Christmas Eve

I fear this has become a weekly update instead of a blog. I read somewhere that a good blog should have a pattern so that readers would not have to wonder if you've written or not.  Well, thats just not me. Sorry readers, I am always and forever gonna keep you guessing.  After the holidays I will try my hardest to have more of a schedule but until then….who knows.
So- weekly update:
Last Wednesday we had a Christmas party for George's preschool.  He made ornaments, wrote a letter to Santa, and did sticker puzzles, made funny faces for the photo booth-but mostly followed Olivia around because she had an Ariel shirt on and a "dancing dress" skirt.  Boys.
Thursday we were supposed to go to Disney but it rained and was cold so we decided not to.  We went to the grocery store and I picked up two more pounds of butter for Christmas baking.  I feel like you should use at least three to four pounds of butter in the month of December to make a good Christmas.
Friday night we had our usual pizza movie night but had a special appearance by Rudolph.  I found the Christmas classic at the grocery store and the three of us sat entranced by claymation.  One of us for the first time and two of us for the millionth time-and it never gets old, especially when Rudolph says, "Im cuuuuuuuuuute!!!!!!!" and flies because Clarice bats her long eyelashes at him.  Everyone has their favorite Claymation moment, this is mine.
Saturday George had to go into work in the morning so it felt like a regular work week day until he got home and we decorated a gingerbread house.  Little George had the best time and was very proud of his handy work.  He informed us about forty times that if the candy didn't stick, he'd have to just eat it.  I can see the logic.
Then we went to look at lights. Big George found us two places: Christmas Tree Lane and the Ice Cream Man's house.  They were both amazing.
Sunday we went to church and then came home to rest.  Monday was spent on Colorado Blvd with my favorite little shopper.  We got frozen yogurt for lunch because it seemed like the right thing to do on Christmas Eve Eve.  No nap yesterday led to crazy child syndrome and the result was a deep scalp cut and a little too much blood for this girl.  I was pretty calm but glad to see big George when he came home a little after six to a popsicle-eating, iPad-watching injured three year old.  He graciously told me to go read or sit in front of my computer screen, a task I accepted generously.  I am almost finished with the Hunger Games series and at that point where you slow down purposefully because you've enjoyed the plot so much.

Today my goal is to post this and finish up all the things that I think will make this Christmas in California special for this family of three.   But before I go I want to invite you into my next goal:

It's the Christmas Eve service.  A lot more folks go to the Christmas Eve service than on a regular Sunday.  Its tradition, its beauty, its candles, and smiles, and song.  I had a realization two days ago.  Invite someone.  I bet they will come. And secondly, pray for your preacher.  Because while you shop for those last minute gifts, bake those favorite cookies of Santa's, wrap gifts, put together toys, pull stocking stuffers out from their hiding places, preachers are surely up to the same thing- only with their sermon.  Can you imagine the pressure of many listening ears that might only hear the good news once or twice a year? I bet preachers know this pressure like the backs of their hands.  The music is easy to love and to sing along to- pop culture has adopted most of the hymns of Christmas so we all know the words, plus they mean Christmas to most people no matter how many times you attend church every year. The sanctuary invites us to comfort with the beautifully lit candles, heavenly scented greenery, and warm cozy glow.  Friends and family are also a draw, with a huge Christmas smile and arms that warmly embrace.  But the real meaning of Christmas should come from the few moments of reflection in the sermon the pastor is expected to deliver.  I can imagine if I were a preacher I would spend all of Christmas Eve engrossed in my sermon.  I would take out words that sounded too dreadful, switch paragraphs around, highlight sentences I wanted to say with boldness, add and subtract content so that the sermon was just short enough to to hold everyone's attention but just long enough to hold the miracle of Christmas in the forefront of everyone's minds.  While you run your last minute errands, remember to take a few moments to lift up the one who will deliver the good news to you tonight.  To you and to that person who sits in the back who you've never seen before and may never see again.  To the friend you invite who may not make a habit of church-going, or who may….after this service.

This post may have typos, poor grammar and punctuation errors and it may be disjointed but I have a little three year old who right now asks me, "Where are we going today? is it Christmas? Watch this…." I guess its good enough and I had better go but I wish you all the most sincere Merry Christmas.  How can it not be? Christ came to us on Christmas.  Find one moment to come to him, the Prince of Peace, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, today.  The Babe...the King...  Jesus.

A weeks worth of news

So I owe you a post.  I, as most of you, have found myself extremely busy with this Christmas Season's activities.  But thats no excuse.  Maybe I haven't found time to write because all last week George decided not to nap.  Still not good enough…OK,  my real excuse……. someone loaned me the first book in the Hunger Games series.  There's an excuse for you.  

Last Tuesday was the last post and the beginning of the no-nap week. To pass the time, I tried to walk Dean while George scooted on his scooter and that was a disaster.  Dean was TERRIBLE.  Ran after kids, growled and barked at dogs, pulled me, yanked me, bolted after squirrels. I have never felt that out of control of him.  Never again.

Wednesday we decided on a different adventure.  The mall.  Usually scary at this time of year in North Carolina, CA malls are no different.  Except I had to navigate a brand new one which made it that much harder.  We emerged with three gifts purchased, one bowl of Fro-Yo for lunch and one carousel ride under our belts.  George again did not nap.  So at five we headed over to Lauren's house to make dough ornaments.  We got to meet all her friends and their kiddos, mostly around one year of age, like her son.  George was pretty nice to and gentle with them overall and behaved reasonably well for not having had a nap.  We got home and I put him straight to bed.  Also, I should add that I haven't mentioned big George because he made it home after dinner both of these "no nap" days.

Thursday was another school day and I was able to run several errands during that very short short two hours.  Another trip to the post office finished up my elf duties for the season and a trip to the spa to clean up for our date night Saturday night. Thats right, I said it, DATE NIGHT.  This is a perfect time to interject that I freaked out Thursday night about the babysitter.  I imagined a million things that could go wrong.  From small things like George "bunking" his noggin' all the way to major disasters, like a kidnapper sitter and a ransom note.  I do not exaggerate.  I do worry like this.  God helped me remember to look at Psalm 91.  And then I found my nugget that would help me sleep that night in verses 9-10.

 "If you make the most high your dwelling- even the Lord-who is my refuge-

 then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent"

Friday I cleaned. Usually I clean on every other Monday but I have this weird obsession about cleanliness when someone else will be in my house for any extended time.  So yes, that would mean I cleaned for the babysitter.                ?                      IDK.  

Saturday was AWESOME. Why? Because I read the Hunger Games, and followed the score tracker on ESPN to help the Tarheels to a victory over Kentucky.  Always love to beat them.  Always hate to loose to them.  Then, George napped for the first time all week and when he awoke, big George and I were already ready for the date night to begin.  We sat and nervously fidgeted until she came.  I already described her in a previous post.  She's great.  But even Mother Theresa would be questionable to two parents not from Skopje, Macedonia.  George took a picture of her license and then got her to write down her address.  He asked for two phone numbers for each of her brothers.  This was all to my surprise and utter satisfaction.  All week, he concealed his own second thoughts about our date night and sitter. To leave your heart and soul, your one and only son in the hands of someone you've only just met-it was a feat about which both of us had reservations.  But we also had reservations at a restaurant so we kissed him and hit the road, all the while telling ourselves, "People do this. Normal people go on dates.  Normal people leave their kids behind while they spend quality time together".  And by the time we arrived at the restaurant we were miraculously both ready to do just that.  Spend two uninterrupted hours together.  And it was niiiiiiiice.  The wine was great, the food was okay, the bill was high but all of it was worth it.  And we justified the bill by our recollection that we have not really done this since June after George finished boards.  We did not even celebrate when we found out he passed boards.  So there, we had a blast and paid for it but we were so thankful for the chance to be out and about- just us.  And wouldn't you know it, when we got back home, George was still there- all in one piece with a smile on his face and giggles that melted our hearts.  He was still awake, which was less than ideal, but who cared at this point?  Not one of us.  

Sunday we woke up and thought we were headed to Palm Springs to hang out with George's friend Zoe and her parents when we got the call that her daddy was really sick.  So we changed our plan and decided to go to early church and then Point Dume near Malibu (because, hate to break it to you East Coasters, it was supposed to be 85 degrees and sunny).  Point Dume was where we went Labor Day weekend but it was too crowded to enjoy.  When we got there George said, "Hey, we are only an hour from Santa Barbara…. why not?"  I had no reason why not so onward we went.  As George is never really one to alter the plan, I was a little worried but it turned out to be the best day ever.  We took turns playing with George on the beach as the other ran on the hard packed sand and witnessed cliffs, sailors,   a harbor, dogs off the leash, and finished the day as we dined by sunset at a cute beach front restaurant with fish tacos and Bloody Marys.  Just about then George uttered these words, "I am retiring here".  I let him have his moment and then I said, "Seriously? Or does that just mean you are having a great day?" I will let you guess the North Carolina boy's response.  Don't worry family, I am sure you guessed it correctly.  

Monday was low key and Today has been a little bit of a challenge.  I worked in the classroom which is always tricky but today was the last day of school before the break.  A little more to clean and organize for the break, plus a lice outbreak (which always gets folks stirring) and many of the kids and their parents gave gifts today.  George wanted to open them all while I tried to clean up from the day.  It was difficult to urge him to wait on that bright red candy cane.  Then we got home and he did not want to nap.  Shew, of all days! Three hours with 12 three year olds, clean up their mess and then return with a sugared up three year old of my own who just WANTS TO PLAY WITH HIS NEW TOYS.  I really can't blame him.  Christmas is such an exciting time of year for all of us.  I just sincerely hope this is not the end of the naps.  I need them…Oh- I mean- HE needs them!

 roses in our yard

sunrise 12/17

 sunrise

A Beautiful Change.

Christmas cards. Check.  As much as I love to create ours to share with our friends and family, the best part of the Christmas card tradition is the collection of cards from others.  I love mail.  Real mail.  I like email, text, Skype, FaceTime, etc. for the convenience the other eleven months of the year and I am thankful for them but real mail is special, something you can hold in your hand. I especially like to gaze upon handwritten notes and signatures (even if its just the return address).  My grandmother is the best about real mail.  She sends cards all the time for all kinds of occasions.  When I was injured I probably received ten.  When my dad went through his whole ordeal, Gra'ma sent him one almost every day.  She's awesome.  But pretty much everyone sends a Christmas card of some sort.  So far I have received three and I put them on our home-made card holder all scrunched up together.  My husband said, " Are you expecting a lot of cards?" to which I replied, "Are you not?".  I understand what he meant though, it was funny to see the three cards all on one end of the card holder but in my mind, I can see it full, bursting with cards- faces of new babies and old friends, pets and Christmas newsletters.  

I keep an electronic copy and a printed version of my Christmas card list.  Throughout the year I do my best to update the written version as friends move or family grows.  Then I go back and plug in the changes to my excel spreadsheet all at once, around this time of year.  This year, there seemed to be a lot of red that represented a lot of change in my friends and families lives.  As I scratched out address after name after address after name and as I added new babies' names or new friends addresses-  I paused to take in the changes.  I paused to respect and remember each family and the race they have run this year.  As my red pen struck through and added and took away, I couldn't help but stop and think about all that happens in the span of a year.  How much change is always upon us.  Sure, there are many good changes, additions to the families of those I hold dear are some of the best!  But there are sad changes too and Christmas happens to be the time we let ourselves think about it.  Why, I wonder...  Maybe it is a blessing.  Maybe it is God's way to speak the truth to us, "This is why I came. This is why Christmas is even a thing.  Christmas is about change".   A change from a society that lives under the law to a community established in grace and mercy.  Christmas, in itself, represents the biggest change that ever occurred.  This is far from what most would say about Christmas. I would agree with anyone that says Christmas is steeped in tradition, not change.  As I reflected on the changes to my list it was clear that the reason we hold our traditions so dear is because we, as Christians, hold this time of year so dear.  We recognize, on some level, the changes represented in us by this holiday.  We celebrate Jesus and the way he came to earth to CHANGE us forever.  Before Jesus was born, our Christmas card was addressed as follows: "To: Rebecca - sinner, slave of sin, condemned under the law….With tough love- GOD".  After Jesus' birth, our card is addressed much differently (thank goodness!) : "To: Rebecca - (still a sinner) - heir, daughter, ransomed, child of God …. Love: Your heavenly Father, your Creator, Prince of Peace, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God."  Enjoy your card from the Lord this year and embrace changes, however hard or wonderful they are, because this is why Jesus came- to walk us through the changes life brings and come out on the other side a new and different soul.  Changed from slaves to sin, to everlasting lives filled with the spirit of righteousness.  What beautiful change. 

Romans 5: 20- 21

"The law was added so that the trespass might increase.  But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. "

The good stuff- Santa, GNO, wine, run, food, friends!

Thursday I went for a run while George played with his friends at preschool.  It was the first decent run since the injury and it felt SO great to breathe deeply, move swiftly, and endure for longer than 30 minutes.  Maybe it was endorphins but the songs that I heard on the Pandora Station seemed to be a perfect soundtrack for the things God has mightily done in my life the past few weeks.  I normally do not listen to music while I run because I like the sounds of my breath as I inhale and exhale and how they coincide with my feet as they pound the earth beneath me, but today almost without a thought, I put the ear buds in and God talked to me through music.  The air was crisp, the sun was bright and my hopes were high for a strong comeback into the runners' world.  I was not disappointed in my body's ability to jump right back into a trail run, hills and all.  Thank you, body. I have a lot of gratitude and respect for you.  And in that same breath- thank you, God for the creation of such a magnificent miracle, the human body.

This run was followed by a London Fog (steamed milk, black tea and vanilla) and a 99c Store errand.  Can I just say that I love the 99c store?  I know I have mentioned it before but it is such a nice change from Target, where I unload four items of junk and one bag of dog food (the only item I planned to buy) onto the belt and never charge the card for less than $100.  At the 99c store however, I unload a WHOLE CART of junk and it is never over $25.  I wish they sold our brand of dog food so I could avoid Target altogether.  I don't think the ability to avoid Target is humanly possible in America.  Who disagrees?  OK, I see no one does. Let us move on.

Thursday night we went to the Farmer's Market for a tree lighting.  There were Carolers and a happy Santa.  He was a good one too. We got there just in time because George was the last to tell Santa what he wanted.  He asked for a remote controlled helicopter and play dough and …..what was the third thing? I am certain Santa remembers.  We got kettle corn, played with friends, saw the bubble man and saw lots of Christmas lights on our way to and from.  On the way home I got a text from an acquaintance down the street. She wanted to know if I would come over for a glass of wine with a few girl friends.  Why, yes, that sounds like a fabulous idea….if only the husband would acquiesce …..and YES, he said this was just the thing to break my almost reclusive habits lately.  He didn't say it quite like that, but its kind of true.  After the injury that socially isolated me, I have been a little slow to return to the real world where people hang out with folks other than their kids and husband!  So after stir fry (prepared and cleaned up by my wonderful husband) and after my boy was bathed and read to and tucked warmly in bed…off I went to drink a glass of wine with some women.  WOW.  I don't really know how to describe in words the next 4 hours of my life.  Fun, feeling normal, smiles, laughs, wine, snacks, home made warm chocolate chip cookies, more laughs, stories told, a Southern accent that did not belong to me. The other girls knew my friend from down the street from church and bible study.  One girl did not know anyone else there either (like me) and turns out she lives across the street from me and has three young children just about George's age.  We got to know each other pretty well and by midnight it was the three ladies who live on this street left standing in the kitchen around several empty bottles of wine, cookie crumbs and open chip bags.  There were persimmons the neighbor brought from a tree in her yard as well.  Its good to have friends, especially when they live two short minutes from your front door.  Thats called community folks.  And I've never been more thankful for it.  Little George and I ended up at this girl's house the very next night to meet her three little ones.  They were so much fun and had lots of new and different toys so George had a blast.  I'll call her Berkeley from here on out because she graduated from UC Berkeley and is a true Berkeley-ite.  She's a no-plastic-policy-holding, to-the-right-hugging, prius-driving, progressive-thinking, lovable and downright wonderful lady.  I can't wait to get to know her better.  I returned to my warm house and was hit by the smell of home made pizza as soon as I walked in the door.  My husband had worked all night on home made sauce and toppings to make us Stromboli and a pizza to enjoy.  Robin Hood (the cartoon version) was cued up and ready to watch.  What a fun night.  And to top it all off, he did the dishes for the second night in a row while I put George down.  Can someone tell me how I got so lucky? Anyone? Sunday Berkeley and I plan to go to Manhattan beach with our husbands and kids.  They promise snow and fireworks on the beach.  Who wouldn't want to do that?! Let it Snow Let it Snow Let it Snow! 

Babysitters and B-DUBS.

Wednesday we met a potential babysitter for George.  This would be stressful even if we were back home in NC where we have a church youth group to pull from, cousins, family and friends and connections.  Here, we multiply that stress by, oh I'd say about a million.  I have been given several contacts for sitters but none has been quite right for one reason or another.  I even got on Care.com and found one who said her faith was an important part of who she was etc etc.  We met her and she was fine, but just not Corrie-Caliber. I coined that term in honor of our sitter who watched George full time from the time he was three months old until I lost my job.  Even then, she was so wonderful I still used her on a weekly basis because she was such a perfect fit for our family. More than a perfect fit, we had a connection and I couldn't imagine George's life without her in it by the time we moved.  I had just stopped the search for a Corrie-Caliber type sitter when the preschool newsletter about a sitter arrived in my inbox.  Since George and I are about to DIE for a date night, I called her that instant.  "No one else is going to get her first!" I thought.  And boy am I glad I did.  We met her yesterday and she is pretty darn close to Corrie-Caliber.  As soon as she walked in, she completely engaged George.  She did not ignore me, but he was her priority.  She was sweet and kind, and knew ALL the right things to say to a three year old little boy. I was amazed actually.  She stayed about an hour and George was upset when she left.  I called a few of her references and they know her family and have had her watch their kids so I know she's safe.  And here's something else: when I asked her how much she charged she said, "People usually pay me whatever they can. I am not money hungry so I take what they can pay". What? Are you kidding me?  I think 2$ / hour will do it. Ha Ha, only kidding. Childcare is worth every penny to get some time away as a couple.  We will pay her well.  And no, you cant have her number. I am greedy with my sitters. Ha. I am full of jokes today.
As if that were not enough to complete my day, we were able to watch my beloved Tarheels play the Spartans. First, BW3s indeed had the game on. Check. George discovered the touch screen video monitor on the table and was happy to type in his "user name" and "passcode"the entire time.  We got wings, beer, salsa and chips and I even got a black bean burger to pick at.  And then the W.  Number one Michigan State falls to the mighty TARHEELS!!!! What a night.  I was in heaven.  Heaven!

Productivity

Sheeeeeeee's baaa-aaaaack!  I spent five weeks in a continuous pity party but Monday y'all….I got it together.  I cleaned my house, went to the grocery store, replied to numerous messages, texts, emails, and phone calls, planned our New Years get-a-way, created our Christmas Cards, cut three sets of nails, wrote checks, and wait for it……finished my Christmas shopping for little George (thanks cyber Monday!)  It felt good but I was wiped out come 6:00pm.  It feels good to live life again.  Tuesday I went for a run (only 30 minutes) and it felt good to return to some semblance of normalcy in my routine.

More Productivity:

The Christmas decorations got the boot when we moved to California.  My lovely stockings, my wreaths, my lights and my well loved christmas ornaments all got to stay behind when we packed everything we thought we would need for a year in a small Uhaul. You may think this sad but it made for some really resourceful and creative decorations this year.  Everything on our tree this year is in some part made by a three year old.  No Martha Stewart awards will be given out at my house but we sure had a lot of fun.  Here are a few ideas that are really inexpensive and fun in case your toddler is going nuts when the sun goes down (and my does it go down early these days!).

Clothespin Reindeer:

glue two wobbly eyes (target) and a red puff ball (target) to the flat part of a clothespin.  Wrap a black pipe cleaner around the end of the clothespin and work into an antler shape.  Then get creative with colors. We did an assortment of ACC reindeer (thats Atlantic Coast Conference, all your Californians).  

Trader Joes bags:

Cut out the cute holiday shapes that are on the bags these days and string them up.  Instant decoration.  After I cut out the shapes, I flattened them under some heavy books before I hung them on the tree.  Those hand surgery books ARE good for something other than collecting dust.  

This squirrel is our version of "Christmas Vacation" Movie with Chevy Chase

Hot chocolate ornament:

Tear an empty hot chocolate packet apart (preferably with a cute "Hot Chocolate" label-mine were from Trader Joes.  Yes. I live there part time) so you just have the front.  Round the edges with scissors and string it up beside two coffee mug cutouts from the Trader Joes bags.

Pipe cleaner Candy canes, bows, and wreaths:

Just bend into the shape you want and have the kiddos hang them.  

Toilet Paper Roll Star:

Cut an empty roll of TP into 6 circles.  They will naturally end up bent a little from the pressure of the scissors.  Glue the flat edges together in a circle and hold for about 30 seconds.  Dip in glue and glitter for a sparkly touch!

Then there are these happy little guys:

Home Made Card hanger:

Pretty Twine (from the 99c Store) hung from Point A to Point B.  Hang jingle bells every two feet and fill in spaces with empty clothespins.  Wait for those cute family photos and Aunt Susie's newsletter to come in the mail and the kids will love hanging them up. The text are cut outs from Trader Joe's bags as well. They say Happy Holidays from…, Warm Wishes from…. Peace and Joy from…
I have to say I was pretty proud of this idea :)

Home Made Advent Calendar:

Construction paper cut into squares with dates (Dec 1-25th) on each in silver marker.  Inside you can do an activity for each day like "Make Christmas Cookies" or "Get the Tree" or " Drive around and look at lights".  I did the Christmas Story in progression with a symbol and a verse to read each day.  For example, Dec 1st was "Angel" and we made an angel out of pipe cleaners and hung it on the tree.  

We also strung cranberries and popcorn and it turned out really nice.   Below is the finished product.  

I hope you have as much fun decorating as we did! Happy Christmas Season!

A Not-So-Traditional Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving weekend has come and gone.   We ate turkey, sweet potato casserole, and dressing.  We even got our tree and decorated.  We checked the news about black Friday and were not surprised to see that CNN featured crazed shoppers at a Wal-Mart in…drumroll… Eden, North Carolina.  Football scores are filling my newsfeed and basketball is in full swing too.  But somehow it just doesn't seem like Thanksgiving really happened.  I think its the weather.  The past two days have been stunningly beautiful and close to 80 degrees.  Or maybe its the lack of hustle and bustle.  Usually this time of year I am a ball of anxiety as I try to figure out what parties to attend or decline or how to fit in trips to see both families or where to meet friends for dinner or what date suits all our best friends for a Christmas party.  We have heard reports of the Flotilla in Wilmington, oyster roasts, basketball games, family get togethers, grandparents' visits and the like.   Our weekend was relaxed comparatively.  Thursday we spent the day on the coast in San Clemente with some of our best friends from NC.  It was marvelous to see them but surreal at the same time.  The day was gorgeous and the fellowship even better but it was abruptly shortened when little George spiked a fever out of nowhere.  We left right as the food emerged from the oven.  My dear friend packed us a huge plate of turkey, dressing, potatoes and casseroles as we rushed away in fear that we had already spread a virus to young and old.  It was so sad to have to leave like that but we were glad we did because we all ended up sick that night and the next day.  We were supposed to camp Thursday night near San Clemente.  Thursday night little George had a fever induced hallucination (we think).  It was good we were not in a campground.  He screamed and was inconsolable for a good half hour.  We prayed for him and also gave him more Motrin.  He slept with us the rest of the night for the first time since he was a week old.  Poor little precious thing.  I have never felt so powerless to help him.  He was absolutely terrified of whatever he saw.  Friday morning we all needed to be cheered up so we decided to see Frozen in the theater.  This was our first family movie and it was a success!  First we stopped by Panera for some broccoli cheese soup I have had my mind set on for some time.  Then we found the mall and fought the shoppers for a parking spot.  Once we were inside we settled into our seats with popcorn and and a Coke.  The movie was very well done and we all three enjoyed it.  It was not too scary, the songs were great, the silly character Olaf is hilarious and lovable and the attempt by Disney to focus on familial love instead of prince/princess love was appreciated. All in all, Edwards, Edwards and little Edwards give it 5 stars.  Saturday we got our Charlie Brown Christmas Tree.  Let the decorations begin!!  I got crafty, which is rare.  I enjoyed my craftiness, which is even more rare!  We strung popcorn and cranberries, made reindeer clothespins, cut Trader Joe's bags, glued eyeballs on furry puff balls to make silly animals, made a star out of toilet paper rolls, and bent pipe cleaners into all kinds of shapes.  Our crafts also included a home made advent calendar and a card holder (so you can send your Christmas cards to us now!).  Dean is bah humbug as usual but little George made up for his lack of Christmas cheer.  I have never seen that child have more fun inside the house.  He was so proud of his tree.  His favorite thing to do was bend pip cleaners into a "candy cane" and hang them on the tree.  We have about 25 random pipe cleaners all over the tree, but do you think I am going to move them an inch? Nosireebob, I would never do such a thing to that kid.   He only fell out of the chair four times! Wait, did I actually include that?   

Sunday we did not attend church because we are all still snotty and visibly sick.  I am not sure we  are still contagious but in an effort not to spread this any further, we gave ourselves one more day to recover.  Instead we did a family devotion and then hiked to the Hollywood sign.  We thought some fresh open air would be good for us all.  It was a gorgeous 80 degree clear day and we could see all the way to the ocean.  I have never seen such a view.  So now here we sit as Thanksgiving weekend comes to a close.  It boils down to this.  We love it here and you can't beat the weather, but we miss our family and our friends back home.  Dorothy said it best, "There's no place like home!".

Thanksgiving at our table, just the 4 of us!

San Clemente Beachfront

Our first family movie

Hiking the hollywood sign trail

Our Charlie Brown Tree