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Friday, December 24, 2010

The Professor, the Police, and Santa Claus

I can't stop giggling.

I am not sure I will ever be able to look back at this memory tonight and not have a grin cross my face that goes from ear to ear.

Tonight, the police on base got word that Santa might be landing over at the air strip. They needed some "help" listening for him, so they dropped off one of their police radios at every home on base with small children so they could assist in the Santa Watch.  While we waited, the Professor and I tracked Santa on NORAD.  I was about to send the restless Professor to bed when across the air waves we heard he had finally arrived!!!

The Professor started jumping up and down, eyes wide with excited wonderment and his hand covering his mouth as he squealed, "He's here, he's here!!!! He's really here!!!!!!!" The police were able to talk to Santa and count up all the reindeer. When they announced that Rudolph was with Santa, the Professor about passed out with joy.

While this was all delightful to witness, the best was yet to come.  Santa announced he needed to get on his way and so all the kids needed to get to bed so he could come to their house.

The Professor became a dizzying blur as he dashed up the stairs, made a cursory pass at brushing his teeth, dived into bed as he said his prayers AND the family prayers all while yelling, "Hurry, hurry, hurry!!!! Everyone has got to go to bed RIGHT NOW so Santa can come! Hurry, hurry, hurry!!!!"

Seriously. If I was ever in doubt of how fast that child can actually move when motivated, I am no longer.

Tonight will be one of my most treasured Christmas memories, courtesy of the base police and an exuberant 6-year old boy I call the Professor.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Christmas 2010 Letter

Merry Christmas 2010

I hope this Christmas/New Year’s letter finds all of our friends and family enjoying a wonderful and peace filled holiday season. It is always such a wondrous thing to reflect on this last year and to celebrate the gifts we have been blessed with. Here’s an update of our comings and goings:

Mr. Amazing Man: He is still enjoying his job, especially the fact he gets to come home for lunch every day. However, I think he is ready for a change and is really looking forward to the new gig in Florida this summer. He really stepped it up this year around the home front taking care of all the things I couldn’t because I was (a) pregnant, (b) recovering from being pregnant, or (c) preparing and completing comps/dissertation proposal, which was almost as bad as being pregnant. Honestly, if more men could be like him, all would be well in the world. I am so grateful my two boys get to learn what it means to be a real man from such a great example.  

Me: I spent a lot of time this last year lounging about being pregnant with our new little one, Princess P., and then recovering from that most unpleasant of pregnancies. In my free time, I pretended like I was a PhD student and on my birthday in October, I successfully completed my comprehensive exams. I was also able to get my dissertation proposal turned in to my committee last week.  As always, I am trying to loose weight, be healthier (mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually), and spend more time with my family. Any tips you have in those regards would be greatly appreciated.

Captain Knuckle: Now a 6’-tall 14-year old, Captain Knuckle is in the 8th grade and was recently ordained to be a Teacher in the Aaronic Priesthood. He gets good grades, makes his bed, and takes the garbage out without being hollered at too much.  Even though he is 2” taller than me, he still lets me hug him in public and gives me a kiss before he leaves for school every morning.  Since he has never outgrown his adorable dimples, girls want to date him but he is relieved (as am I!!!) that we have the rule of no dating until he is 16. He has a job doing after-school care for a family here on base and is reveling in the $300-400 a month he is pulling down for playing with a couple of kids for a few hours a week.

The Professor: Oh man, where do I even start with this kid? As always, he continues to help me grow in ways I didn’t know I needed to grow. He is gaga-crazy in love with his new little sister and has perfected the fine art of calming her down. He is six years old and in 1st grade but has the vocabulary and comprehension skills of a much older child. I frequently have to remind myself that he is only six years old.  Being rather agenda driven like me, he always has a plan and a project in the works, usually an illustrated book of some sort.  It is delightful to see the combination of Grandma Rose’s authoring talents and Grandma Penny’s artistic abilities come together in such a hilarious little boy. On another note, I haven’t received any “does not share well with others” notes from school yet but we still have another six months to go! The only real concern his teacher has is “He certainly seems to draw a lot of pictures of things blowing up.” Yeah, I know, Mrs. First Grade Teacher Lady. Has he shown you the one of the mushroom cloud full of monkeys yet? That’s a good one.

Princess P: What can I say about this sweet treasure other than holy cow, how did we get so lucky to have her join our family? Named after her two grandmothers, she has brought untold amounts of joy to our family since was born on May 10. Now a roly-poly seven month old, she is currently sitting on my lap playing the “how many times can I throw this toy on the floor before Mom stops picking it up?” game. Honestly, I could play it forever if it means she will keep squealing with delight when I give the toy back to her.


That just about sums it up for this year! You can always follow along on our adventures at www.sostinkinhappy.com - I promise to update it much more frequently this next year (it’s one of my New Year’s resolutions).

Much love and Merry Christmas from our Happy Home to yours -

M. 

Monday, December 20, 2010

Dear Captain Knuckle:

I love you. Even when your Spanish teacher (who speaks waaaaaaaaay to fast!) sends home your most recent test in an envelope.

I think we are both grateful that my love for you is in no way dependent on your G.P.A.  You could fail Spanish a million times over and I would still love you. That's just how I roll.

Much love,

Mom