2010 Christmas Sing-Along

Last Christmas as I heard Makenzie playing the Forgotten Carols on the piano I got the idea of having an evening in our home where we could invite friends and listen and sing along to The Forgotten Carols.  My friend thought this was a great idea and enouraged me to do it.  I didn't do it.  This year, my friend is moving.  And I couldn't imagine her and her family not being at my Christmas sing-along so I made a decision to do it this year.

Oh, the torture of deciding who to invite.  I love way too many people to have to make such decisions. In the end I knew I had invited too many people for our small space but decided it would just "have to work." And i'm happy to say it did. 

My original thought of doing all Forgotten Carols went by the wayside as I thought it would be more fun to hear from a representative of each family.  I mean, I couldn't have my friend Brenda "in the house" and not hear her sing and play her guitar. It's like one of my all-time favorite pastimes, hearing her sing. Did you know she has her own album? yep, it's true.  So we had a smattering of Christmas songs on a trumpet, a flute, guitar, piano and even had a whistler (Thanks Mike).  And in-between each act we sang Christmas carols chosen from a hand-made songbook that I made for the occasion.

What a lovely evening.  When it was all over and everyone had gone home we decided that it was too fun to not do again.  We will repeat this again next year and invite another whole set of friends.  I mean, there are just too many people to share the holiday spirit with!

She can dance

This morning I read an article about a husband and wife that were severely burned when their helicopter rolled and the gas tank exploded in  a remote area in Nevada.  The husband walked for 11 miles in his severely burned state and in his socks to find a family that was camping to help them.  This happened in September.  The wife is still at the Maricopa burn center in Arizona. 

Reading stories like this tends to put your life in perspective.  Each day, this couple's children are praying that their mom survives. Instead of iPods and the latest Wii game, they are hoping this Christmas for their mom to live.  Life, what a precious gift it is.  Something that we take too much for granted. 

On my mind lately has been some trials that I know we are going to face in this upcoming year.  But as I read the story of this family struggling for life the thought came to me that my girls can dance. That no matter what our trials may seem at the moment, their bodies can move and respond to music and tempos. They can smile and convey their happiness as well as sadness.  All of us in our family can.  And no matter what happens over the next while for us, we have much to be grateful for.

Christmas Preparations

Chris is out of town this weekend.  When we were discussing this trip I told him that would be fine BUT that meant we had to get our tree the Saturday after Thanksgiving and get all the Christmas stuff out of the attic. He was good with that so we got on our boots and grabbed a saw and headed out to Mannings in Hillsboro to get ourselves a tree.  What a gorgeous day we had. The previous night had rained and rained but Saturday was blue skies and sunny. Not warm by any means, just sunny.  We finally chose a tree, got it home and up and then Chris helped me rearrange the living room. It is nice and roomy in there now.  Then, on Sunday decorated our tree during our annual decorating party.  We played Christmas music, ate yummy food and decorated the tree.  Here is this years menu:

2 kinds of salami

Vintage whiteTillamook cheddar
Sushi
Cocktail Meatballs

Harry and David pepper relish cream cheese spread

Artichoke Spinach Dip

Hidden Valley Buttermilk Dressing

Celery

Carrots

Grapes

Apples

2 kinds of crackers

All of the dips and dressings were homemade and this was our dinner. It was fun.

I am looking forward to Christmas this year.  I love to create things and one of the things I'm going to attempt for my nephew this year is a Matchbox Car Cozy.  A thing to put his cars in and play with (it has a road on it too) and then roll it up so he can take it with him places.  I'll take pictures of it and let you know how it turns out.

Peace out,

Darilyn

Running my 5K

I could feel the tears in my eyes when I ran around the corner and saw the finish line. That sign meant I had accomplished running a 5k. Me, Darilyn, the one that would fake asthma attacks in jr. high and high school in order to get out of running. As I focused on the finish line ahead I also wondered about the people around me. Just as they had no idea what my story was, I wondered what their's were. Did they have a similar goal like mine?  I ran the whole way and didn't stop.  Chris, Emma and Heidi also completed it, walking about halfway and still finished before me. That was fine, I know I'm slow.  Now my goal is to increase my pace.  I'm looking for another 5K to do in the next month or so and will run it faster this time.  I am so grateful for Chris and his support in this goal of mine. He has gotten up with me mostly every day at 4:45 to go to the gym even though it's been really hard on him. i love him for it.

Thanksgiving

THANKSGIVING

This year we had an early Thanksgiving dinner with Chris' family in Harrisburg and then went to the Turkey Stuffer the next morning.  Then we drove the back roads from Springfield to Sweet Home.  It was a nice drive and a much needed time with family for me.  When I arrived at the church I was greeted with hugs and congratulations (for my 5k) and smiles. I needed that. I had felt miserable about life the previous two weeks and needed that pick me up. We had family come to dinner in Sweet Home that we had not seen in quite some time and it was so great to see everyone.  After dinner and games at the church Kathy (my cousin) invited us to stay over at her house.  We went to bed at midnight after talking forever and then at 3 a.m. my cousin Reagran, my daughter Emma and myself went Black Friday shopping. We got some good deals on things we had been planning on purchasing this Christmas so it was worth the early morning.

Annie, Get Your Gun

ANNIE GET YOUR GUN

It's over. Whew. That was an experience that is difficult to put into words for me. The play was incredible to be sure. The comment from my non-member friend who came was that we could pick up our play and perform it at the Newmark Theater downtown today. We looked like professional actors. We had a lot of talent for sure. And the leading lady, Miss Ashley, was so amazing. I'm so proud of her. And I'm proud of myself for sticking it out. Many times in the past 10 years since we have lived here in Beaverton I have felt that I am underused and underappreciated for those things that I have to offer.  This was one of those times.  I also felt singled out because I was one of those few women who were a bit larger.  And that made me sad and gave me a complex about myself. It's my own fault for letting it get to me, I do know that.  A castmember in the play told me that I wasn't saying my one, 3-word line correctly. I played Queen Victoria. An older portly woman at the time of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.  I had to wonder if the director of our play really thought I was that old. The last two weeks of the play left me feeling very depressed.  It's been a feeling that has been hard for me to shake, even now that it's over. 

Splinters, Barley & Cheerleading

I find it so interesting that all of my girls can be so different yet they all reflect some qualities of their dear mom, me.  Take for example my oldest daughter.  She has a weak stomach for medical aparatus that gets stuck in her. Immunizations, needles, getting her ears pierced (well, okay, so that's not medical), none of it flies with her.  This morning she came to me complaining about a splinter.  She was whining about how much it hurt. I look at her finger and see this barely visible speck of brown. To her you'd think it was a national emergency though. I tell her to get me a needle and some tweezers and she bravely does so.  We go into the kitchen to get some good light and I start to flick off the first layer of skin. You know what I'm talking about, we've all done it. There is no blood and just a flap of skin where you can then reach the splinter. I am not able to get it out so I just tell her that it will probably start to work itself out during the day.  She is breathing kind of heavy by this time, I'm thinking she is being dramatic.  But low and behold she turns around, stumbles toward the fridge, clutches it and collapses on the brown 70s vinyl that is our kitchen floor.  She passed out!  I was reminded of my own passing out in hospitals where I have to see tubes going in people.  Or of my passing out when i have blood drawn. I always warn them and they NEVER believe me. Suckers. They have to pick me up off of the floor when I do. There was even the time I got my ears pierced. And there is a reason why my 16 year-old does not have pierced ears. Yep, she suffers from the same disease I do.

As for my middle child, last night we discovered she loved barley. Yep, barley. The grain that is nutty and chewy and is often found in things like Beef & Barley soup.  I made some of this stuff, Beef & Barley soup, and my oldest said the barley was "weird". Shock, hurt, disappointment was what I felt. I LOVE barley, loved it since I was a kid. When other kids were begging for Chicken and Stars from the Campbell's aisle I was praising Chicken Gumbo and Beef & Barley, they are still my favorites. But then there was Emma last night. She declared it good, saying that she really liked the texture of the barley and had herself a second helping. Just like her momma!

And what about my youngest?  What is it about her that reflects oneness with me?  Cheerleading is one and cooking is another.  This was her 4th year of cheer and she wants to keep going all through high school.  She is getting really good and by the time she is in high school she will have surpassed my abilities as a cheerleader. She loves stunting and has the same role I did as a stunter. She loves to get the crowd involved and loves being around the football players. Lord, help me with that one, okay?  And her cooking skills are impressive for being 10. She can make anything with a recipe, knowing how to follow it and without making mistakes. I could do the same thing at her age. I have thought about getting her involved in a cooking 4-H club, like I did.  I think she would really enjoy it. 

It's kind of cool to see your children grow up and to see how different or alike they are from you and your husband, pretty cool indeed.