A Christmas to remember

Well, Christmases after Caleb's first have a lot to live up to.
What started out as rain on Christmas Eve turned into snow, and left five inches with deeper drifts in our front yard.
That snow also ended up on the roads, leaving us stranded in Boyd and unable to drive to Snyder to be with my mom's family for the big day.
But, despite my missing family and sweet potatoes, we still had a fun day. I made Daniel trek out in the early daylight to get pictures, and as soon as gifts were unwrapped, we all fell into a deep slumber.
Santa didn't bring Caleb much this year (he already has so many toys and clothes - what else could we possibly get him?), but he brought just enough to keep him interested for a couple of minutes.
Once we woke up and ate a late lunch, we changed from our pajamas into some sweatshirts and took a hike through the snow. It was absolutely beautiful.
Later in the afternoon, we drove to Burleson to visit Daniel's brother and his family. Thank goodness the roads had cleared - we were just moments away from having mild cabin fever.
All in all, it was a great Christmas.

These are the moments I'll remember

When I think of my childhood, I remember a sense of magic that surrounded December.
It was such a special time with much to do.
We decorated the tree with wooden ornaments, multicolored lights and a garland of glittering plastic candy. The nativity scene was put out, as were ornamental snowmen and Santa Clauses. I begged my dad for days to “please put lights on the house,” and eventually, he would. While he precariously balanced on a ladder to line the roof in green lights, I did my best to embellish the bushes along the front of the house.
Eventually, we would discuss Santa, and what we planned to ask him to bring from his workshop in the North Pole. Every year I asked for a puppy, but I never found a little yellow lab with a red bow around his neck under the tree. Santa was always nice enough to write a letter, explaining why he couldn’t deliver.
I remember lying in bed, my dark room illuminated by the lights outside my bedroom window, wondering if I would hear Santa come into the house. I would even get up and look out my window, hoping to see a red flash of Rudolph’s nose intermingled with the stars.
Now, as the mother of a 9- month-old, I am looking forward to the season from a different perspective.
This time, I get to watch his smile as he rips wrapping paper apart. Eventually, I’ll listen to him sing traditional Christmas songs just slightly off key. In a few years, he’ll rush to ride a new bike in the to put on a coat.
Though he doesn’t understand the purpose of Santa or know the words to “Jingle Bells” this year, he has become quite appreciative of our tree. In fact, it may be the reason he has become such a speed demon crawler. As soon as I pull him to the opposite side of the room, he immediately begins the trek back to the tree, hoping to hold a light or pluck an ornament from a branch.
There are so many traditions I hope to start this year – going to a candlelight Christmas Eve service; reading “Twas the Night Before Christmas” and the Christmas story on Christmas Eve; wearing new Christmas pajamas to bed and opening presents in them the next day.
I’m sure many more traditions will be discovered along the way.
But most of all, I want to instill in him the magic of the season. It’s a season when people know no bounds – they give and give despite previous budget constraints. They over-decorate and smile a little more. They sing silly songs about giving geese, swans, hens and partridges as presents.
While the season has its negatives – it has been criticized for becoming too commercial – I would hope that my son will see beyond the gifts under the tree. As I recall memories of Christmastime, I remember very little of gifts. Instead, I think about time spent with my extended family or singing carols in the front yard.
It’s a time of hope, distinguished by the cheerful colors of Christmas lights and shimmering garland.
I have so many dreams and hopes for him as he grows older. But as for tonight, I’m going to sit on my couch with my hot chocolate and watch him crawl to the Christmas tree. His smile is brilliant, his determination evident.
I will remember this moment.

This column appeared in the Wise County Messenger Dec. 24, 2009.

It's the holiday season

Where does the time go?
It seems like Caleb was dressed in his Halloween costume just yesterday. Suddenly, I'm supposed to have presents under the tree.
I only have one, and it's for Daniel.
Luckily, we have had time to have some holiday photos taken by Joe Duty, the photographer at the Messenger.

That ornament is around here somewhere.

Christmas makes me happy!

I'm adorable!

First family Christmas portrait.

It's hard to believe that we will celebrate Caleb's first Christmas in a few short weeks. Hopefully, things will slow down so I can enjoy every moment. There are so many traditions I want to start this year — reading 'Twas the Night Before Christmas on Christmas Eve, giving him a new pair of pajamas, filling his stocking with little toys and socks and going to a Christmas Eve service.
What are some of your Christmas traditions?
Be warned — I may steal one or two.

Busy, busy, busy

I have been a bad blogger and have not posted in a month! Awful, I know.
But, I have some great excuses:
1) We just finished moving after what felt like a three-month process. There are still boxes to unpack, but all the painting is done, the beds are in place, the Christmas tree is up and I can find things in the kitchen. Life is great!
2) We don't have Internet at home. That may be a problem. We're looking into some options, but they are very limited when you live in the boonies.

So, I will put forward great effort to post more often. I pledge to be a better blogger.

But I thought I was crafty!

We're having a bake sale at the Messenger, and I got served.
Not served as in someone giving me yummy samples of brownies, muffins, cakes and pies.
Served as in totally outdone.
We've got some crafty ladies up here, and they went all out on their food and displays. Someone fashioned a cute container out of a paint can. Some of the cakes look like they should be in a display case at some upscale bakery.

Not mine.

Not mine.

And then you have mine. I made a devil's food cake with homemade whipped cream. It's my favorite dessert.

Mine.

It is so ugly! I priced it well below the other, more lovely items since I knew it would be a hard sale. Why buy something that looks like a 4-year-old made a mud pie topped with glue when you can have something beautiful and tasty?
I feel like less of a woman today.

A change

Caleb is almost 8 months old and it seems that he learns something new everyday.
It seems a short time ago that he was born. Now, he's sitting up and eating baby food. He fills the time in the evenings by army crawling across the floor in pursuit of Cali.
Yesterday, he pulled himself up into a standing position.
I know he will be walking and talking soon. I am predicting that this little boy will ask a lot of questions. He has this standard "inquisitive" expression that just says, "Please explain this to me." It often appears when he's trying a new food.
As much fun as he's had exploring our house in Rhome, he's about to have a new home to explore.
We're moving to a little house in the country in a few weeks. A friend asked us if we would like to move to their land in Boyd in order to watch over things for them. It's an adventure, and we are so excited.
Plus, it will help us save up some money so we can finally buy our own house.
So, think of us as we go through the wonderful process of packing (fun) and moving and unpacking (more fun). Pray that our new digs will bring wonderful memories, and a jump start at finding, or creating, our dream house.

I'm feeling crafty

I made a craft!
And I think it turned out to be kind of cute.
I used Christmas cards from the last two years for leaves on this wreath, which I completed last night. It took a few evenings to get things done (keeping Caleb in one place is difficult these days, keeping Caleb out of hot glue, toothpicks, greeting cards is a different story), but it wasn't that difficult.
I credit Kristen at the Messenger with the idea. I also plan to make one with the many, many cards I kept from Caleb's showers to put out at Christmas.
If you click on the title of this post, it will take you to a collection of wreath projects. This one is the fifth project.
Have fun. It's a great way to reuse something that your loved one took the time to send your way.

Halloween

We celebrated Caleb's first Halloween over the weekend, first with dinner with most of the Bourgeois clan in Burleson, then with some trick-or-treating in Aurora at a friend's house.
Caleb was a dalmatian, possibly the cutest dalmatian of all time.
I didn't have my camera with me for most of the night, but I did manage to get one cute picture before the allotted costume-wearing time ran out.
The costume was borrowed from our friend, Karen. Her son, Jake, wore the costume when he was just a few months older than Caleb. That was 13 years ago. She was happy to see another little boy wearing it.

What is this blog without a picture of Caleb?

There wouldn't be a need for this blog without little Caleb, so I guess I should post a picture.
Here's Caleb eating his favorite food - carrots.

It's a Bourgeois life

I decided to start this blog after Linds started a blog. I know, I know — I'm a thief.
Since my parents and Daniel's parents don't have Facebook accounts (thank goodness!), I thought this would be an easy way to let them see Caleb on a frequent basis.
This will also be an outlet for me, too. I love to write, but I don't know if the readers of the Wise County Messenger want to know about every little thing that Caleb does, or about my favorite song of the week, or if a new craft or recipe worked.
So - here's my blog. Maybe I can talk Daniel into contributing a line or two every once and a while.
By the way, my favorite song this week is "Stay" by SafetySuit.