The Girlie's Hair

Check out the girlie's hair. It's out of control.

PS It doesn't always look this messy, just lots of the time.

Reincarnation

Austin apparently believes in reincarnation.

"Mommy, when I'm done being a boy, I want to be a cat."

"Mommy, you hear that?"

Just now Austin was lounging in a leather armchair downstairs and he said to me, "Mommy, you hear that? I think I hear something." I responded, "Oh, really? What do you think it is?" Austin calmly replied, "I think it's a giant snowball coming this way."

The Seamstress and the Massage Therapist

Once upon a time there were two friends. One was handy with a needle and thread and the other was handy at relieving tension in sore muscles. These two friends saw less of each other than they wanted to because they were both so busy, and so it was that they happened upon a solution to this problem. They traded services and, as a result, were able to schedule a time to visit a few times a month. The massage therapist had her hands full with the knotted muscle fibers of the seamstress and was essential in providing much needed soothing as well as a listening ear in helping solve the problems of the world. The seamstress helped mend curtains and clothes and provided any other creative textile solutions that were necessary in the massage therapists household.

As the seamstress in this story, I am certain that I get the better end of this deal. Thank you to my massage therapist! I enjoy our time together and am grateful for the opportunity to strengthen our friendship.

Are You an Early Bird or a Night Owl?

I am definitely an early bird.

Although there have been periods of time in my life when I have been a later sleeper, I have always been a morning person. Even if I sleep in a little, I am wide awake once I am up. This is not necessarily the case with my all parents and siblings. Half of us are morning people, the other half are definitely NOT (you know who you are!). It is very difficult for me to understand the the grogginess, the grumpiness, and the crankiness that emerges from night owls. Several times in college, when my sister and I were roommates, I would ask her, "Are you okay? Have I done something wrong?" and she often replied, "Audrey, I woke up less than an hour ago. I am not a morning person." This is unfathomable to me, but I have tried to be less senstive to it over the years.

I married a night owl.

This has been hard in some ways and a definite blessing in other ways. It is hard because I am always tired much earlier than Joseph and so when he is ready to spend time together, I am barely able to keep my eyes open. I am often ready for bed - in all honesty - around 6:30 pm and he could stay up until 2:00 am every night. Then, when I am ready to get up and going, he is not able to function for several more hours. He is extremely thoughtful, however, and almost always goes to bed with me, waits until I am asleep, and then gets up and does whatever he needs to take care of after I am snoozing away. It took me several months of marriage to figure out that he didn't actually go to bed when I did, but I appreciate this demonstration of his love tremendously and don't mind the "trickery" at all. Thankfully, having both an early bird and a night owl in a marriage can be a great boon once children arrive. Joseph is usually awake late enough that if the kids need anything late at night, he takes care of it so I can sleep. Then, at some point during the night, I am able to operate at a much more coherent level than he is when they need help and I am also able to get up with them when they are awake for the day - at quite an early hour sometimes - while he sleeps in for a bit.

Our children are divided in this particular characteristic. Austin, he is a night owl. Matthew, an early bird. When Austin gets up, he is usually pretty cranky for awhile and Matthew can never figure out what is wrong. "Why won't he talk to me, Mommy?" he asks as Austin pulls his blue blankie over his head and snarls at Matthew. I just sigh and know that Matthew will have to figure this one out over time just like I did.

Elizabeth...well...I think she may be an early bird, but it might be too early to tell. I'm not sure you can really know with a 9 month-old. I suppose we will know soon enough which of these behaviors she tends toward, and I will try to be understanding if it is the one I can't comprehend!

Christmas Presents for Joseph

This year, for Joseph's Christmas presents, I decided to go hand-made - due to budget constraints as well as to make them as thoughtful as possible for our current circumstance.

I got a marvelous idea rooted in a project on JessicaSprague.com for a book to make. (Incidentally, I love her website and the classes she offers. I have taken several of them and have learned so much. Even though her site is largely for scrapbookers, I have used what I have absorbed for design in addition to photo presentation. If you are at all interested in anything like this, I recommend her site.) I watched her Scrapbook Alchemy Episode 4 class and changed the album into a special book for Joseph to be reminded of how much we love him during lonely nights when he is in Wendover instead of being with us. I made the whole book by hand and am thrilled with how it turned out. He loves it! Here is what it looks like (and you should be able to click on a photo to enlarge it if you would like to look more closely):

Then the second gift that I gave him was a flannel quilt just for him. It is pretty large and VERY warm. His apartment in Wendover is freezing cold because both he and his roommate are almost only there to sleep so this will help keep him toasty and remind him of me. Here is a picture of part of it:

Although both Joseph and I often have expensive tastes, it was so rewarding to give a gift of my time and love and thoughtfulness this year. Funny enough, that is how most of our Christmases have been in our marriage and I am grateful for the chance to show my love and appreciation in creative ways.

I love you Joseph!

Ringing the New Year In

Late last night I was snuggling in bed, warm under flannel quilts and curled up next to Joseph. We were both reading by soft lamp light, engrossed in our books. Joseph surfaced to reality just enough to notice distant booming outside and, after considering for a moment what it could be and concluding that it was fireworks, he turned to me and said, "Happy New Year..." I quietly replied, "Oh, yeah. That's right. I forgot." I reflected for a moment on what a peaceful moment it was. High in the Uinta mountains in a snow-covered cabin we were together doing one of the things we loved best: reading. Our children were all three asleep. Friends visiting us were asleep with their children in the other room. We were all tired out from playing and eating and trying to solve the world's problems.

What a marvelous way to ring the new year in!