Christmas Morning

When Chris and I were first married the Christmas holiday was spent with his family or mine, alternating each year. The first Christmas with my family (our second year of marriage) was also our last as my family had grown so large that we couldn't fit in one house and we couldn't count on the neighbor being out of town and willing to lend us his house each year:) So, on the years we don't go to Chris' family we have stayed home-I was 8 months pregnant the first time. This year was the second time at home and while we contemplated heading to VA, in the end we were glad to be home with the kids and I being less than healthy, the rain and snow, and the work around the house that we had planned.
Christmas morning was low key and comfortable. Noah woke up about 7ish and was content to watch a show and eat from his stocking (he had informed me days before that his stocking would be filled with candy and I learned my lesson about failed expectations at Halloween!) until Ian woke up. That meant that Mommy and Daddy got to sleep till close to 8 when Ian decided join the land of the living. We considered this a special Christmas treat since they both usually wake up between 6:30 and 7.

Ian was equally happy to munch from his stocking, almost the exclusion of all else. He was about where Noah was last year-not really much interested in the unwrapping of presents. Once something fun came out of the paper he wanted to play with it, but there didn't seem to be any joy in the discovery. Funny kids!

Although, I did manage to get a picture without food in it:)They were excited by each gift and thanks to the generosity of grandparents, Uncle Bret and Aunt Christina, and Aunt Clara they got a variety of fun things to check out and play with. Thanks everyone!
It was fun and happy and I couldn't have asked for more. Happily, there was more! Chris got me a wireless router so now (except for pictures) I can blog (and email, search jobs, etc.) from the comfort of my couch! Hence the last really long post that a sore bum might have encouraged me to shorten or abridge.

As most of the Christmas vacation has been full of home improvement work for Chris with occasional help from his sick and pregnant wife, that morning was the perfect opportunity to focus on family and togetherness. It was a very merry Christmas.

Christmas Thoughts

In Christmases past I have fallen into the rut of thinking momentarily of the birth of Jesus before mentally moving on to the more significant acts that he would preform later in life. I would read the story of his birth and then continue onward, without pause, to think about the Atonement.

This year, my thoughts have followed a different track. I have not had any great epiphany of new knowledge, just the understanding that perhaps I have been passing over an event that does have more significance than just a nice story on the way to the Garden of Gethsemane, Calvary and the garden tomb.

This year I saw part of the movie The Nativity Story. I liked it. But one line really got me thinking. One of the wise men, upon arriving at the stable to see the baby Jesus (however historically inaccurate:) said with total awe of expression and voice "God made flesh!"

Babies are all extraordinary miracles but was there really something that set this baby apart from all others? That would inspire such awe in full grown men (not their parent) that had traveled hundreds of miles and months of time to see him?

I connected a couple of dots in my mind as I pondered on this.

Dot 1:
In 1 Nephi 11, the Spirit asks Nephi "Knowest thou the condescension of God?"

The scripture continues:

"And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.
And he said unto me: Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh.
...And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms.
And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father!"

God made flesh, just as the wise man proclaimed.

Later in the chapter it returns to this subject:

"And the angel said unto me again: Look and behold the condescension of God!
And I looked and beheld the Redeemer of the world, of whom my father had spoken; and I also beheld the prophet who should prepare the way before him. And the Lamb of God went forth and was baptized of him..."

Nephi was shown in vision many of the events in Christ's life, continuing the illustration of the condescension of God, all of which demonstrate Jesus' complete humility.

Dot 2:
Early in December I was reading Mosiah 14. Abinadi is quoting from the 53rd chapter of Isaiah.
He describes the Atonement:

"But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
All we, like sheep, have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquities of us all.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb so he opened not his mouth.
He was taken from prison and from judgment; and who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living; for the transgressions of my people was he stricken.
And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no evil, neither was any deceit in his mouth."

But what of the verses that came before, that were not in reference the the Atonement itself? They too describe the humility with which Jesus lived his life.

"For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground; he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him there is no beauty that we should desire him.
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrow, and acquainted with grief; and we hid our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely, he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted."

His whole life was lived in such a humble manner that even before his experience in Gethsemane, he was acquainted with the sadness and sorrows that come with life. And yet he was a God.

Dot 3:
It seems that upon occasion I have met or heard of little babies that don't like to be little babies. You have that sense that it is exasperating for them to be in bodies that don't obey them or frustrating that they can't communicate as much as they would like. As they get older and things start to work they way they would like they seem to get happier and more content with life.

Did Jesus have that experience? We know he learned and grew 'from grace to grace' but surely it was at an accelerated rate compared to us. By age 12 he was teaching in the temple. Is that part of the condescension of God? That he would be frustrated by the limitations of the flesh? That he would endure them for years so that he could more fully comprehend how to succor us in our afflictions? Were they necessary preparation for the Atonement itself?

Jesus needed a body of flesh so that he could die. Perhaps his birth was significant not just because it provided that body, not just because it was a nice story of prophecy fulfilled on the way to the Atonement. Perhaps his birth was significant as a part of the Atonement, the condescension of God, preparing him, leading him to those events that have such eternal significance for mankind.

Perhaps I shouldn't pass over the birth of the Savior on my way to pondering the Atonement.

Maybe they are not as separate as I had thought.

The Man Behind the Curtain

You know the scene in the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy and the others are all talking to the floating wizard head and Toto outs the real wizard from his hiding place and he says "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!"

That is what Chris would probably tell you about himself. But for me he is the real wizard. The man behind the curtain. The magic behind my laundry baskets. And dishwasher and dinners and bathrooms and early morning kiddie care, and lately, holiday goodies and gift wrapping. You get the picture.

You might have caught on to the fact that pregnancy does not bring about my finest moments. Such has been the case this go round as well, really, but it might not seem to be true to the casual observer. This is all Chris.

Chris has been there every day to pick up the extra slack. And some days I bet he thought he would be tied in knots for the rest of his life by how much extra slack there was! He has been working to hit deadline after deadline at work and yet still makes it home with enough energy to spare to wrestle with the boys, make dinner, read library books, sing songs, brush teeth and put the boys to bed. And then go back to work for a few more hours.

Repeat daily.

I have not been completely out of commission. We had an agreement after all-I would buck up and he would be nice. And I am happy to report: it is working! But I guess that is my point. It is all thanks to Chris. His niceness (and tolerance and forgiveness) inspires me to keep pushing even when I really don't think I can (or want) do more. Chris lets me sleep in a little everyday to get past the early morning morning sickness, gets up with the boys, has had early morning poop clean up duty when we experimented with overnight underwear wearing and he has even gone out to get food for my cravings! If he is doing so much for me I can hardly do less (although it really does come out to be less). And it has made the last 4 1/2 months so much more pleasant than they could have been.

We are almost half way through. And while I am not looking forward to the less than happy/comfortable symptoms that the future holds I feel much more confident in our ability to handle what comes and do so in a way that is going to make our family better and stronger.

I have been procrastinating the writing of this post thinking, foolishly, that perhaps the perfect, eloquent words would come to me and would appear in a flawless essay of respect, devotion, gratitude, and love. Since that hasn't happened yet, and never will, you will have to content yourselves as I will. Telling yourself, after reading this post, "It's the thought that counts."

And here is the most important thought:

I love you, Chris, and am so grateful that you are mine.

Big Nose

I have one. Again.

Sigh.

Magic Laundry Baskets

I have magic laundry baskets.

I do laundry (on a good day:) and get the dirty clothes basket completely empty.

Then I fold laundry (also on a good day:) and the clean clothes basket is all empty.

At this point I assume that we are good for at least a few days, right?

But I have magic baskets. The next time a walk by the dirty clothes baskets, without fail, it is full again. How do those clothes magically appear? And it's not just the dirty clothes basket but the clean one too. It is full of laundry that needs to be folded.

It is magic.

Honestly...

Here are the rules... we'll see how well I follow them:
1) Must thank the person who gave the award and list their blog and link it.
2) Share "10 Honest Things" about yourself.
3) Present this award to 7 others whose blogs you find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged you.
4) Tell those 7 people they've been awarded HONEST SCRAP and inform them of these guidelines in receiving the award.

I was nominated twice, by Robin Cooper and Tara Black (links on the sidebar). Both times I had the urge to look over my shoulder to see if they were mentioning some other Leah. I can't be sure but to cover my bases I figured I would give it a go.

1. I eat all the crust on my sandwiches first. I suppose it is a result of my preference to 'save the best for last'.

2. I prefer to do chores that provide instant gratification. (How's that for a grown up way to think?) Like loading the dishwasher, as opposed to unloading it. You unload it and close it and nothing appears to have changed. Where as if I load it my kitchen is usually cleaner and I feel as if I have accomplished something.

3. I was "Dear Janed" by a missionary when I was a sophomore in college. I actually consider this a blessing despite the upset at the moment.

4. I was my husband's first kiss-and I waited a long time for it!!

5. I have lived in 9 states in my life and in the next year will add another. Not the equal of any well traveled military brat but enough that I didn't have anyone to write a recommendation when I applied to BYU who had known me for 10 years or more.

6. I think often of friends, acquaintances and people who have made an impression in my life but am awful about keeping up with them in general and expressing serious sentiment to them in particular.

7. I am happy to be a mother. It is the most challenging thing I have or will ever undertake. I find it intimidating and I worry about doing it well. The irony is that I tend to avoid like the plague things that make me feel that way. But I have embraced motherhood and frequently think that there is not another job that I would rather be doing.

8. I get very carsick very easily and consequently drive everywhere, all the time. Luckily for me, Chris doesn't mind being a passenger.

9. I have never been my own biggest fan but have had enough experiences in life to know and understand that however unfathomable I find it, I have a Heavenly Father who loves me and guides my life. Amazing!

10. I once had a friend nickname me 'Penelope'. I don't the the hows or whys but it is still the most unusual nickname I have ever had.

Pictures might have made this post more interesting but it might have made the post nonexistent as well. I tag the 7 people who read my blog. Can't wait to learn more about you!

Thanksgiving Part 2: Virginia

An early departure on Tuesday put us in VA by early afternoon.

The boys declined to take naps so by late afternoon/early evening they were fit to be tied-especially Ian. Oh, my! Let's just say that the continuous crying and screaming for 2 hours did not make a good impression on his relatives who haven't seen him in ages. I was having flashbacks to his infancy!

On the other hand it made them super ready for bed and they went down a little early without a fuss. This meant that we got to go on our double date with Clara and Dave earlier than planned.
What a fun evening! We went to Mac & Bob's for dinner, a Salem institution and already established tradition for Chris and I. They have the most humongous, yummy calzones! Then it was on to play games. I was introduced to Ticket to Ride. Dave beat me by a hair...well by almost a hundred points. However, since he was the expert and I the novice I didn't feel to bad:)

Wednesday was fun too because I got to hang out with my bestest friend from high school, Mary. We kept in touch for years after I moved from KY but eventually we did lose touch. Super genius that she is (really she is!), she found me through the Church a few years ago. I didn't even know that you could do that! Anyway, since then we have gotten to see each other just a few times but the internet does make it easier to stay in touch and up on each other's doings.

Still, nothing really beats the face to face. Thanks to Mary, Josh and her girls, who were willing to stop off on their trip to see family, we got to visit for a couple of hours. The only sad part was not getting a picture of us together. (Ok, you know I really miss not getting a picture to capture the occasion-I don't really miss being in it!)

Wednesday was also the start of our turkey preparations. Chris and I volunteered to do the turkey and mashed potatoes and stuffing this year. Chris really ended up doing the turkey himself and it was amazing! We got compliments along the lines of "This is the best turkey and gravy I have ever had!"

I have just two words: Alton Brown.

From the Food Network. Chris and I just happened to catch his special how to make the best turkey show. We were riveted and decided to try it his way. Oooooooh, buddy. Let me tell you! It was worth any extra effort (although really it wasn't much!). I think it came down to the brining and the cooking method (short time at really high temp, a couple hours at lower temp and then some residual cooking out of the oven as it rests.)

Thanksgiving morning was a little hectic with both of us trying to get things ready for dinner but the boys did pretty well and like I said, the food was amazing!! And again, I didn't get a picture of the spread or the people. Pregnancy brain strikes again!

Pies and more family came later and it that was great too! Of course I have no picture of this either! What I did manage to get pictures of, thankfully, was Grandma getting her birthday present. Someone (Stephanie?) or someones came up with the brilliant idea of Celebrating the the 75 Days of Grandma leading up to her, you guessed it, 75th birthday in February.

It was so fun to see her face! We told her it was for her birthday. Her response: "You don't think I'm going to make to February?"
Now she gets to open a envelope everyday until her birthday.

It was somewhere in here when Clara finally broke the ice that Ian had so guarded all the time since leaving home. He broke down and sang and played with her.

And while Dave wasn't able to win over Ian this trip, he was not without his successes.
The cutest of which was Lizzy. Naturally, I didn't get a picture of any of that either.
Friday was met with goodbyes as Clara and Dave, Jacob, Aimee and boys all left for home.

Noah decided to liven up the day with some diarrhea. This gave us some real pause. I just didn't think that a 3 year old, diarrhea and a 10+ hour car trip would mix well. So in the end we opted to stay a couple more days and hope it was all cleared up by Monday-like the holiday traffic would hopefully be.

This meant that we got to see the Christmas tree put up and decorated. (Nope, no picture of the finished product.) But how about this one?

It all worked out and we made it home Monday evening after about 11 hours. It was a long day but distance makes the heart grow fonder and it was heavenly to be home in our place! And, thanks to Ian and Cristina stopping in on their way home, our house didn't even smell too much like the cat! Oh, simple pleasures:)

Thanksgiving Part 1: Kentucky

For Thanksgiving vacation we had a two part journey. Sadly, as I was uploading pictures I realized that I didn't get pictures of several things/people. Like Mimi. We were at her house and I didn't get any pictures of her this trip! The MIA pictures are not a reflection of a lack of love or enjoyment, simply my pregnant, and thus forgetful, mind!!

We stopped in KY to spend a couple of days with my brother Ian and his family and my parents. They were all spending the whole week at Mimi's house and when you live far away you got to take every opportunity! On the way there we stopped at place with a play place. We thought it would be nice if they could have a little fun before going the last hour. Instead we got quite the bump. Notice the nice red bruise spot on his right cheek?We got in Saturday night. Ian and Cristina actually made an impromptu stop at our house as a break in their trip that night. I think it was a timely break for them and it's hard to pass up free accommodations but I was very embarrassed by the state of my house! Never will I leave my house less than spotless when I go on a trip again! (Famous last words if I ever heard them....)

Sunday was a pleasant day and we played at the playground at Masterston Station in the morning. After Ian and company arrived we went for a walk close to downtown in Lexington.
We saw this building, the library of my mother's youth, and her pretend princess castle. Can you believe that for just $60,000 you could have had a place like this too?

We passed many old, beautiful renovated/restored historical homes. Grand old dames now, I can only imagine how impressive they were back in the day.
You might have to click on it to see, but here you have some unique individuals playing what appears to be some version of quidditch complete with brooms and towels for capes! I think I am getting old.
Ian was a little off his game pretty much the whole trip and took hearty offense if anyone so much as looked at him, let alone talked to him. I felt a little better when I took these. A little cliche, perhaps, but so sweet and meaningful to me that I don't care.

And what stop at Mimi's would not be complete without at ride (or a hundred) up the stairs in the chair? He did learn to do it all by himself this time!
Monday our plans for Red River Gorge/Natural Bridge were rained out. But we finished off the day with a double date (with Ian and Cristina) plus chaperon (Mimi:) at Bajio. Yum!!

We hit the road Tuesday morning and made the rest of the trip on to VA. But that is Part 2.