Presents wrapped and under the tree. Most of them anyway. Cards all mailed. I think. Candies made and goodies baked. Well, for the most part. Christmas concerts have been enjoyed. Goodies delivered to neighbors and friends. Family dinner planned. Travel arrangements made. The house has been decorated for a while and the lights are beautiful! Christmas movie after Christmas movie on TV. (What's up with everyone being named Noel, Joy, Chris, Nick or Buddy? And almost every movie is about a single parent or orphaned child, family with no money or baby about to be born. For some reason I seem to need to see them all!)
While some would argue that Christmas is commercialized, I'm starting to see it differently. Shopping is not even close to one of my favorite chores. This year however, shopping has been less of a chore and more of an adventure. I've approached it with more of a smile than a scowl. And that's because I've come to love and appreciate those I shop for more than I ever did before.
All these years I've been the one allowing stress and worry to creep into the mix. Every child had to have the same number of gifts. Not only that but every child had to have the same amount of money spent on them as the other children. New pictures needed to be made for grandparents. More stress as we tried to get smiles out of all the kids at the same time!
For a few years we tried to hide Christmas gifts until Christmas. But with a rather large family, that became a very difficult task. So we started putting them under the tree in the days and weeks leading up to Christmas. In order to keep the children from figuring out which gifts belonged to whom, I would come up with a mathematical equation involving birth weights, dates, school grade plus any other thing I could come up with. The answer for each child's equation would go on their gifts instead of their names. This was done in an effort to keep the kids from guessing what was in their gifts....if they didn't know who the gifts were for it would surely be harder for them to guess the contents. Of course we have very bright children and many years they would guess the answers before time to do their math and get their gifts. (Yes, they had to do the math before they could open their gifts!) They've also admitted to opening gifts well before Christmas when we weren't looking!
Gifts had to be wrapped perfectly. If at all possible, each person's gifts had to be wrapped with different types of paper. After all, as the gifts were being handed out, wouldn't it look bad if one person had 10 gifts, all wrapped with the same snowman paper? They would think I didn't care! And how about wrapping grandparent gifts in kiddie paper? No way! Bows had to match paper. Name tags had to match paper and bows. Corners had to be folded perfectly. Tape had to disappear when applied to the paper.
And then there were all the candies and goodies to make. For many years I have made divinity. Some years it turns out great. Some years I can't make it to save my life. This year I tried to contribute my success of 3 near perfect batches to just the right amount of humidity in the air. Then I made two more batches on a rainy day. I realized my success was more from my new attitude than it was from the weather.
Christmas is about giving. God definitely gave the greatest gift when
He gave us Jesus. Of course there is no way we can out give God. Even
if we gave our very lives, we couldn't even come close. But He put the
desire in us to give. I've come to realize that shopping for gifts for
my family is actually an act of love. Wrapping those gifts is an act
of love. Giving is an act of love. No more micro managing for me. Just loving and enjoying my family and friends. They too, are God's gift to me. Because He loves me.
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Snow on the Willow
About 12 years ago our family purchased a weeping willow tree and planted it in the front yard. It grew quickly and has drawn lots of attention over the years. People who had no idea where we lived knew exactly where our house was when we told them about the willow on the corner. It has been used for the backdrop of the annual Mother's Day pictures, graduation pictures, as well as prom and formal dance pictures. Passers by have stopped to ask if they could take small parts of the tree for art projects. One man stopped, after driving by many times, and left a poem he had written about a willow. And at Christmastime, lights go on the willow while the leaves are still green and come off after the leaves have fallen. That's the way it was this year as well. But winter came a little early.
The saying goes "if you don't like the weather in Arkansas, wait until tomorrow, it will change". This was one of those weeks. Too warm to feel very Christmasy at first. But about mid week things changed. Rain. Then frozen rain and sleet. Temperatures dropped and dropped some more. Generator purchased just in case power was lost. We waited and watched. By evening everything was covered in a beautiful layer of ice. And it was still falling. Unfortunately our outside Christmas decorations hadn't been completed so our youngest son and I decorated as more ice fell. Yes, we're crazy. :)
The willow was absolutely breathtaking! The ice had fallen while the wind blew and the willow had frozen in designs more beautiful than ever before. I am always in awe of it's beauty but this was particularly breathtaking. Until I realized the heavy weight the ice was putting on the tree. I asked my husband if perhaps the fire department would bring their ladder truck over and let us clear off the ice at the top of the tree. The answer was no of course but he suggested I pray for my tree. (I've said that if we ever move the only thing I would really want to take would be that tree. My family all knows it's my favorite part of our yard.) I did what I could to shake some of the ice off the tree and I prayed.
The next morning we woke to frozen vehicles. Well everyone's except mine because it was in the garage. The roads were frozen. Everything in our yard was frozen. But we didn't loose power this time! After working only a couple of hours, our office was closed as snow was piling on top of the thick sheet of ice covering absolutely everything. So when I arrived home, I moved a broken willow limb out of the street and prayed some more. By early evening I was finding out that we still weren't finished decorating the yard so we started in again with testing and putting out lights. Eventually we were all outside, looking at our lights in the snow and having a great time!
But the willow still concerned me. On top of the twisted ice covered limbs had fallen several inches of snow. Limbs had broken. Others were weighted down to the ground under the ice and snow. It was completely breathtaking and heartbreaking all at the same time. I began shaking off the ice and snow. Soon we were all hitting the limbs with tennis rackets, a rake and a broom, breaking off the ice and shaking off the snow. The limbs slowly lifted. We took a break under the tree and truly felt like we were in a winter wonderland! Several times I was asked if we were hurting the tree. My answer was always 'no' and that the tree was breathing a sigh of relief as it was able to stand up with the weight being lifted.
That started me thinking. The tree was beautiful covered in snow and ice. But it wasn't made for that kind of weight and needed help. The help we gave it seemed more like we were hurting the tree but it would have hurt even more had we not beaten off the ice and snow. Such is life. Sometimes we pray. Sometimes the answers to our prayers come thru situations that seem to be more difficult than the original problem. We 'lose limbs' and have scars. But we grow. Roots grow deeper. We are strengthened. And one day we bloom again. God can and will use those difficult times of our lives but only if we submit to Him. Let Him.
Now of course we couldn't be outside in the snow without snow being thrown around and everyone having fun. And it's just not a snow day without snow ice cream! And more snow ice cream. Three days of snow ice cream so far and winter hasn't even started yet! Of course we are in Arkansas. Just hang around if you don't like the weather. It will change in day or so and the snow and ice will just be a beautiful memory.
The saying goes "if you don't like the weather in Arkansas, wait until tomorrow, it will change". This was one of those weeks. Too warm to feel very Christmasy at first. But about mid week things changed. Rain. Then frozen rain and sleet. Temperatures dropped and dropped some more. Generator purchased just in case power was lost. We waited and watched. By evening everything was covered in a beautiful layer of ice. And it was still falling. Unfortunately our outside Christmas decorations hadn't been completed so our youngest son and I decorated as more ice fell. Yes, we're crazy. :)
The willow was absolutely breathtaking! The ice had fallen while the wind blew and the willow had frozen in designs more beautiful than ever before. I am always in awe of it's beauty but this was particularly breathtaking. Until I realized the heavy weight the ice was putting on the tree. I asked my husband if perhaps the fire department would bring their ladder truck over and let us clear off the ice at the top of the tree. The answer was no of course but he suggested I pray for my tree. (I've said that if we ever move the only thing I would really want to take would be that tree. My family all knows it's my favorite part of our yard.) I did what I could to shake some of the ice off the tree and I prayed.
The next morning we woke to frozen vehicles. Well everyone's except mine because it was in the garage. The roads were frozen. Everything in our yard was frozen. But we didn't loose power this time! After working only a couple of hours, our office was closed as snow was piling on top of the thick sheet of ice covering absolutely everything. So when I arrived home, I moved a broken willow limb out of the street and prayed some more. By early evening I was finding out that we still weren't finished decorating the yard so we started in again with testing and putting out lights. Eventually we were all outside, looking at our lights in the snow and having a great time!
But the willow still concerned me. On top of the twisted ice covered limbs had fallen several inches of snow. Limbs had broken. Others were weighted down to the ground under the ice and snow. It was completely breathtaking and heartbreaking all at the same time. I began shaking off the ice and snow. Soon we were all hitting the limbs with tennis rackets, a rake and a broom, breaking off the ice and shaking off the snow. The limbs slowly lifted. We took a break under the tree and truly felt like we were in a winter wonderland! Several times I was asked if we were hurting the tree. My answer was always 'no' and that the tree was breathing a sigh of relief as it was able to stand up with the weight being lifted.
That started me thinking. The tree was beautiful covered in snow and ice. But it wasn't made for that kind of weight and needed help. The help we gave it seemed more like we were hurting the tree but it would have hurt even more had we not beaten off the ice and snow. Such is life. Sometimes we pray. Sometimes the answers to our prayers come thru situations that seem to be more difficult than the original problem. We 'lose limbs' and have scars. But we grow. Roots grow deeper. We are strengthened. And one day we bloom again. God can and will use those difficult times of our lives but only if we submit to Him. Let Him.
Now of course we couldn't be outside in the snow without snow being thrown around and everyone having fun. And it's just not a snow day without snow ice cream! And more snow ice cream. Three days of snow ice cream so far and winter hasn't even started yet! Of course we are in Arkansas. Just hang around if you don't like the weather. It will change in day or so and the snow and ice will just be a beautiful memory.
Monday, December 2, 2013
Donny & Marie & Me (How I went from having a crush on Donny to having a crush on Marie's shoes!)
I am NOT a groupie! I was. Many years ago. Being an extremely shy teenage girl, I would spend hours dreaming about one day becoming Mrs. Osmond. Every possible teen magazine was searched from cover to cover for pictures and info about Donny. That was before the internet and teen magazines were my primary source of information about the man of my dreams. I knew the birthdates of all all the brothers and Marie, their favorite colors and foods and even their hobbies. (According to 16 Magazine Donny was a budding electrician who rewired their doorbell to play his music. Oh if I could have just had one of those doorbells!)
Growing up way out in the country, I knew it wouldn't happen, but when I dreamed one night that the Osmonds were on a tour bus that broke down on our rural country road and all of them started climbing out of the bus in my front yard, well I just about made myself sick wondering if that dream just might come true! I imagined what it would be like and how Donny would fall head over heels for me at first sight. How could he not? I had my entire side of the room I shared with my sister covered in Donny pictures and posters. I knew all the words to every song he sang. I even had my hair cut like his! (His hair was much longer then so I didn't really look like a boy.) Every haircut, I would get out my favorite Donny picture as the guide and the scissors would go to work. And one of my grandmas, being a seamstress, made a cap for me just like Donny wore. I wore it every at opportunity!
Not only did I listen to the Osmonds, I performed Marie's "Paper Roses" along with a few other girls at our Spring Choir Concert when I was in 7th grade. I had planned to sing a solo but back then I was very shy and just couldn't get my voice to be loud enough. (My family would gladly testify that I outgrew that shyness and now everybody can hear me, no amplification needed!)
Then came the day I found out The Donny & Marie Show was coming on TV! I was walking on a cloud! Donny singing to me once a week, every week! Looking into those beautiful brown eyes every week while he sang to me and only me! I couldn't have been any happier....then I realized our TV didn't get the channel the show was on. Ah! But my grandparents' TV DID get that channel! So every Friday evening I would call my grandma and say "Mamaw can I come watch your TV?" She loved it! According to her I would sit "Indian style" in the floor in front of the TV, bouncing up and down for an hour! One year, on Valentine's Day, there was a special valentine waiting for me when I got home from school. Mamaw had enlisted my aunt to help her make a valentine from Donny to me. They worked really hard to make it look authentic. I knew she was behind it, but oh my heart wanted so badly to believe it was really from my beloved Donny!
When it was announced that Donny was getting married, I hoped and hoped it wasn't so. Even when the news showed Donny and Debbie after their wedding I just didn't want to believe it. Alas, it was true. And I must begin to grow up too. Several years later I also got married and had my own houseful of boys and one girl. (4 and 1 so not quite as many as the Osmond family. I couldn't help but compare my brood to theirs though.) And so was my life. Until last night........
My husband was actually the one who found out that Donny & Marie were coming to Tulsa, OK, which is about and hour and 45 minutes from our home. It was actually his idea to get tickets. (What a sweetie!) So we bought our tickets and I started counting down the days. I couldn't wait! Time to leave for Tulsa yesterday just couldn't come soon enough! But I tried to be grown up. After all I am now a 52 year old wife and mother. I needed to be mature. But it was so hard!!!!!!! Just driving into Tulsa I got a little giddy thinking that I was breathing air in the same city as Donny Osmond!!!!!!!!
We stopped for dinner before going to the venue. I was very glad the restaurant wasn't busy as we could get to the BOK quicker. My husband can find any address anywhere (I call him the human GPS) so we headed toward the BOK as I began to plan how to enter the twitter contest Marie had just tweeted about. He quickly found a parking area that he didn't consider too expensive but decided to drive around in it a while just to get on my nerves! I was about ready to hop out of the car and take off on my own when he finally settled on a parking space.
Once we got inside the venue, I quickly spotted the cutout of Marie where her tweet had instructed us to get our pictures made. Hubby and I took our places by the cut out, took our pictures, found our seats and composed our tweets. There was no way we would win, but it was fun to think about just like when I was a kid and dreamed their bus broke down in front of my house.
Then it happened. Suddenly, right there in front of me, Donny and Marie Osmond! My dream come true! A chance of a lifetime! I screamed. I sang along. I applauded. I bounced up and down in my seat! Then someone handed Marie a piece of paper. She told about the twitter contest and started reading "k m h parks", "Mrs. Parks". It was me! It was ME!!!!!!!!!!!! I jumped up and announced "That's me!!!!!!" My husband and I were ushered to the front row, best seats in the house, that we had just won! Marie asked for my first name and then asked for my husband's name and announced "he's cute!" PLEASE DON'T WAKE ME! THIS DREAM IS TOO FUN!!!!!!!!
The smile never left my face the rest of the night. I sang along with practically every song. My heartthrob Donny was right there just a few feet from me. And singing to me and only me! But sitting so close gave me another view as well. A view of Marie's beautiful wardrobe! And even more......her shoes! I've never seen so many beautiful shoes and boots! Sparkling green shoes! White boots that look like lace! Every costume brought a new pair of shoes or boots. I wondered if we wore the same size or if she would let me try them on. I was mesmerized by Marie's shoes! She danced in them. She even ran in them and didn't seem to have one bit of trouble doing so. Never once did she appear to have aching feet even! Then came the most beautiful shoes I had ever seen. Marie was dressed in a beautiful black dress with long shiny black tassels. It was beautiful and I wanted one just like it! I wanted to dance around like she did while the dress sparkled in the lights! Ahhhh.....but then I looked at her feet. Her shoes sparkled like diamonds. I couldn't take my eyes off them! She sang and danced around the stage and I watched her shoes, only occasionally looking up from them. I wanted a closer look so badly! Then it happened. She sat down on the top step of the stage right there in front of me! She was so close I could almost touch her! And those beautiful shoes! Oh those beautiful shoes!
Last night was a night I will never forget. I'm still smiling! And while I absolutely loved Donny singing "Puppy Love" (and I sang right along and screamed when appropriate) I just can't stop thinking about Marie's shoes. Guess I have grown up. And Marie, should you ever get tired of your beautiful shoes, I know where you can retire them. Hint hint!
Growing up way out in the country, I knew it wouldn't happen, but when I dreamed one night that the Osmonds were on a tour bus that broke down on our rural country road and all of them started climbing out of the bus in my front yard, well I just about made myself sick wondering if that dream just might come true! I imagined what it would be like and how Donny would fall head over heels for me at first sight. How could he not? I had my entire side of the room I shared with my sister covered in Donny pictures and posters. I knew all the words to every song he sang. I even had my hair cut like his! (His hair was much longer then so I didn't really look like a boy.) Every haircut, I would get out my favorite Donny picture as the guide and the scissors would go to work. And one of my grandmas, being a seamstress, made a cap for me just like Donny wore. I wore it every at opportunity!
Not only did I listen to the Osmonds, I performed Marie's "Paper Roses" along with a few other girls at our Spring Choir Concert when I was in 7th grade. I had planned to sing a solo but back then I was very shy and just couldn't get my voice to be loud enough. (My family would gladly testify that I outgrew that shyness and now everybody can hear me, no amplification needed!)
Then came the day I found out The Donny & Marie Show was coming on TV! I was walking on a cloud! Donny singing to me once a week, every week! Looking into those beautiful brown eyes every week while he sang to me and only me! I couldn't have been any happier....then I realized our TV didn't get the channel the show was on. Ah! But my grandparents' TV DID get that channel! So every Friday evening I would call my grandma and say "Mamaw can I come watch your TV?" She loved it! According to her I would sit "Indian style" in the floor in front of the TV, bouncing up and down for an hour! One year, on Valentine's Day, there was a special valentine waiting for me when I got home from school. Mamaw had enlisted my aunt to help her make a valentine from Donny to me. They worked really hard to make it look authentic. I knew she was behind it, but oh my heart wanted so badly to believe it was really from my beloved Donny!
When it was announced that Donny was getting married, I hoped and hoped it wasn't so. Even when the news showed Donny and Debbie after their wedding I just didn't want to believe it. Alas, it was true. And I must begin to grow up too. Several years later I also got married and had my own houseful of boys and one girl. (4 and 1 so not quite as many as the Osmond family. I couldn't help but compare my brood to theirs though.) And so was my life. Until last night........
My husband was actually the one who found out that Donny & Marie were coming to Tulsa, OK, which is about and hour and 45 minutes from our home. It was actually his idea to get tickets. (What a sweetie!) So we bought our tickets and I started counting down the days. I couldn't wait! Time to leave for Tulsa yesterday just couldn't come soon enough! But I tried to be grown up. After all I am now a 52 year old wife and mother. I needed to be mature. But it was so hard!!!!!!! Just driving into Tulsa I got a little giddy thinking that I was breathing air in the same city as Donny Osmond!!!!!!!!
We stopped for dinner before going to the venue. I was very glad the restaurant wasn't busy as we could get to the BOK quicker. My husband can find any address anywhere (I call him the human GPS) so we headed toward the BOK as I began to plan how to enter the twitter contest Marie had just tweeted about. He quickly found a parking area that he didn't consider too expensive but decided to drive around in it a while just to get on my nerves! I was about ready to hop out of the car and take off on my own when he finally settled on a parking space.
Once we got inside the venue, I quickly spotted the cutout of Marie where her tweet had instructed us to get our pictures made. Hubby and I took our places by the cut out, took our pictures, found our seats and composed our tweets. There was no way we would win, but it was fun to think about just like when I was a kid and dreamed their bus broke down in front of my house.
Then it happened. Suddenly, right there in front of me, Donny and Marie Osmond! My dream come true! A chance of a lifetime! I screamed. I sang along. I applauded. I bounced up and down in my seat! Then someone handed Marie a piece of paper. She told about the twitter contest and started reading "k m h parks", "Mrs. Parks". It was me! It was ME!!!!!!!!!!!! I jumped up and announced "That's me!!!!!!" My husband and I were ushered to the front row, best seats in the house, that we had just won! Marie asked for my first name and then asked for my husband's name and announced "he's cute!" PLEASE DON'T WAKE ME! THIS DREAM IS TOO FUN!!!!!!!!
The smile never left my face the rest of the night. I sang along with practically every song. My heartthrob Donny was right there just a few feet from me. And singing to me and only me! But sitting so close gave me another view as well. A view of Marie's beautiful wardrobe! And even more......her shoes! I've never seen so many beautiful shoes and boots! Sparkling green shoes! White boots that look like lace! Every costume brought a new pair of shoes or boots. I wondered if we wore the same size or if she would let me try them on. I was mesmerized by Marie's shoes! She danced in them. She even ran in them and didn't seem to have one bit of trouble doing so. Never once did she appear to have aching feet even! Then came the most beautiful shoes I had ever seen. Marie was dressed in a beautiful black dress with long shiny black tassels. It was beautiful and I wanted one just like it! I wanted to dance around like she did while the dress sparkled in the lights! Ahhhh.....but then I looked at her feet. Her shoes sparkled like diamonds. I couldn't take my eyes off them! She sang and danced around the stage and I watched her shoes, only occasionally looking up from them. I wanted a closer look so badly! Then it happened. She sat down on the top step of the stage right there in front of me! She was so close I could almost touch her! And those beautiful shoes! Oh those beautiful shoes!
Last night was a night I will never forget. I'm still smiling! And while I absolutely loved Donny singing "Puppy Love" (and I sang right along and screamed when appropriate) I just can't stop thinking about Marie's shoes. Guess I have grown up. And Marie, should you ever get tired of your beautiful shoes, I know where you can retire them. Hint hint!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)