To recap the remainder of December:
We had a Relief Society Christmas dinner early in the month. Amy Thompson (RS Second Counselor) and Kristi Rondo (head of the RS Meetings Committee) did so much work. The cultural hall and tables were beautiful. Kristi made these little doohickeys to use as silverware holders:
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| Photo far away, with writing sideways, for a reason. |
Partway into the dinner, Jane Oddou called Carolyn Johnson (who is on the meetings committee) over and asked if she knew what the deal was with the silverware holders and if they had any significance. Jane showed Carolyn some of the more exciting ones on their table. Turns out Kristi had been given the book
Act of Marriage as a wedding present and had never read it. She ripped out all the pages to use for crafts and thought they were the perfect size for this project. So the silverware holders contained
graphic language about one particular act of marriage. I have no idea how Kristi put all those things together without noticing some of the words. I mean, there are certain words that really pop out at you.
In any event, Carolyn pointed it out to Kristi, who was mortified. Thereupon began an undercover operation to remove the doohickeys without making their contents known to those who were still oblivious. Carolyn tried to pick up one at an elderly lady's place; the lady told her not to, that she was going to keep it. (Clearly she had not read it yet.) So when she got up to get dessert, Carolyn snaked it and replaced it with a clean one.
Carolyn and I were giggling about the whole thing in the kitchen as we were cleaning up. Diann Voordeckers (our feisty, wonderful, 72-year-old RS President) came in and asked what we were laughing about. Amy, Carolyn, and I filled her in and showed her some of the gems. Never in your life have you seen a woman laugh so hard and so long. It was the funniest thing I have ever witnessed. Kristi came in partway through and said something like, "No, you are not telling the Relief Society President!" But she couldn't be mad at us when she saw how very much Diann enjoyed the whole thing. Kristi said next time she'll ensure her termination as head of the committee by including pictures in her porn.
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The Saturday after the RS Christmas dinner was the ward Christmas party. We did a dessert party, complete with hot chocolate, whipped cream, and marshmallows. We debated the hot chocolate, but it was a hit. Dolly wore a fancy outfit that somebody gave us when she was born. It's size 12 months, but the pants are huge around the waist. I safety-pinned them, and they were still falling off her. She looked cute, though, and I was glad the outfit was finally worn.
The Primary kids did a great job with the nativity.
Ever was terrified of Santa and refused to sit on his lap. She had more fun playing with the church balls when the party was winding down.
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We got our Christmas tree later than I would have liked. Chava was more interested in sweeping up the Christmas tree lot than anything else.
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Melanie Karner and Stephanie Alvarez (my visiting teacher) brought their kids over to make gingerbread cookies one afternoon. Everyone had a good time, despite the fact that Ever and Charlie Alvarez fought over Ever's new lawn mower. (For a few days afterward, Ever kept saying something like "I take Charlie lawn mower.") I really wanted to do a reading of
The Gingerbread Man, as that was my inspiration for the whole thing, but it got too late.
Mel, Alina, Christian, Ever, Kara, Stephanie, and Charlie:
Christian and cookies:
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Once when Jim was watching Ever, this happened:
Chava likes stickers.
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Jim finished building a new little pantry. One Friday, I was moving canned goods to the pantry from the old bookshelves we've been using for storage. I did most of it before Dolly got involved, but then she wanted to help. I let her carry a few cans. She dropped one on her right big toe. Underneath the nail filled with blood immediately. She cried some but stopped before too long. She began hobbling around, walking on the outer edge of her right foot so she wouldn't have to put her toe down. But she didn't make a fuss about it, and I didn't give it a second thought. When Jim got home and learned what had happened, he was concerned - and bummed that I hadn't contacted him when he was at the office and could've taken care of it. We took her in to San Marcos the next morning, which was Saturday. (Kaiser is amazing.) No fracture, but getting the x-rays to confirm that was really awful. Chava was screaming the whole time, and I had a heck of a time trying to pin her down. The doctor made a hole in her nail with a hot poker thing to let the blood out and relieve the pressure. It looked so much better, and we were relieved. Jim took this picture at the doctor's office:
The wounded warrior and her negligent mother:
It appears that despite our efforts, she's going to lose her nail. So I guess maybe I shouldn't let Dolly carry heavy things?
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It was our first Christmas home alone, but it was nice and quiet. Our family room/kitchen area isn't designed for a Christmas tree, but we put it the only place it could go.
Christmas morning:
Santa brought Dolly a bike. She's has been asking for one for a while. I don't think the helmet fits properly, but she wore it through much of the present opening. It's going to have to do.
Daddy got Ever two "John Denver books" -
Take Me Home, Country Roads (which is really cool, actually) and
Sunshine on My Shoulders (which is less cool, partly because the lyrics to the song are super-redundant). Dolly, looking at the picture of John Denver in the back of
Take Me Home, Country Roads:
We took an intermission from present-opening to enjoy some homemade cinnamon rolls. It was my first attempt, and they turned out pretty delish.
After a clothing change, we finished opening the presents. Jim had the genius idea of printing three pictures of John Denver he found on the internet and putting them in this frame:
After presents, we took the bike out for a spin. Jim lassoed it so he could pull it from the front (uphill) or from the back (downhill, to slow her down). Teaching Ever to steer is first priority; pedaling will come next.
We had Christmas dinner with the Bunnells up the street. Annie Bunnell is a gourmet cook, so the food was delicious and the company was nice.
Friday, December 27 we had the missionaries over for dinner. While cooking, I ate a bunch of the chocolate-dipped shortbread cookies Mamo sent for Christmas. My stomach started hurting. I thought at first it was sugar overload. I didn't eat dinner. That was probably good because there was a french-bread shortage. One of the elders declined to take the last piece because he didn't want to be "that guy." The other elder said, "I'll be that guy," and took it. Then Ever asked for more bread, but alas. Anyway, as soon as the missionaries left, I lay down on the couch and succumbed to the discomfort. Jim put Ever to bed. Eventually I had a violent vomiting episode that was really, really awful.
Jim took care of Ever all day Saturday so I could remain as immobile as possible. To help with my pain, Ever kept trying to put a bandaid on my knee (?). At one point, they were outside watering plants when the doorbell rang. I was afraid it was someone who needed to see Jim, so I got up to answer it. I found a big box containing about eight loaves of bread and a note that said, "Dear Ever, We are sorry we ate the last piece of bread. We hope this makes up for it. Love, The Elders." Pretty cute. Ever enjoyed the whole thing and kept saying, "Elders ate my bread."
I stayed home from church Sunday because my stomach was still aching. (No puking after Friday night though, thank goodness.) We had discussed going to see the lights at the temple that afternoon and went ahead with the plan, figuring it would be our last opportunity. I felt pretty good by that time, and the lights and nativity scenes were fun.
Jim and Ever eating sandwiches in the stable:
My main goal was to get a good photo of us in front of the red trees. Dolly was throwing a fit. I did the best I could:
I love Christmas. It is such a magical time. I wish I could figure out how to feel all year round as I do in December.
