December 27, 2007

• …things are once again quiet at our house.

  But for a few days, they were anything but! With two two-year-old grandchildren, a seven-year-old granddaughter, two daughters and two sons-in-law here, it was noisy and a bit chaotic, but oh! so much fun!

  There was a reunion with high school friends and their families in our barn on Saturday night, church on Sunday, a tea party with the grandmas on Monday afternoon where we practiced our good manners and chatted nicely while sipping tea and munching on lovely scones spread with orange marmalade, a visit from Santa himself on Monday evening during dinner,

                             

  Christmas morning excitement with filled stockings and gifts all around,

                                           

  and not-to-be-missed wonderful meals at the grandmas’ homes that were shared with cousins, aunts and uncles, and new-born cousins (the lovely Ella Grace!)

                            

  Our Emma (the one who is seven) is growing into a delightful little lady. Her dear friend, Molly (an American Girl doll who came under the tree last year), was a partner to all of Emma’s fun. Her gifts were mostly new outfits for Molly, and it was fun to see Emma dressing her up.

                      

  Emma gave us a little piano recital of Christmas songs while at Grandma’s house, and we hope to have that pleasure for many years to come. She loves to play Uno and had all of us joining in a game every time there was a spare minute. What a fun age this is!

  Lucy (aka LuLu) and Wyatt are inseparable pals now and got along very well.

        

  They had a few cross moments when they were tired, but all in all, they got along beautifully and kept us laughing at their antics (I just won’t mention the spilled nail polish or the coals from the fireplace all over the carpet!) Wyatt still can’t say all the consonants, so when he missed his cousin, he would say, “Woo-woo! Where are you?” So cute!

  My dear, beloved sons-in-law decided I needed a new type of bird to go along with my favored chickens, so I am now the proud owner of a rare type of peacock….white with blue neck feathers. His name is Kringle. They spent all the afternoon of Christmas Eve going to get Kringle and then building him a special small pen within the chicken pen, so that he won’t escape while he gets used to his new surroundings, all without my knowledge! Kringle isn’t mature yet, so his unique colors aren’t developed. I’ll post a photo whenever this bird gets pretty.

  It really is worth all the effort, the cooking and cleaning up, the late hours and missed sleep, the craziness and even the occasional crabbiness to have a wonderful memory-making family time together. I wouldn’t have missed a minute of any of it…

  And now I’m looking ahead to the new year that is almost here. What to change, what to keep, what to add, what to subtract? It’s such a nice feeling to have a clean slate, a fresh start, an empty calendar with 12 blank pages of months full of days, stretching ahead to fill up. Doesn’t it just make you feel rich? And full of eager anticipation?

  Some of those days will contain sadness, some will be filled with pain, and others will be used up with anger or confusion or exasperation. There will be hard work going on in many of the weeks ahead. I’m not foolish enough to think that the 366 days of 2008 will all be fun and games (remember that this will be an election year, and we have the political ads to endure!)  But I love to think about how I can choose, right now, to make the very most of them, come what may.

  It actually makes my pulse race and my heart sing to think about the new projects I can begin! That cute cap with the earflaps that I wanted to knit for Emma for Christmas could be ready by Valentine’s Day. My bedroom needs an update, and I’ve been thinking about painting our iron bed….RED! That will mean a new quilt! My new journal WILL be filled, day by day, so that at this time next year I can look back and reread (and not just try to remember) a year’s worth of memories. And then there is my long-dreamed-of story to write….”The Line Sisters”….I’ve written it in my head a hundred times. Does that title intrigue you? Do I have the self-discipline to actually write it?

  However you are spending the next few days, I hope you have time to make some plans for yourself for the next year. Think back to last year at this time…what did you hope for…and what have you accomplished? It’s probably good to be realistic, but it’s even better to dream big, plan big and hope big. The worst that can happen is that it doesn’t all come true, you don’t get to do it all, or you might even fail. And remember…..”There’s always next year!”

  Happy New Year to all of you! 

   

  • 9:01 pm
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