It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Warning: This post is full of random thoughts. Some may think it too quirky or way too long.

We have a tree, a Balsam I think. And it's fragrance is wonderful.

Then there was the trip to get the tree. Our Realtor's office was giving away trees about 20 miles away from our home yesterday morning, which means our family braved the snow storm that arrived with a flurry. Because a free tree is worth the risk. At least I'd call driving through a snow storm risky; Johnny calls it fun.

And as Johnny knows all too well, driving in snow storms is one of the things I love doing the least. I love it the least, as my high school choir director used to correct his students when they said that they hated something. "Don't say you hate it," he'd lecture with a grin on his face. "Say, you love it the least." And most of the students would roll their eyes at him. The rest of us choir nerds would giggle. Yes, I was a choir junkie, but when you are completely inept when it comes to sports, you've got to love something! Phy-Ed was my worst class and usually ended in embarrassment for me...every day...and I really did TRY (sometimes), which is why I was so mortified over my inability to throw, kick, or serve a ball.

Then when I got to college and began a minor in music, I realized how not talented I was when it came to sight-singing and ear-training, and I had to drop it or stress out. I chose the former.

Math, now math, that's where I could EXCEL! Well, only algebra, and with a calculator. Don't you dare make me add, subtract, multiply, or divide in my head! That's Johnny's forte, which is why I carry a calculator in my purse. And calculus is above my head, which is why I didn't like it.

So I'm not coordinated, which is why I think I can't drive Johnny's manual transmission car. I just can't move that many feet and hands at the same time. When I'm behind the wheel of my automatic car in a snowstorm, I freeze up. And when Johnny's driving through the storm, I'm very tense in the passenger seat, but I'm comforted that my very capable and coordinated husband is driving. I feel tense, but safe. We plow through our alley at top speeds while Johnny cheers and tries to get Henri to cheer with him. We slide through the streets, and Johnny says, "Wheeeeeee!" I close my eyes, wishing and sometimes saying out loud how I wish we would have left our home earlier before the storm began.

***UPDATE***
I should mention that Johnny doesn't mess around in the snow when he's driving with the kids and I. We have to keep the car moving through the alley in order to get our mid-size car through the drifts. And by sliding, I mean the usual sliding that happens on slick streets, not the sliding that happens from crazy driving on slick streets.
***POST CONTINUED***

And Johnny's, "Wheeeeee!" reminds me how he enjoys going down hill really fast on rollerblades, on his bike, or on skis. This is why he mountain bikes. I broke my wrist when I fell off of my bike while going down hill on a trail during high school. We used to rollerblade on our streets together before our kids came along. When we got to a hill, he'd rush up and down it a few times while a creeped my way down it. I'm out of control when skiing, so I've stopped doing that. Johnny does not enjoy walking or hiking (too slow), but sometimes he'll come with me or I'll agree to jog with him. But when hiking, he must have the right shoes with him because sand in his sandals is a big no, no. And sometimes we'll bike together with the kiddos in the bike trailer, but I slow way down on the hills.

Back to getting the tree...

While on the freeway to get the tree, we saw a SUV in front of us do a 360 degree turn and crash into the median than bounce back & 360 the other way where he stopped on the side of the road. Whew!

The parking lot to our Realtor's office was full of snow already, and I was regretting wearing my open-heeled sneakers. We went inside for snacks and a picture with Santa. It was waaaaaaayyyy past Cosette's nap time, so she cried while on Santa's lap. We didn't plan to have the kids sit with Santa, but Henri wanted the candy cane Santa was giving out to each child that sat with him. Since Henri couldn't enjoy the other homemade treats (cookies & brownies--Henri has an egg allergy), Santa became his BFF.

The trees were all the same kind and all wrapped up, but hey, free tree, right? And I wasn't about to be picky. I asked our very tall Realtor for a short, scrawny tree. (The scrawnier ones are easier to decorate, I think. And I've been into short trees for the past couple of years...maybe it was the hefty price of the taller trees that influenced that desire, but don't we usually desire what we CAN'T have? Like a digital SLR? But that's another story.) Good thing I grabbed those bungy cords right before we left to hold the trunk down. The tree stuck out of the back of our trunk as we drove home. And we made it home safe & sound, tree in tact.

The tree is up in our living room. The branches needed to settle. Today I was busy doing other chores, so tomorrow I hope I will trim the tree, but I've been known to put off such things.

Johnny put Chistmas lights on our house this evening. We had only one strand of icicle lights left that still worked (except one small section in the middle), which was just enough to cover the roof above our front door. Hooray the lights are up! And my loving husband puts them up for me each year when I know he'd rather not. Unless I can figure out if the other strands need a new fuse or bulb, I think that's all we'll have outside this year. Since we're trying to sell our home, I'm not about to invest in more outdoor lights if we end up in an apartment a year from now. Do I hear Johnny cheering in the background?

Henri was soooooo excited to help Johnny shovel as soon as the snow began falling. He actually asked if they could go outside for the last snowfall we had, which didn't stick. Outside this morning, Henri detoured off the sidewalk often and into the snow, so his pants were soaked when it was time to leave for church.













In his closet, Henri was out of pants that matched his shirt (the jogging pants just weren't going to work with the button-down shirt), but we scraped up a pair from the drying rack in the basement just in time for us to head to church.

Then I peaked outside this evening as Johnny was hanging the Christmas lights. Henri had his shovel and was traipsing through the snow without snowpants again. Hoping that his blue size 2 snowpants would fit my almost 4-year-old who was wearing this years size 4 camo green & black coat, I called Henri in. Success! They mostly fit! Good enough! They didn't match (I've been kicking myself about not picking up snowpants, gloves, and hat last year on clearance when I got his coat), but they fit. Note to self, next time find a coat on clearance that matches son's navy snowpants, mittens, hat, and scarf. His boots are gray.

We're a little behind on the traditions as usual. Our Christmas advent calendar & devotionals start on December 1st, and I haven't pulled them out yet. So we'll start a little late, but we're always a little late. Plus we're still working out the traditions. We want our kids to enjoy our Christmas traditions while learning that God the Son became a man two thousand years ago to take our just punishment, paying our fine so that we can be cleansed and forgiven and live happily with, delighting in, and loving God forever.

Merry Christmas!