State of Obvious

This was one of those years that sort of just flew by.  It was January - and then it was January again.  That is not to say we didn't have experiences.  Good and bad.  They just seemed to come and go so quickly. A glimpse at 2011 in words: January - On a High Stool   February - Served March - College is April - What it means to me May - In Profile June - Jotting it down July - In Memory: The Water of Life August - Birth Days: Part Two September - Dear Josh, November - Tilt Oh Whirl December - Dear Carly, (My personal favorites were January, May, July and August.) My hopes for 2012 are simple: I hope to be more fiscally reasonable. I hope to yell less. I hope to do well in school. I hope to be happy. And, of course, I hope to win million dollars.  (But if not me, maybe you!) Happy New Year!

I woke up really early this morning.  Not because Santa dropped down my chimney a little early.  Oh no.  Rather, my daughter was making merry all through the house.  First, she visited my bed.  "I can't see where I'm going," she said. And then she stumbled under the covers and started to complain about her knee.  It hurt.  "Please rub it Mommy." And so I did.  I rolled over and went back to sleep.  For a moment.  And then she was awake again.  The sun was streaming gray through the window, a sure sign of a very early day.  But she was up now and she bounced out my door, slamming it behind her.  One cat was locked in, one locked out.  And the locked out cat began to cry.  So I had to get up and free his brother. Door ajar, the voices drift in as the room turns buttery yellow.  "Why are you bugging me?" says Daddy.  "What do you want to do, watch a movie?" "Yes," she replies.  Voices and movies and video game

We are so fortunate to be friends with an amazing (and now local!) photographer.  She was inspired to create the S.I.P. (Service is Painless) Project.  The SIP Project is basically a pay-it-forward, she takes beautiful pictures of you for free and you pay-it-forward with a service project of your choice.  I can't say enough about this project - it's brilliant and wonderful and inspiring.  DeAnn, the SIP creator, took pictures of my kids way back in October.  We finally got our end of the bargain completed and the final results can be found by following this link .  You can help this project out in two (or three) very simple ways:  First, follow her blog.  And second, leave questions or comments for her.  Third, if you're local, sign up for the SIP Project.  You won't regret it!

Some fun stuff from around the web for your holiday enjoyment: Make your own snowflake , scissor and mess free.  (Available all year too!) Talk to Santa on the phone .  Or ask him to talk to someone on the good list. The cutest little winter bunny you'll ever meet. Where in the world is Santa right now? Funny e cards and videos using your silly face. Videos portraying the events leading to Christ's birth . All free! (except for some of the activities on Jib Jab)  

You are sleeping.  You drifted off while you sat in the recliner with your Dad.  Your face turned to the side, your eyes slipped shut and then you were dreaming.  Just like that. It's magical to watch you change.  You're getting taller, and more person-like.  You talk with your hands.  You've got a personal sense of style (I'm not saying it's good, but you've got it.)  You have opinions and you're not afraid, at all, to share them.  You excel at making messes, not so much at cleaning them up (unless you're really motivated). You're reading.  And writing.  The reading comes a little slower, spurts and starts, but it's coming.  You like to make fancy looping letters and numbers.  You can color inside the lines when you care to try.  And you draw these incredible pictures of people with long, long, long hair and googly eyes.  They are wonderfully strange.  And quite sweet. Some days I look at you and can't think of any word except wow. O

Not everything around here is Debbie Downer.  I mean, it is almost Christmas.  Once you get past the anxiety over presents, dinners, and decorating, it's a pretty fun holiday.  (Insert uplifting message here about the true meaning of Christmas.) I'm sure the whole world is curious to know what is on my wish list this year.  Let us not forget the unreachable glory of the last few years.  So far Santa's elves have pretty much failed to produce. Ever hopeful, here is my officially official Christmas Wish List 2011including the Practical gifts and Super-Fantastic-Holy-Smokes-I-Need-That gifts, respectively. Practical: 1.  Kindle Fire .  Oh, yes.  It really is practical and I don't even have to pretend!  Textbooks of the e variety!  Apps!  Other books!  Lighter than  laptop!  (I'm not 100% sure it can handle bluetooth, but if so I can even add a keyboard and pretend it would be good for taking notes.)  Entertainment on road trips!  (For me!) Santometer says:  E

There's a certain something in the air.  It sneaks past the frozen solid mucus in my nose and creeps into my bones.  It settles in and refuses to leave.  It masquerades as grumpy moods and teary eyes.  Oh, wintertime blues, hello again. I want to laugh at myself most of the time.  I mean, how good does your life have to be?  How many blessings can you count just by looking around?  Other than a solid gold BMW, what else do you want in life than what you already have?  It doesn't make any sense really. But I'm just so sad.  And angry.  But not all the time.  Just, you know, every few minutes.  One of the kids looked at me funny or said something wrong.  There's nothing to watch on TV.  The dog is whining.  I have to clean up the house again.  The laundry is breeding.  It's always something. Did I mention I'm also a nag?  Trust me, my family feels that way.  Lately I feel like I can't say anything that doesn't receive an eye-roll, sigh, or exaspe