Last Post of 2010

It has snowed at our house ALL day. It finally slowed down enough that I decided to shovel a path to the mailbox and take a picture of our BBQ. I think we must be the only spot left in the valley that still has snow falling. It's crazy. We went to Hires for our New Year's Eve Dinner and once we got past 4100 South, there was no more snow. What is "lake effect" anyway?

It's 8:30 p.m. and James and Molly are both sound asleep. Happy New Year came a bit early this year, I guess. James is exhausted. He really enjoys his job, but it is grueling - long hours, lots of phone calls once he gets home and tons of charting work. Lately, he falls asleep at his computer around 10:00 or 11:00 p.m., then gets up at 4:00 a.m. to finish his charting before his 7:30 or 8:00 a.m. appointment. It's this terrible cycle that never ends. I get on him a lot because he is such a grouch, but I am grateful for his efforts and I'm even more grateful that he put Molly to sleep and is now getting some much needed rest himself (even though he'll have to do his charting in the morning).

On to my year end wrap up . . .

Yesterday Willie had basketball games on his birthday. Unfortunately he was 0-3 on the day against Jordan, but oh well. While there, the Hunter girls were playing Taylorsville and we ran into Mr. Hymas who coaches that team. Mr. Hymas was my junior high math teacher and then my sophomore girls basketball coach. He remembered me and was asking me about some of the other girls on that team (most of whom I have no idea what happened to them). We were the first girls team he ever coached.

This got me thinking a little bit reflectively on this past year. When I was a sophomore in high school I never would have dreamed that I'd have a cute, curly haired little girl named Molly, been teaching school for 8 years, or be sitting watching my sophomore brother play Hunter basketball with my nephews running around the gym. Crazy! I guess I probably thought that I would be married and maybe have kids, but things like that are never a given (especially for anti-socials weirdos like me).

Anyway, it has been quite a year! Last year on New Year's Eve I was starting to get really fat and starting to get really swollen feet. We didn't even know if we were having a girl or boy because the modest little baby kept her legs crossed at the ankles during the ultrasound (which she still does, by the way). She was just a bump in my stomach and now she is this wriggling, crazy, yelling little girl. She finally has two teeth poking through. She was showing me earlier today, but then wouldn't cooperate when I got the camera out. (This is the best I got.)

She is starting to eat cheerios without choking, today had yogurt, and then ate some pieces of garlic bread at Hires. She kicks her feet when she gets excited and is, for the most part, a very pleasant and happy little girl. I am so glad she is a part of our family!

Happy New Year!!

You say its your BIRTHDAY!

You're 16 years old!!! Oh my goodness. My little brudda is 16! I can't believe it.

I know this sounds totally sappy, but I remember the day you were born and you have changed us all for the better. I can't imagine how boring the last 16 years would have been without you. Sniff. Sniff.

So, with that said, keep being a good boy. Keep getting good grades, keep practicing your free throws, keep being a good uncle. I'm watching you. Don't think you're THAT cool just because you're 16. Don't think that just because Ross says you got "date shirts" for Christmas that you can stop being a good boy. Don't think that just because your "projected ACT scores" are higher than your sister's that you're THAT smart. Remember, I can always take you!

Happy Birthday Little Brother! We love you!

Sippy success!

One of our holiday break projects has been to learn to use a cup. Here is some success!

Christmas Came!

Christmas 2010, though filled with bits and pieces of chaos, was probably one of the best Christmas Holidays James and I have had since being married. Of course adding a baby to the mix made it a lot more fun, but it also just seemed quite a bit more relaxed than Christmas' past. (Though as I write the events below, some were definitely not relaxing, but that's ok.)

Christmas Eve Eve

* Willie basketball game (finally a win! Yes!)

* Molly and I ran a million errands

* Wrapped a few of my mom's presents for her

* Finish wrapping all of my presents while watching the Jim Carey version of the Grinch on TV.

* Made a half batch of sugar cookies after midnight to frost at my mom's tomorrow

* James informed me that although he was supposed to work Christmas Eve, he really only had 2 appointments, basically had the day off, and was planning to work on my car. Great?!?

Christmas Eve

* Part of car wheel bearing won't come off - first trip to Autozone

* Quick trip to Layton in James' car to deliver name exchange gifts to Gregg and Barbara's family

* Second trip to Autozone, returned with new needed part, James quickly rushes to work in his car and Molly and I are stranded at home while my car sits up on jacks in the driveway. Grrr!!

* After a few stressful phone calls between me and James and me and my mom, my mom comes to the rescue and picks us up. She has Elliott and Wyatt in the car with her and is singing, "You better watch out. You better not cry..."

* Stopped at the store to buy rolls for Christmas Eve dinner. (I was supposed to make them, but I didn't.)

* Frost cookies for Santa at my mom's house with Elliott and Wyatt - Open Christmas Eve pajamas - Willie's have penguins on them and are big enough for 3-4 regular sized men. Oh well.

* Load up in my mom's car again and head to Grandma's to get ready for Christmas Eve Dinner.

* Molly got hysterically hysterical at Grandma's and my mom and I couldn't get her calmed down. We loaded back up in my mom's car and she took us home (Molly blessed her car seat, Christmas jammies, and blanket twice in the car on the ride home and then seemed to be doing better.)

* James finally finished putting my car back together, took it for a test drive out to my Grandma's, ate, brought me potatoes and rolls home, then took the car back apart again to adjust something

* Got Christmas morning stuff together and finally went to bed (well after midnight again)

Christmas Day!

* Molly woke up about 6:00, but we tried to be quiet to not wake up James. He got up around 7:00. We opened gifts at our house and started getting ready for the day. Molly was not quite sure what was going on, but certainly enjoyed eating the wrapping paper and ribbons. And, twice during the morning, I said, "Molly, where's the tree?," and she turned her head immediately and looked at the tree. Smart girl!

* While we were getting ready, James got a call to get on Skype and talk to his brothers - Jason in Germany and Jarrell in Seattle on a mission. After a while, all 6 Binggeli siblings and his mom and dad were all talking in the "same room." This hasn't happened for at least 2 or 3 years and James doesn't think his family has been all together for Christmas since 2003 or 2004. It was pretty cool. Molly and I listened in on the conversation for a little while, but then slipped out to head to my aunt Karen's house for breakfast. (Car is making weird noises, but James assures me that it's fine. Eventually the noise stopped, but I did notice James had put the fire extinguisher in the trunk of the car.)

* 10:30 a.m. - Karen's for a delicious breakfast of scones, ham, and eggs. Given our travel constraints, James and I haven't been able to do the Petersen Christmas breakfast for the last 2 years. It was tasty and a lot of fun! (We had some minor chaos during the gift exchange because 2 of the gifts my mom was giving were nowhere to be found. My mom was pretty stressed, but after 2 trips back home, she found the missing gifts.)

* 1:00 p.m. - My mom and dad's house for Christmas with them. My mom spoils us and all I got for her were 2 dumb sweaters. Oh well. Wyatt, Elliott, and Molly were all really cute!

* 3:00 p.m. - Grandma Huber's for Christmas at her house. Ate more! Opened more gifts!

* 5:00 p.m. - Headed home to unload, reload, and head out.

* 6:00 p.m. - Left home for Garland and Christmas with James' mom and dad.

* 7:30 p.m. - Arrived in Garland and Molly got to show off her latest sitting up and yelling talents to Grandma and Grandpa Binggeli. They spoiled her rotten, too! We stayed overnight, ate delicious apple pie and ice cream, and ate very tasty waffles and bacon in the morning. We had a great time!

Christmas Day +1!

* Molly woke up at 6:00 a.m., but I was tired, so after I gave her a bottle I just laid her down between me and James and she actually went back to sleep for an hour. Thanks, good girl!

* Around 11:00 a.m. we headed north some more. We not only needed to take Christmas gifts to RyAnn, Issac, and Morriah, but we needed to meet their 10 day old baby sister Elizza. Molly got to play with her cousins, Annie and Jared fed us dinner, and we had a nice visit. Elizza is really cute and is very awake and talkative for a tiny little baby.

* Around 6:00 p.m. we headed back for home, but not long after we were driving, James told me his stomach hurt and he was feeling nauseous. Great!?! Between Pocatello and the Utah border, he drove very fast. I was scared and kept watching the speedometer creep up, but didn't dare say anything because whenever I asked, "are you doing okay?," he just quickly shook his head no. Oh dear. We made a pit stop back in Garland and Grandma and Grandpa got to see Molly again for a little while, while her dad was blessing the toilet.

* Fog and slick roads made for an interesting ride home. I was trying to hurry and get James home, but thick fog when you can't hardly seen the front of your car requires some slowing down. We had to make 1 emergency pull-off-the-freeway near Centerville so James could make the shoulder of the road a bit more "slick," but after that we made it home safe and sound and James and Molly both went straight to bed.

* I unloaded the car, started a load of wash, and decided to look at our pictures and do a blog post.

*Merry Christmas to all and to all a good and pukeless night!

Christmas is Coming, an introspective.

Christmas is Saturday! I love Christmas. I am excited that Santa Claus will finally be making it to our house this weekend. I'm pretty confident that he is coming this year. He hasn't come to our house since I've been married. I think he forgot about us (or maybe we just didn't make it on the nice list, I don't know). But, with Molly now added to our family, he is coming!

Tonight we went on a Petersen Family Outing to Smash Burger and then to see the lights on temple

square. It was fun.

I love Molly and I can't imagine life without her, but it has been a huge adjustment this year trying to do stuff for Christmas while taking care of her. I feel like I only have one arm and I haven't been nearly as helpful to my Grandma as I usually try to be.

On Sunday we had several talks in church about the "real" meaning of Christmas. The essences of the talks were that we need to remember the birth of the Savior and not focus so much on the commercial side of things. I agree with this, of course, but I also think that people tend to be a lot more Christ-like during Christmas than during other times of the year. Is it possible to balance the giving of gifts with being Christ-like? I think as long as we are in the "giving" frame of mind and not the "getting" frame of mind, we DO have the real spirit of Christmas. I don't know.

Several people I know have had close relatives die in the last few days. I was just reading my

cousins Melanie's and Jodi's blog about how their Grandpa Hardcastle who just passed away yesterday. My friend and visiting teacher partner, Beverly, called me Friday night to tell me her brother passed away (and we had 2 other deaths in our ward announced on Sunday).

I think old people are really cool and I have been fortunate to have great relationships with my grandparents. I worry about my Grandma Huber. She keeps plugging along, but her engine is running out of steam. She literally turns blue a lot lately. My Grandpa won't turn up the oxygen. She fell a week or so ago because she passed out. She's had a couple of episodes at night (at least only a couple that I know of) where she knocks the the air hose off and gets lightheaded and probably almost passes out, but my Grandpa's able to get it back on. Usually when I go out there lately (and even while I'm there) she just puts her head down on the kitchen table, like it's too heavy to hold up.

My Grandma is amazing, though! Despite the fact that she can't

breathe and can hardly walk, she just finished purchasing Christmas gifts for 52 people. She doesn't just buy 1 gift, but 2, 3, or 4 for each person. My cousin Melinda and Annie and I got them all wrapped in one afternoon plus one evening. That was a record. It is usually a week-long process. Plus, all of these gifts don't include the gifts she gets for her neighbor kids as well as larger gifts for less-fortunate people in her neighborhood (usually sent out by random unidentifiable grandchildren with specific instructions to say "this gift basket is from Santa").

One of my uncles told my Grandma that she shouldn't do all this Christmas stuff anymore because she's too old. I think this really upset her because she's told me about it twice. What does he know? I don't think he has any idea how important this is to her. We had a couple of confusing present moments over the last few weeks when she said, "Maybe he's right," but all in all it's actually been a much smoother Christmas preparation for my Grandma than it has in years. The list of "things we forgot" or "things we still need to buy" was much shorter than in previous years. And, thanks to my mom and sister, I think it was all taken care of pretty quickly.

Here's an e-mail I sent to my cousin, my mom, and my sister in October after a hectic day of setting up "the boxes" or present collectors in my grandma's back bedroom/office.

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Christmas projects that may or may not need attention:

*Packages. Many of them. Grandma can't really shop anymore. She and Grandpa will venture to Sam's and Shopko on their own. Occasionally she'll let my mom take her to Kohl's. Everything else comes from catalog orders. If you see packages on the porch, near the front door, or in the tv room, ask if you can open them, and put them in the big boxes in the office. Make sure she writes everything down in her notebook.

*Decorating. The Saturday after Thanksgiving is usually decorating day. Do you have any idea how many Christmas decorations Grandma has? Tons!!! They are stored in the basement cupboards in a gazillion plastic tubs. It's a full day event and help is much appreciated! There are a few things Grandma likes to do herself to contribute - put out the Christmas village on the china hutch and the nativity on the sofa table. She can sit in a chair and do that if you give her the box, but everything else is more than she can move.

*Wrapping. This is the biggest feat of them all! Consider that there are 3-4 gifts (or more) per person and times that by 52 of us (actually 50 since she doesn't buy anything for herself and usually doesn't wrap Grandpa's gifts). It all has to be finished by the Sunday before Christmas (grandma's deadline). It takes 1-2 weeks. The house can't accommodate too many wrappers at once and you have to be careful about who's stuff you are looking at. Go slow and be patient to do what Grandma asks you to do. Pull one box out of the room at a time. Lay out every item in the box on the table to get a pile for each person, then wrap one person's at a time. Grandma checks her notebook for each person to make sure nothing is missing. This is a bit crazy because for the last couple of years, Grandma can hardly read her own handwriting, sizes are wrong, items are lost (her throwing aim can be a bit off in the box room), etc. JUST BE PATIENT. Help her talk through problems and sometimes just bite your lip and wrap it anyway! Again, make sure she writes down everything in her notebook. Or, if she needs to make a list of "things that are lost" or "things still need to buy" maybe offer to write it for her. These "rules" are not mine, they're Grandma's and by telling you all this, hopefully you can help her and neither of you will get too stressed out!

* Sam's Club. She and Grandpa buy people things from Sam's. This can't happen until all of the gifts are wrapped because they have to have a place to put it all. It will all go in the office after everything is wrapped (hence the wrapping needs to be done the weekend before Christmas). I used to help with this, but I think Lori has kind of taken on this part. Just be aware.

* Christmas Sacks. You remember when someone used to leave gifts on the porch (I still think it was Jackie and John by the way)? Well, ever since then, Grandma has prepared Christmas sacks to give out on Christmas Eve because she didn't want the little kids to be disappointed if no one left anything on the porch (which hasn't happened since we got out of high school, but that's ok). She orders a big box of stuff from Oriental Trading and divvies it out in bags for each of the kids younger than Parker (and a bunch of neighbor kids who she'll send someone to secretly deliver to their houses on Christmas Eve). The sacks are usually done a day or two before Christmas Eve. Willie, James, and I did it last year. Meranda has done it before, too. It's also crazy. You just have to be patient and do what Grandma says as she methodically decides which toys go in which bag.

* Christmas Eve Dinner. Needs lots of set up and preparation. Plan to help that day.

* Christmas Eve Gifts. Before everyone leaves on Christmas Eve, we sort the presents into family piles around the living room.

* Christmas Day Food. Grandma is usually wiped out and just sits in her chair on Christmas Day. There is usually a ham and stuff for sandwiches, as well as lots of other fixins'. People are usually helpful to get it out, but just be aware.

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My grandma loves Christmas. I love my grandma. I can honestly say that not only is she the best grandma that anyone can ask for, but she is probably one of my best friends. That doesn't mean she is the sweet, cookie baking grandma because she's actually the drive-up window, put you in your place grandma. I can't imagine a Christmas without her and when that day comes, it will be a sad one.