A Christmas Eve Waiting Room Crisis...Averted

Merry Christmas to all my friends and family! We have had a nice holiday weekend, and although Cory headed back to San Francisco last night, he will be coming home tomorrow in time for the anniversary.

Our Christmas day was fun and quiet. For me, a successful Christmas means that I stay in my pajamas...all day...so this year was first-rate.

However, as much as I love to stay in my jammies on Christmas...every year I have a deep psychological need to go do something on Christmas Eve. Something that does not include any kind of shopping! Often, in past years, we have gone to the movies on Christmas Eve. This is fun, but this year there wasn't really anything our whole family was interested in seeing. This new family phase we're in means we have little kids and near teenagers...and neither the interests of the twain shall meet. So this year, I suggested ice skating instead. It was great! It felt so good to get out and do something physical. Anna loved being swished around the rink with Dad on one side and me on the other. The boys picked it up fairly quickly. I found myself smiling non-stop. There's something about feeling clumsy and on the verge of crashing at all times that brings a smile to my face I guess.

After about an hour on the ice, I said to Cory, "This is great! I think we should make this a new family tradition." As we rounded the corner, we noticed Zachary and Noah on the side. We stopped to see if they were okay and discovered that Noah had slipped and split his chin open.

We managed to get the whole tribe out in the lobby to look at the cut more closely, and determined it would likely need stitches. Cory called his friend who happens to work in the ER of the hospital across the street from the rink to see if he was working that day. I took the other 3 children back to the ice for a promised "one last time around." When I got back, Cory said his friend was not working, but that he was heading to his parents' house in Sandy for Christmas Eve and told us to meet him there so he could stitch it up for us.

What? No endless wait in an emergency room waiting area to ruin what had started out as a delightful family holiday? What a blessing! Thanks Koy! You are the best! Maybe next year we'll go back to the movies.

Counting Blessings

It's too close to Christmas to leave my last, complaining entry up so today I choose to acknowledge the blessings of the past few days.

Our family was given the challenge on November 1st to read the Book of Mormon before the end of the year. That's fast. Really fast. But I can number two blessings in just this week that have only happened because of this invitation. The first happened, when I went to Noah's class Christmas party. The kids were sitting quietly in their classroom reading while the moms got everything ready for the party. I looked over, and my 10-year-old son had brought his scriptures to school so that he could "catch up." I was both surprised and impressed...what a blessing for him and for me. I can certainly learn from his example. The second blessing came on Monday afternoon, as I was cleaning the kitchen and Zachary and I had a great discussion about what he had just read from the Book of Mormon. It was casual and simple, but somehow profound. What a blessing to share this with my children this holiday season.

Last night, I drove the youth downtown in the middle of a snowstorm to deliver our wrapped Sub for Santa gifts. We brought our loads into a small apartment...smaller than the first apartment Cory and I lived in when we got married. This family has somehow squeezed 4 children into this space, with another baby due in February. That alone turned my earlier bitterness into sheepishness. There's so much I take for granted. But they had such a kind, humble, grateful and HAPPY feeling in their home. It was a blessing to meet them.

Then, when I got home late from dropping the girls off, I came home to an anonymously shoveled driveway. This is no small blessing, because when I left last evening at 6:45, there were 8 inches and it snowed the whole time we were gone. At first I thought Zachary had done it, because his Sub for Santa group got home before mine, but he said the driveway was still covered when he got home. Our kind elf works fast.

Especially today I am grateful that Cory will be home tonight and tomorrow we can pull our family together and talk and sing together about the real reason for this holiday. Because He is my greatest blessing.

Bah Humbug, Last-Minute Travel Edition

Timeline of Christmas events in the Talbot household...

Thursday, December 17, 3:14 p.m. The FINAL Christmas purchase is in my hands.

Thursday, 4:45 p.m. Everything is officially wrapped.

Thursday, 4:46 p.m. Call Cory and brag that everything is done!

Thursday, 4:47 p.m. Cory shares the great news that he taking the entire next week off.

Thursday, 5:00 p.m. Prepare dinner and beam at wonderful children...take a sip of their Christmas excitement.

Thursday, 6:02 p.m. Cory calls with news of possible travel to San Francisco.

Thursday, 6:14 p.m. Cory calls to say he's on his way home...to pack. He's leaving for the airport in the morning, will be back late Saturday night, will leave again Monday and be back on Christmas Eve.

Thursday, 6:15 p.m. come fairly close to an expletive.

Saturday, December 19 Grouchy, mean mom rules supreme.

Sunday, December 20 Cory shares the news he will now also be traveling December 28-30. Our anniversary is December 29. Spitting ensues.

I'm trying to find the cheerful, funny, unselfish way to look at all of this, but it's not happening. Too mad. Everyone pray for my kids.

Sub For Santa

Every year, the youth in our ward (neighborhood church group) participate in a December service project to provide Christmas gifts to needy families in Salt Lake City.


Every year, from Thanksgiving forward, the church bulletin asks for contributions from church members young and old..our leaders talk about it in our meetings and interviews..the youth are reminded to contribute as well. It's a nice tradition.


In our 2 1/2 years in the neighborhood, I've been vaguely aware of this annual event. Admittedly, I have always had good intentions to contribute but as a terminal procrastinator have sometimes missed the deadline. This year was different. This year I was in charge.


I coordinated with a woman in my neighborhood who is currently serving a mission to help families in inner-city Salt Lake. She helped identify 5 families with extra need this year. Then, with the help of my bishop (church leader) I divided up the donations and put cash in envelopes designated for all 23 people on our list. We handed the cash to youth leaders and sent them out with young men and women aged 12-18 to shop for specific individuals. Each child had prepared a wish list...most of them humbling. They asked for things like warm pajamas, socks, and a jingle bell.


At this stage, my inexperience in this process became apparent. I sent each group out with one kitchen garbage bag to put their purchased gifts in. Here are the gifts we ended up with...

We needed a few more bags.

It was wonderful to see the enthusiasm in the young people as they looked for the "perfect" gift. Then a week later, those same enthusiastic youth showed up to wrap presents for 2 hours. This week, we will load up in cars and drive downtown to make a special delivery.

As I have planned and coordinated the details of this event, my primary objective has been for the young people to have a meaningful experience. I'm impressed my how motivated, unselfish, and service-minded this generation can be. So far their example has been far more meaningful for me than anything I have done for their benefit.

Nutcracker...Again

Last weekend was Anna's second debut in the "Children's Nutcracker." This year she was upgraded from "mouse" to "doll." Still very cute, but I must say that the mice once again stole the show...especially when in the middle of their performance, one little mouse made her way to the front of the stage and very calmly, and cheerfully called out, "Mom? Mom? Hey...Mom?"

My little dolly was the star of the night for me. She was very excited that Daddy brought her pink roses this year, and Mommy gave her a present...ballet slippers Christmas tree ornament, and a teeny-tiny pink doll for our sweet Anna-doll.

M.I.A.

I'd like to tell you a story about how grateful I am at this time of year, as my family sat down together to celebrate another bountiful Thanksgiving. But I can't, because I am just way too busy, shopping, cleaning, cooking, and eating. I've got two words for you...ten pies.

So I'd like to tell you a story about how fun it is to have wonderful friends come all the way from Phoenix to spend a whirlwind week in my home. Ooh, but I can't, because I stayed up way too late every night they were here, and I still haven't gotten around to all the laundry since they left.

In that case, I'll tell you the story about a week where every day I had to call a repairman of one kind or another. But I won't...because...it's just too expensive.

Maybe you'd settle for the plain old boring story about another round of colds making it's way through my household. I'll get to that when I stop feeling so crummy.

Guess you'll have to settle with the story about how my Christmas decorations are all up, my shopping is all done, and my packages are all mailed. That's a good one. Too bad it's fiction.

In the meantime...I'm hanging in there. I hope you are too.