Christmas

Everyone is out of the house this morning.  Finally, I have the time to reflect on Christmas and what it means to be looking at it from the rear view mirror.

Friday found us ringing the bell for the Salvation Army and then to Mema's house for dinner.  After we ate we went to church for the final Choir rehearsal and the candle light service.  Marina has a friend at church, Halle from school and the two girls were so sweet together.  Kaylene joined us and seemed to enjoy the service as well.

After the service we came home.  Mema came out to spend the night so that she would not miss the early morning action.  We also found a surprise visitor on the floor!  Uncle Jason!He would have been on the couch if Falcom had not snuck down in the night to spy for Santa and then pass out on the couch himself.  When Falcom woke he was kind enough to cover Uncle Jason in his blanket.

 The first gift I unwrapped was from Vince.  They are travel coffee mugs and they came with this instruction sheet.

Mema got a new camera from Santa and we are hoping this will take her to the next level of the modern world.  We are also hoping to eliminate her blurry photographs and the mystery of whether or not her shots turn out.  Should be interesting. 

For the longest bit of morning, Marina was convinced that Santa got her nothing that she wanted.  Like she had a small amount of gifts under the tree and she had been forgotten somehow...suddenly she started unwrapping the mother lode and was quite joyful and relieved!  Her best gift?  The Ipod?  The video airhog?  The metal detector?  The science kit?  The rabbit fur teddy bear? Hard to tell.  But she became very happy very quickly.

We finished the morning with our traditional family Christmas Meal:  Scotch Eggs and Biscuits.  I'm terrified of weigh in at Weight Watchers tonight, but I must face the music. 

After breakfast we went to Radeke's for dinner.  (Yea, I know, Right!)  They got the new XBox Connect for Christmas and our families had a great time playing this body scanning interactive super high technology game together.  Look at Vince playing Dance Dance Revolution with Marina and the super hot dance coaches.  I have often thought about how the world is changing, but it was this Christmas where I could see that everything is changing faster than even we can hide from here in Homer, Alaska.

The world is getting smaller, even for us Alaskans, and as the new swarm of reality television proves, we Alaskans are getting sucked up and into the swirl of the Lower 48.  The kids all got new IPods and so did I.  Willie and I can now do this strange "FaceTime" thing where we can video chat from school and coffee houses.  Vince and I used to have a firm 'no TV only video' policy around the house.  We were happy to have our computer in the living room so we could keep our kids monitored while they were surfing the web.  Now Willie can do everything from his IPod from the chicken coop if he wants to! Even in Alaska everything is here with us...instantly. 

How do will we do it?  How will we, as an Untraditional Alaskan Family, continue to remain authentic and honest?  How will we continue to remain tight as a family as the kids become pubescent and the world comes in closer and closer to us?  This will be an interesting topic to ponder as I set about making my New Year's Resolutions...

But from the rear view mirror I see something very clearly...It was a wonderful holiday!  All of us filled our time full of things that are what the holiday season should be about:  Service, Family, Community, and the gift that is the reason we celebrate this season, Love.

We definitely fulfilled Jesus's wish for us this season...We Loved One Another.

Christmas Week in Review



Sunrise, Marina's Birthday

Falcom Ringing Bell for Salvation Army

It has been a very busy couple of weeks.  Here is a quick photo journey through our week so far!



Vince and Suzanne at Solstice Party



Marina thrilled about her Birthday Cards!



8 years old surrounded by family and a store bought cake

High on Soda and Candy and Pizza and Bowling



Marina singing in Church (battery went dead before I could film Falcom)


Staying up late to watch eclipse from my bed.  It is hard to get a good photo through a double pained window.  We were laying on my bed watching it through the window and we all fell asleep before we could see it in it's full "Blood Moon" phase.



Christmas is Coming

...And with this gift of oysters from Jerami, I promise that I will update this blog with our Christmas activities in the morning!
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Marina WINS coveted raffle!

She stratagized, put all her tickets in one bucket and won the candy hat! Candy wishes fulfilled!
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Marina's Birthday-On The Road

Today is Marina's birthday. It is also the crew party for McDonalds employees.

Willie came home the other night and told us about this party. "Sorry Hon, that is your sisters birthday." I told him. "No Mom, families are welcome!"

Marina latched onto that with a fierce determination. Never mind that the party didn't start til 9pm or that some of the people she was inviting are not actually in our family. "Pizza! Candy! Soda! Bowling! The best birthday ever!"

Mckenzy, Halle, Marina and I are tucked into a corner lane with the bumpers up. The other lanes are filled with young adult McDonalds employees. Everyone is wearing black with the exception of Willie, but he has on a black hat so... The girls are pigging out on pizza and sodas. They keep saying "this is the best birthday EVER!"

I just thanked the owner for allowing families, that it is now way past her bedtime and the best day of her life. He laughed. I'm laughing. Of all the holiday parties I've been to...this is definitely turning out to be the best!
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Look What I Found Today at McNeil!

Good thing Marina forgot her lunch today! Look what I found... Falcom serving lunch!
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Marina's Birthday Party!

I know people who plan their pregnancies around holidays, vacation schedules, the family leave act, the heat at certain times of year, Mother Earth's Almanac.  I know people who are able to say out loud, "You know, we've got that trip to Savanna coming up and I will not suffer my last trimester during the summer...too painfully hot...therefore I am going to pull out my IUD on {fill in the date} and I will be pregnant two weeks later on {fill in the date} and I will be delivering on {fill in the date}.

Sitting in Church curled up like a nest of baby ferrets.

Trust me when I say this was not Vince and I.

In fact, I am beginning to wonder if everyone with a December birthday is the victim of a mother and father with an unreliable reproductive tract.  That, or they are the ultimate love child because their births and their birthdays could not come at a more difficult time of year.

The week I learned that I was pregnant with Marina was two days after I had made an appointment at an infertility clinic in Anchorage.  When I called to cancel my appointment the receptionist said, "Wait a minute...when you answered my questions you swore to me that you had been taking your temperature, and attempting pregnancy for two years.  Now you are telling me you are pregnant?"  When she finished that diatribe I was relieved I'd never have to talk to her again.

Here was our week in a nutshell: 

• Friday we rang the bell at Safeway for Salvation Army.  Falcom sang his lungs out because 1) that is what Taylor Swift did when she was his age and 2) he was being punished for turning the hairdryer onto the Sensy pot in the bathroom and thus spraying wax all over.  After bell ringing we went to Radeke's for pizza and Rock Band super party.  Yea, I got down!

• Saturday the boys left early for Soldotna so that Falcom could get his blood drawn (his Micronesian blood pressure is through the roof again).  Marina and I joined them and all 5 of us went to the eye doctor.  Three of us left with a new prescription.  We then shopped like maniacs and were home, in Homer, at 10.  At 10.15 I baked a birthday cake.

• Sunday I woke up and immediately began prepping food for Marina's birthday party.  Fortunately she really wanted sugar decorations on her cake and not one of the elaborate cakes of yesteryear.  Sandwiches, fruit salad, everything packed in the car while Willie took the kids to church an hour early to prepare for the Children Lead Service.  When the service went on and on and I was feeling like I was in an old Lyle Lovett song I started texting Suzanne about all the things she should do at the ice rink to help me prepare for the party since we certainly wouldn't get there until 1.  We raced out of church and sat in the parking lot waiting for thirty minutes for the guy to come and unlock the door. 

And with the help of my family, and Ella who vowed she would not skate, a party was thrown together in the locker room at the ice rink.  When I picked December 12, I thought I was picking the best day.  Nutcracker is over.  School is still in so kids are still in town.  I am afraid that I may have been wrong.  Quite a few kids had other plans going on and so we were light on the guests. 



Willie and Kaylene practicing for their years in Long Term Care



This did not stop us all from having fun.  We skated and laughed and played little skating games and even Ella changed her mind (as we all knew she would)!  Mac and Aunia roughed up their dad good on the rink (poor guy). 

Kate skated without wounding herself.

It was a great party and I think Marina had fun which is all that matters really.

And even though injecting a birthday into every other bit of this joy/angst ridden season is tough, I can say from deep in my heart, that I would have it no other way. 

This December baby is absolutely a love child!

Winter Concert

Last night found us at the McNeil Canyon Elementary School enjoying their rousing performance of "Snow Way Out!"  This was an all school review lead by the music teacher Lenore Swanson. 

What a delightful show.  The first thing I noticed was the attention to detail given to the entire show.  All the children were adorned in appropriate outfits.  Some even had new outfits sewn for the show.  They were so cute!  Each class had a command of their song and it's choreography.  It was a very lively show.

The other thing I noticed was that the show was delightful, festive, and holiday inspired without being secular!  This was not another "Christmas Around the World" where the Jews and Atheists are offended.  There was no Santa to offend the Fundamentalist Christians or the Atheists.  The kids were not under dressed and could not offend the Muslims or Old Believers.  It was just a wonderful, fun, thoughtful celebration of winter and having fun with friends!

Kindergartner's as Northern Lights

Mema and Priscilla came from town to watch the kids perform.  Priscilla has attended many of these events at both schools in town and at McNeil.  Her comment after the show was, "These shows are so nice!  Every one of those kids participates and seems to be enjoying it!"  I could not agree more.

Nutcracker Weekend

Because of technical difficulties this is the only picture I can submit with this post. Following is the kids review of the show.

"I liked it! My favorite part was the cats but I hate it that they were fighting. I like the Russian dancers and the Snow Queen " Falcom

"I enjoyed the Chinese dancers and the peacock dancers." -Marina

"If Iris could pay better attention she would have liked it better. She loved the circus scene!"

"OK! I did love the whole Nutcracker!" -Falcom

"I liked the belly dancers. I knew a lot of the dancers! A LOT!" -Willie

"I think you should be the boy that breaks the Nutcracker and I'll be Clara!" -Marina

"I loved Maygen. She did a great job!" -Falcom

"Emmett, Bobbie, and Mike all those Otter Beach friends. They were all really great!"-Marina

Another great show!
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