Winter wonderland

'Tis the season. We have about one foot of snow. I wish that we would get a fresh inch or two. There is too much gray snow now.

I know, however, that there are many who trade places with me in a heartbeat to have a white Christmas. I wanted to write about a ten year old girl and her pen-pal relationship with a 20 year old soldier from our state, but the ending is not happy. I will write about them after the New Year because it is a story worth sharing.

Number One Daughter's Christmas program was wonderful. For the first time that I can remember, we sat on the correct side of the gym. She was almost directly in front of us and it was a rare treat to see her so close to us. Her class sang two songs and then did a variation of the May dance. For the dance part, she was so close to us that I could almost touch her. It was wonderful. She and I kept locking eyes and sharing secret smiles. She was so proud.

Her dance partner was having a tough time dancing with a girl-even though they had been practicing all month long. So we sat in the audience giggling because Number One Daughter quite literally dragged him through the steps. It looked very much like an owner who was walking a puppy who wasn't leash trained-with one exception: the new puppy owner waited for the puppy to cooperate. Our Number One Daughter dragged that boy so fast, that he was nearly airborne!

Little Big Boy's face lit up brightly when all three of us walked into his preschool for the last half of his Christmas party. "You're ALL HERE???!!!!" he exclaimed. There were too many parents around, but the party was okay. It had been planned by parents who apparently didn't realize that their "reindeer games" weren't exactly age appropriate. I mean it was a like a Concorde SST had come out of retirement and flown over their heads! There just wasn't anything that they could readily understand.

We had a very embarrassing moment when Little Big Boy was upset with his book exchange gift. It was suited to a girl's taste and not a boy-makes you wonder what parents are thinking when they buy something for a gift exchange...I was mortified. I was more upset for Little Big Boy. Out of 15 three-year-olds, he was the only one crying and saying that he didn't like his book. I felt like that was the five minute span that everyone was going to remember. He is much better than that and he deserves to be known for his loving qualities and not his little melt down. In the end, "A good time was had by all."

We arrived home and I had to bake a cake for G's Christmas potluck. He tells me it was a hit at work. I baked a pineapple upside down cake and added orange zest to the batter and topped slices off with whipped cream and sprinkled red or green decorating sugar on top. It was a "festive" cake.

Today is going to be a long day of preparation. This is the count down to my favorite moments of the year. Not only the look on the kids faces...Not only the magic of a white Christmas...Not only G's four days off. It is Jesus' birthday and we are going to have a party for him. The kids will help me bake the cake. We'll write Jesus' name on it. We will say a prayer for Peace on Earth and for all of our loved ones. We will ask for everyone in the world to "have enough." Not a lot, but enough food in their tummies...Enough school supplies...Enough roofs over people's heads. Please, dear Jesus, can everyone in the world "have enough."

Thank you for visiting my blog. I wish you a Merry Christmas and hope that the New Year brings you success, happiness and a warm bed.

~Season's blessings to you, Renee