Flying Toward the Future: Thoughts On the Eve of the Eve of the New Year

I'm already thinking hard about the New Year so I just can't wait till Thursday or Friday to write about it. I love this photo of my nephew on the swing. I'd like to take that image of joy in the moment as an inspiration for the new year. He's not worried about falling off,  or what he'll do next, he's just feeling that delicious swooping thrill of soaring up and back. I think I need to head over to my local tot lot and get on the swings for a little while, just to remind myself. Anyway, here is a bit of a list of desultory thoughts that keep flooding through my mind as I consider a new year and a new decade. There's no real rhyme or reason here, just passing whimsies.

• We just paid off a car!
• The last time we paid off a car, it got totalled in an accident and we had to buy a new one after only a few months of no payments. 
• I really hope that doesn't happen, because I have big plans for that money.
• I will have 3 kids in college this fall. 
• It's fun to think of how different they are: 1 will be far away at BYU, one will be here at a community college, and one hopes to be at the Naval Academy. 
  
• I am blessed to be able to deal with that if I'm frugal in other ways.
• It's fun sometimes to be a packrat because I can go "shopping" in my house and always find something "new."
  
• I'm counting on that fact to help me be frugal this year. 
• I almost have my photography website ready to go live. 
• I'm learning that my best thing as a photographer is journalistic-style portraits--real life. 
• This shouldn't be a surprise since National Geographic is my main influence.
  
• Eric started cataloging all my books using Delicious Library.  
• I have so many that I've never read, yet I constantly buy new ones. 
• I'm going to try and stop that. 
• Test and sample knitting have really changed the way I think about the craft. 
• It really is my work now. 
• As a result, spinning has become my escape, and I've returned to weaving. 
• I am so looking forward to getting the quilt I ordered from my Amish friend last year. 
• Another friend designed the colorway so it will be an instant treasure. 
• I really hope to get to Germany this year. 
• Every year my kids' ages go in sets of odd and even numbers: This year it's 23-21 then 18-16-14.
• Man, they are growing up fast. 
• I looked through the visual journal I've kept for many years of clippings of things that I like, and am happy about how my home parallels those instinctive picks-colors, styles, furniture, etc. 
• My home could best be described as one big family room. 
• There is no formality about it whatsoever-I like to think that it invites use rather than mere admiration. 
• That means I want you to come in and put your feet up. 
  
• This year I want to paint the LR/DR, the hallway, daughter's room and the kitchen. 
• I also want to paint and repair the kitchen cabinets and get a new countertop. 
• My dream is to score a display kitchen from Home Depot (all the trimmings for one low price) and re-purpose it for my kitchen.
• My neighbor did that and it is gorgeous.
• I've already made my list of seeds to start this year. 
• I'm going to add one more bed to my garden.
• I'm going to try growing 2 new vegetables, still yet to be determined. 
• I'm considering Brussells Sprouts, a favorite of both hubby and me. 
• I'm also considering Broccoli. 
• So far my rosemary plant is surviving the winter. 
• Thinking about the garden is so fun and exciting. 
  
• I'm all out of baby gifts, so it's time to make some blankies and sweaters and sockies. 
• I have the perfect yarn-soft, natural-colored cotton. 
• My Grandma is coming for an extended visit to my parents' home. 
• She is 87 and getting tired of living without my Grandpa, so I really want to take advantage of this time with her. 
• I feel so blessed that my kids have been able to meet their Great-Grandmother and know her pretty well. 
• I figured out the best reason to get rid of old stuff: It keeps you stuck in the past because you feel like you have to catch up before you can move forward.
• I'm happy about letting myself off the hook to catch up on everything in the past.
  

 I think I've gotten enough out of my system to be able to go to sleep now. I'm sure more will come, but in case I don't get back here, Happy New Year and may your own list of thoughts  reflect who you really are and a certain satisfaction with your life.

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A Very Merry Arizona to Maryland Christmas

I decided not to keep sending little updates from my phone because I was taking so many photos with my camera. Then for most of the rest of the week, my only internet access was through my phone, so I took a break from blogging. Overall, it was a glorious trip and I'm glad we went. There were a few downsides, which I'll get out of the way first.

• We were not all together and the whole reason for that was because of wrestling, and most of that was canceled due to the snow.
  
• I had some lingering work knitting to do that was taking forever, so until the 23rd, I was furiously knitting everytime I sat down and felt like I missed out on some things. 
• I didn't take my kids' gifts with and it was hard on them, especially Evan, to watch everyone else go through the Christmas getting part with only one gift from my parents to open. 
  

Fortunately, there were many, many more ups than downs and we had such a great time. We didn't do anything super exciting, but oh how I love Arizona. I am not from there, but it has become one of the places other than here where I feel most at home. My parents and I are the only members of our family that haven't lived there for at least some time of their lives. That will change next year as my folks will most likely move out there for retirement and only I'll be left out here. My grandma and aunts moved there when I was small, so I've been visiting since I was very young.  I love the landscape, the color of the air (except for the smog over Phoenix-I can do without that), the views, even the heat and the dry rivers. I love that it is so varied in elevation and ecosystems-pine forests and high mountains in the north and cacti and weird, fantastic plants and vistas in the south. When we go, a lot of the time is spent just being with family, so there are lots of things I haven't seen in Arizona, but I'll get there eventually.  We've tried to move there several times, but it has not been the right place to be. For now I'll be content to visit whenever I can. Here are some of the great things about the trip along with a few favorite photos.

•  My oldest boy was there. That was really fun. It should go in the downside that he did not come home with us, but on the other hand, it is really cool to see him living his own life and making his own decisions (and spending his own money, might I add). We'll see him soon out here.
  
• I got to spend a lot of time with family. My folks plus 4 of the 8 siblings were there, and I feel like I got at least a little quality time with my sister and two brothers. They are all married to amazing people, so I was twice blessed by getting to see my brother and sisters-in-law.  I also got to briefly see my Grandma and two beloved Aunts.
  
• I have a new niece and nephew born this past year and I got to see them both, one for the first time. 
• We got to ride the Polar Express. This is a ride to the North Pole provided by the Grand Canyon Railway and in spite of a few glitches, it was well worth it to be there with my folks, two of my sibs and their kids.  This is my nephew receiving his bell, the first gift of Christmas. He can hear it ring.
  

• We went to this awesome little roadside attraction called the Grand Canyon Deer Farm. It was very fun. There are areas where smallish deer called Fallow Deer just walk around you and ocassionally try to eat your coat or anything else. There were other animals as well so we got to see Elk, Bison, Caribou, and even a Camel who really wanted its picture taken.

• We were going to go to the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix for their Las Noches de las Luminarias but there was a storm that day and it rained, so the Luminarias were canceled. Instead, we gathered at my brother's house and had a lovely game night and I got to visit with my Grandma and Aunt. 
• We got to be with my sister and her family for their own personal Christmas Eve. All the traditions were in place, from decorating cookies to that gasp of a little boy in the morning upon seeing his first bicycle. It was gorgeous. 
  

• We all gathered again for Christmas Eve and it was such fun to be together. We ate and laughed and opend presents and played with the little ones. 

• My kids were the best-ever older cousins. They played with and loved their little cousins in a most heartwarming way. It was so tender to watch them with these wee ones. 

• While waiting in the airport to fly home, we got to talk to my son in Chile. It is one of the two times a year that we get to hear his voice and get a sense of how he has grown and changed while serving his mission. It was a wonderful thing. Amazingly, we were able to conference together a conversation that spanned 3 times zones and 2 continents, and had 9 people in 4 different places all talking simultaneously. 
  
• Our flight home on Christmas day was not delayed or canceled because it only rained here and we were greeted at home by my husband's heroic success at getting our Christmas completely put together. He wrapped gifts, cleaned the house, set a beautiful table and really made the magic for us as we walked in the door on Christmas night. In spite of waiting till the end of the day, we had a perfect time together.

So there it is. A different kind of holiday for our family as far as traditions and familiarity go, but full of happy memories, warmth and love. I guess those are the things that make the traditions hold together so if they are present, then the feeling can be the same no matter what.

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3 hours, 40 degrees and 5000 feet later

Here we are in Flagstaff in the aftermath of the storm they had
recently. The boys had work for an hour to make a parking space. I do
love that Arizona in the wintertime offers an all-season experience.

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Arizona!

So, while all my friends and family brace themselves for a major
winter storm on the east coast, we are eating outside, at a Sonic, in
the very warm sun.

In a couple of hours we'll be in Flagstaff in the snows and cold of
7000 feet of elevation, but for now the warm desert feels just right.

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The Story of the Very Large Tree, Part 2

Here she is, all decorated, except for the tinsel, which we'll save for Christmas Eve. As you can see,  we have a scrapbook tree, meaning the only theme is memories. I have every single little crafted paper or yarn or ribbon or wire ornament that my kids have ever made, plus every ornament that was a gift, or a souvenir of a trip. My attempt at continuity comes from many, many icicles made of glass. I also like crystal pendants and glass balls. Here's how we rearranged the room for the tree, and I like how all the seating faces each other and the tree first, and the TV, while still easily viewable on the right side, out of the frame, is not the centerpiece of the room.

Someday I think I'd like to catalog my ornaments, because each one has a specific and special memory attached. I usually don't keep them if they don't. The carved wooden bell  is from our honeymoon-our first ornament as a family. The delicate glass icicles are some of my most recent purchases and I love them because they really look like water that has either just frozen or is about to melt back into liquid.

Most of the icicles in the lower branches are plastic, but they really look sparkly. I keep them because the cats and kiddies can't hurt them but they still blend in beautifully.

So there is the story of our very large tree. I hope it will hold some happy memories for my children.

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The Story of the Very Large Tree, Part 1

About 8 years ago exactly, I started teaching seminary, an early morning religious education class for teens in my home each morning. I have a smallish home, so this always presented some challenges and my family always rose to the occasion by being supportive and uncomplaining. This included having their home decorated with motivational posters, charts and white boards, setting up chairs every night, etc. One unique sacrifice they made was adjusting for our Christmas tree. It had to be able to fit in with the students. This is a significant adjustment for my kids because we love our Tree Traditions.   About 3 years ago we put on an addition that helped a lot with the space issues, but we still had to make sure the tree and the students could coexist. So, some years that meant a rather small tree. A couple of years it meant waiting until school let out and we could put everything away to even get a tree. One year we couldn't get a tree until Christmas Eve.

When I stopped teaching seminary back in June, one of the first things the kids said was, "This year we can get a giant Christmas Tree!" You see,  the above-mentioned addition has a gracefully high ceiling. The kids have always envisioned a tree centered in front of the window, reaching all the way to that ceiling. This year, we have endeavored to make that dream come true.

Usually, we go cut our tree, but because of an unusually busy schedule and the fact that we blew it by not going Thanksgiving weekend, we could not fit that in this year. But, we made it an adventure anyway. Thus last night, in the bitter cold, the kids bundled up in their winter wear (you know it's cold when I talk them into something warmer than a hoodie!) and we drove and drove and drove...to Ellicott City (about 8 miles away). Not the rural part of Ellicott City, where all the pretty farms are, no, we drove to the Y of Central Maryland across from the Target. Because of course, they had Big Christmas Trees. I had noticed while near there last weekend. We got out of the car, ready for the thrill of the hunt and that wonderful debate and then consensus about the perfect tree. The anticipation was running high. Cheeks were actually rosy in the 8 degree windchill. We began to wander through the winter wonderland of evergreens towering over us, looking for the red tags that indicated the second-to-the-tallest ones. What fun.

Exactly 4 minutes later, with rosy cheeks threatening frostbite in the insidious wind, we gratefully followed as the friendly tree guy showed us one that was in the lower price range but was on the taller side. Everyone unanimously approved with no debate whatsoever, desperate to get out of the cold. 10 minutes later it was netted and tied to the car and we headed for warmer places. What an adventure! 14 mintues to find a tree. A new record! But what a tree! After some initial worry upon seeing it netted and tied to our big truck that it really wasn't that tall, we got it home and it unfurled to its full height and girth. It is a beauty! Here are the photos of Phase I, the Getting of The Tree. Stay tuned for Phase II, The Decorating.

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Whew!

The big week is over! I was writing my son in Chile this morning and realized that I had something going on every day and evening last week.  I opted out of the Saturday night option that I could have done and just stayed home. But every other day and night from Monday till right this minute was full. It's just that time of year. Activities included everything from chaperoning a field trip to Philadelphia to Dr.'s appointments to teaching to volunteer work. In between, pretty much every other moment was spent knitting on the latest contract piece. The deadline positively looms. So, even though I should be right back at the knitting, I'm actually taking a break. It's my first deep breath in a week! I'm not ranting about it though, because in spite of all those pastel-colored bricks overtaking the white space on my google calendar, it was a really good week.  Here is the good side of all that busyness:

• I got to spend time with friends that I don't get to see often. (The Volunteer stuff)
  
• I got to spend a day watching my son interact with his friends. (The Field Trip)
  
• I got to work hard which keeps my mood up and my mind from wandering. (All of it)
  
• I'm really disciplined and don't waste any time during cycles like this. I like it when I experience that kind of flow and focus. When I don't have much scheduled, I tend to stay in my pj's and read all day.  (One day, because I had other things scheduled at 9:30 and onward,  I was out the door by 7:45 and got all my errands and shopping DONE by 9 am!)
  
• I got almost all my Christmas shopping done while I was doing all the other stuff. (see previous point)
•  My Christmas cards are almost all mailed. (I do those a few at a time in the sideline moments)
• I got to be involved in the project pictured below. I was on a team that set up and staged nearly 300 nativities from all over the world for public display at our church building. It turned out so well. 
  

 While it may seem like I'm describing a manic episode and maybe I should get to a doctor, this is a pretty usual thing for me to be super-productive during busier times. It's definitely one of the reasons I do like to stay busy. Right now though, and as satisfying and fun as the last week has been,  I must express that I'm really looking forward to staying on this side of my front door for an entire afternoon and evening.  I'll be listening to Tim Curry's superlative reading of "A Christmas Carol" if you need me.

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