excited for the holidays this year because Evelyn finally got to wear this beautiful Christmas dress that I talked my mom into buying two years ago at Costco. (But wait, you say, Evelyn isn't two yet. That's right, folks. I fell in love with this dress while I was pregnant with Evelyn, even before we knew her gender. And for two generally pessimistic women, this purchase represents an unwonted optimism . . . warranted, as it turns out, in this case). I think it was well worth the wait.
We started off the week with a bang (which, in retrospect, may not have been so smart of us, since the kids' illnesses seemed to get worse after that): we went down SG Monday morning to run some errands, came home just after lunch to await my parents' arrival. They came down for a brief visit, to hand deliver Andrew's birthday presents and spend some time with our family before the holidays. Unfortunately, they weren't able to stay long, as bad weather forecasts drove them home the next morning. We're looking forward to going up there later this week for a longer visit. But Evelyn does enjoy her grandpas--and grandmas. (Actually, I think she likes anyone who will sit down and read her a book. Or books, as the case usually is, since she usually follows up one reading by going to the bookshelves and picking out another book and presenting that to whoever was obliging enough to read to her.)
After that, we spent a couple of days trying to keep to ourselves as much as possible (to prevent the spread of germs). I'm not sure how successful we were.Wednesday afternoon, I took Andrew with me (he being mostly recovered, aside from a persistent cough) to take some rolls to a few of our elderly neighbors (all widows). I think one positive aspect of being in our ward is the abundant service opportunities--I really wanted Andrew to appreciate that Christmas is about more than just getting presents; it's about serving others, too. I hope that the message translated. I know that the women we visited were all pleased to see him. The visits also gave me a greater appreciation for the oft-told story about President Monson: that as a young bishop (he was made a bishop at 22!), he would visit every widow in his ward at Christmas time, all 80 some odd of them (I've read reports ranging from 84-87). I can't imagine the time investment of those visits, at a time when most of us are preoccupied with our own families.
Thursday afternoon, we finally braved visiting the family. We enjoyed an international buffet for dinner: gyoza (Dan), stuffed cabbage (me), crepes (Aaron), seven-layer dip (Sarah), queso (sp?, Matt), and multitudinous dips. Following dinner, the kids reenacted the nativity while Poppy read the account in Luke. And like all nativity reenactments, the actors weren't always cooperative. I thought the funniest part was how possessive our little Joseph was of his Mary. He kept putting his hand on her shoulder, until Katie finally told him to stop touching her! But I think he enjoyed the importance of his role. Evelyn made a pretty cute angel, even though she was never where she was supposed to be, and took an undue interest in the baby doll representing Jesus.
Celebrating the holidays with some Martinellis.
Christmas morning. We inspected the Christmas stockings at our own home, for the first time in our married life, but we were unable to take pictures because we'd left the camera at Bubby and Poppy's. Not that there would have been much to see, in any case . . . Dan had us in our coats and hustled out the door to his parents' house as soon as he could ascertain that people were up to receive us. I think he was just a little anxious, or something. But the kids did seem to enjoy it--even if we had to take a break from unwrapping presents because the kids were losing interest. (Evelyn and I came home during that break so she could take a nap, poor thing). Andrew's favorite present by far is the box of dinosaurs from his Bubby--we continue to find them randomly throughout the house. For some strange reason, he likes to play with the brachiosaur in Evelyn's doll house . . .
We hope that all of our readers had a truly pleasant Christmas, and look forward to a happy and hopeful New Year.
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