Beneath the Wraps

        I'm sure there must have been a few Christmases without snow before 2009.    I just can't recall any until that year.   It was our first year living in West Valley.   Tony was engaged and had come home from Fort Knox to spend Christmas with us.   No snow on the ground!   It was awesome, actually.   I took pictures of Jenna wearing brand new outfits from Grandma Lucy.   Without a coat, s he stood next to the outside tree.             I took many pictures of the outdoor weather because it was just so foreign to me to have that much sunshine and warmth for December and no cold air biting at us or having snow on the ground.   That is actually the only year I remember not having snow . . . until last year.   But even then we had experienced a little bit of snow - not as much as we're used to, but an outrageous amount for Myrtle Creek.  ...

            We had a great Christmas the year that Jenna had turned one.   That was the year we had spent opening gifts ALL DAY - something I had wanted to do for such a long time, but not everybody else was always in favor of doing that - at least at the same time.   We hadn't planned on doing it that year either.   It just happened to work out that way.   It was awesome!             We had Roland's two other girls.   They had stayed over Christmas Eve night.   Christmas morning for all of us - not just certain siblings.   They were all there.   The girls had even brought with them four gifts for all of us.   The ward had done a sub-for-Santa that year and had included the girls.   We were loaded down with gifts - lots of them!   And we had scheduled ourselves to feed a brunch to the missionaries at 11:00. ...

            The thing that I have been most grateful for this Christmas season has been Jenna's positive attitude - despite the way we both felt, despite having family so far away, she made the best of it.   She has been amazing!   I wish I had drummed up the same enthusiasm.   I did things with her just so her flame wouldn't die, but I really didn't do it with the same amount of energy; I wasn't even able to fake it.             For example, she wanted to deliver cookies to the neighbors on Christmas Eve.   I would have liked it better if Roland had gone with her.   But even he seemed quite uptight for Roland - I suppose because his two girls were sick and perhaps he felt helpless.   He watched a lot of TV by himself.             Anyway, I had gone with her, but lost my breath. ...

On Christmas day I jotted some notes down, which I had planned to turn into posts.  I think I have seven thus far - perhaps only five.  But they still don't flow as I would like them to.  And it is more important that I spend time with Jenna than to post anything.  I can't believe it's this late and she is still in bed.  Usually she's at least stirring. Oh, she's up.  She and Roland are making breakfast.  I should be getting dressed.  Perhaps after Jenna returns to school I will post again. out the door and on our way to Church

          Roland asked me what I thought about getting a tablet for Jenna for Christmas.           "Do you not even know your child at all?" I wanted to scream at him.   Even if we could afford it, giving a tablet to Jenna would be offensive.   She would interpret the gift to mean: "We don't have time for you.   Here's an electronic device to tie you over" though I'm certain the tables have been turned for some parents.           Jenna and I would like to get rid of the TV.   We watch it because it's there, but she would be a zillion times happier if it wasn't there.   And actually, it's not even on that much.   When Roland gets off work, he likes to relax in front of the boob tube - even if it means vegetating in front of a program that doesn't offer material worth watching for either me or Jenna.   A...

       Jenna and I were just about to pull out of the driveway when she noticed the mail truck come.   She dashed across the street to pick up the mail and I drove into the street and pulled up near the mailbox.   There was a package from Aunt Julie and two cards from the university: one for me and one for Roland.        Jenna was excited about the cards as they included a MadLib - which she was more than anxious to fill out.      She wrote apple, school, marbles, Taylor Swift, chair, mesmerizing, paper, table, comedy, mom, enchanting, soda, chips, grapes, shoe, lawn mower, running, bottle caps and singing.        There were ten sentences.   Half came out humorous.   At least I thought they did.   I will include my own comments after the sentences which I thought were funny. How do YOU celebrate the holidays? Purchase an apple and...

          The first December that I had my blog, I created this post which explains our letters to Jesus.   After a while, I added my thoughts to a journal I take out with the decorations each Christmas season.   The journal had been given to my mom.   I don't even know who it was from - I'm assuming it was left at Christmas time as I recently came across an unsigned Christmas Tag.   Someone had written: "use for personal journal, diaries, notes, recipe, addresses and more."   It was still blank when I retrieved it.      I started journaling in 2013.   As I was reading through some of it this year, I came across the letter I had written to Jesus.                                         ...

          I don’t know how it was that we ended up at Cracker Barrell in 2011.   They have nice gifts and marvelous food, not that we could afford it.   I think we were looking for something unique to send to Roland’s family – particularly his mother.   I ended up finding something for my mother instead.           Mom had a habit of falling asleep on the couch.   The entire time I had lived with her, she was always hot, but after her encounter with dementia, she would always seem to be cold.   I saw the cape as something she could use as a wrap.   It was a red check pattern.   Her favorite color has always been red.   I thought it would be perfect.   Kind of pricey, though.           Kayla said she had purchased a puzzle book for her but had been searching for something to go with it. ...

                "Some cultures believe the ladybug is a symbol of good luck.   Having a ladybug land on you can be a magical moment.   White other insects may pose as a threat to humans, animals and crops alike, ladybugs are harmless and even better: they're beneficial.   That is why so many cultures over the centuries have cherished ladybugs, believing them to bring good luck.   They are good luck to farmers" (Why Are Ladybugs Considered Good Luck?, 2016) "                 My mom and dad had purchased ornaments for their children for each year probably until dad's passing.   I still have many of the ornaments that had been given to me though there had been some that did not make it to my 18th birthday. Adding new ornaments to the tree was a tradition that I had wanted to start with my own family.   F...

            Ever since we have moved into this ward, the folding doors in back of the chapel have been open to allow an overflow - which I haven’t felt was necessary – nevertheless, it has always remained open until today.   The chapel still felt empty – more empty than usual.             The second counselor made the announcement that half of the ward was out sick.   I think it was more than half, and had actually never experienced such a thing before – or at least it had never been that obvious.   The primary was supposed to sing yesterday, but only four members of the primary were in the congregation at that time.   My student wasn’t one of them.             A lot of improv was made – particularly on the part of the primary.   It was announced that the young men and young women would...