Christmas

I have started to hear rumors of Christmas in the air. It began with the playing of Christmas music the day after Halloween. Then, five minutes ago I discovered one of my friends has finished putting up Christmas decorations in every room of her house, complete with color scheme and all. My first instinct was to say, "Wow. Early." But then I glanced behind me and had to sheepishly acknowledge the wrapped Christmas gifts I taped and ribboned-up just last night.

These presents are simple--kazoos, chocolates, a clip-on tie--and are getting sent to Australia tomorrow, to make sure little brother going there for his missionary service gets the package in time. The postal worker told me last week (with a frantic look in his eyes): "To Australia?! Send it as soon as possible! You never know with customs!" So pre-Halloween Christmas shopping began. Jerry had the idea of sending a clip-on tie, because he feels indebted to his clip-on for its habit of helping him be punctual. A regular tie, he has explained, is nearly impossible to don while driving down the road. A clip-on, in contrast, can be snapped with ease while the steering wheel gets briefly managed by some body part other than the hands.

Second Admission of Christmas Planning: A few weeks ago for a Family Home Evening activity, Jerry and I assembled Christmas boxes to send to soldiers. We donated them through a campus-wide service project. We felt cheery while we wrote Christmas greetings to unknown faces far across the world. We included small games, craft kits, toys, candies and clipped stories to send from past issues of the December Ensign. We kept our costs low, but got creative and overall felt pleased by our humble contribution. Project Uplift occurs every October at BYU, so keep an eye out next year if it sounds like something you'd like to do!

Forgive the lack of Halloween posting. Christmas, here we come!

Thankful Thursday

Today I came home from class with rather a frowning countenance--call it the predictable result of midterms and lack of sleep. But as it is Thankful Thursday, I found a lot of blessings to count. My number one favorite blessing: good neighbors. We live in a community of saints, where everyone helps each other with joyful abandon.

One example is the communal sharing of children. Two of those pictured are straight from Mexico. Their mother entered the MBA program this semester, which takes 90+ hours per week, and their father is employed outside the home for a portion of each day, so various ward members split up the shifts and the kids get tended. Today was their day at our home, and we also managed to reserve the kids for next Thursday, when we will take them to an on-campus children's Halloween party! I remember feeling wistful last Halloween when I walked by the party on campus and realized you had to have children to be admitted. So borrowing a few kids this year is my strategic plan to crash the bash.

The third child pictured recently moved here from Korea with his family. We met him on the playground. Then, at his invitation, we invaded his home to check out his famous magnet toy which, he assured us, promised crazy amounts of fun. We had fun indeed, and his mother--in true Korean hospitality--even gave us all a snack and a couple sacks of potatoes to take with us on our journey out the door. (I know, potatos seem a little random, but what kind of Idaho girl could resist such an offering? They are even caked with dirt in the manner of freshly dug tubers)

At one point I started grasping for ideas of kid-friendly activities in our non-child-oriented home, so I whipped out a few rags of fabric from my quilting pile and tried to get the kids to dance with their fabric pieces. They appeased me for a good 30 seconds before deciding to tie the fabrics on each other's heads like blindfolds. Then they staggered around the room with dizzy blindness, laughing like cherubs.

Probably those of you who have children grace your home on a regular/permanent basis find these anecdotes unremarkable--but to Jerry and me, each moment brought new surprises and a constant smile to our lips.