This afternoon, when I brought the boys home from school, the sun was shining and it was nearly sixty degrees. They wanted to play video games, but I had other plans for them. So we dragged out our hockey goals and sticks, and right there in the middle of the street, Julia and I challenged a bunch of little boys to a game. We ran and played and had so much fun for a really long time.
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| That's Owen in the white shirt. :) And Lance across the way. |
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| That's Austin on the other side of the street. :) |
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| Austin is chasing down Julia! So fun! |
Greg had taken the day off to ease the schedule at work a bit, so he and Miles were in the garage working on their Christmas gifts. It felt so good to run hard and feel the air in my lungs. And I didn't go easy on those boys. I'm competitive to the end! We all had an amazing time.
But I still had time to come in and make dinner, help with homework, drive Julia to practice, work on Christmas cards, shop with Greg, clean up while the little boys played Legos, read the story Mom sent us for Christmas, and enjoy a really calm and relaxing evening. Time seemed to stand still.
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| Bedtime story and candy from Grandma! |
Greg and I had everyone in bed early. He took over with Lance (which is so nice because Lance listens to Greg and goes right to sleep) while I helped the little boys with their reading. Owen is getting to be an amazing reader. He is almost fluent. It's awesome. In fact, the other day her wrote the word "program" but when he showed it to me, it was "progeram." He asked me if that was right. I told him that it didn't have the "E" in the middle. And he looked at me and said, well, without the "E" the "O" shouldn't say it's name. He had added the "E" so that it would say "pro" not "pra" and I thought that was pretty darn smart of him.
I got into bed and stuffed envelopes full of Christmas cards and letters. And I wanted to write a personalized note on each one!! I know some people probably don't like my long letters, but that is who I am. And that is how I share my love on Christmas. This year, it's only the front side of one page. So at least that's more manageable for people. Ha! Last year, it was really long. Front and back, and tiny print. My own father-in-law told me he gave up after a few paragraphs and quit reading. "That was way too long," he told me. I just laughed. "Then it wasn't for you," I told him. But if you want to send me a long letter, rest assured, I will read every word. My sister-in-law Shannon spoke up, "Rindi," she said, "I read every single word. And loved it." Then, it was for her. But I don't know who will like it or not, so I put it in every envelope. Just in case. :)
I grew too sleepy to continue. So, I put those aside and settled down with my book: These is My Words. Oh, how I love that little book. I've read it two times already. So it is easy to read it here and there.
I'm dreading sleep. During the night, my back starts to ache in astronomical proportions. By the morning, I am too stiff to move. Miles, sweet Miles, has been coming into my room in the morning and helping me get up. And he never forgets to ask me how my back is feeling. Owen always offers to rub it for me. And Lance, well, he just asks me to carry him. Which hurts. So, you win some and you lose some. :) Throughout the day, I loosen up and feel better. But lying down is so painful.
I loved when Lance saw our Christmas Card. He squealed with delight, saying, "It's the family!" and then he looked at each picture and hugged it to his chest. I love that our family is learning to love one another. I really believe that a family is the best way for us to become who our Father in Heaven intended for us to be. It is the laboratory for character development. And we are all students.
Greg gave me hours of his time today. He worked on addresses. He printed labels. He went Christmas shopping with me. He helped clean up dinner. While I was reading in bed, he was stuck in his office working on our computer and internet. Things have been stalling lately. As he went back and forth between router and computer and cords and such, trying to fix things, all while I rested in bed, I thought, "What in the world would I do without him?" So, the next time he breezed into our room, I told him my thoughts. I thanked him for carrying so much of our load. I thanked him for handling things that I don't even think of. I thanked him for being him.
We finally turned out the lights long after 11:00. The house was quiet. I knew our Christmas tree was out there glowing its little heart out. I am so grateful for this house full of people to love.
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