Lavender On Stage

Nine months have passed, it's almost ten
And I look back amazed.
In one short month you changed
From an observer to an actor.
And not just any role for you.
You are the star of the show,
The one who makes it happen,
Our leading lady.
You crawl and climb,
Stand and cruise.
Always moving, talking, smiling.
Your chubby fingers wave and pat and pinch
Rarely still, even while you nurse.
You feed yourself eggs, bread, pears
Bananas, dog food, burrs and leaves.
No teeth, yet you gobble it all down
Unless I am quick enough to remove
What seems inedible to me, but tasty to you.
Someday you'll sit on my lap and listen to stories,
But today you grab and gulp and go
Ready for your next adventure.
A tiny explorer, artist and entertainer
who loves to perform for her audience.
You reach up  to touch the piano keys
Barely within your reach
Making your own music.

Christmas Feels Different This Year

For me, Christmas is all about traditions.  Things have been pretty much the same for as long as I can remember.  We always have the same Christmas eve meal that my family had when I was growing up.  Santa Claus does things exactly the same way he did as when I was a kid.  When I was 12 years old, my best friend and I started a secret Christmas giving tradition that my family still loves today.  Our family newsletter tradition is only 18 years old, so that's a recent addition for us!

I've never been one to shake things up or try something different at Christmastime.  But in 2010, my mom passed away and everything changed.  Not only was my sweet Mom gone, but my dad went with my brother's family on a trip to NYC.  It was fun for them and a much-needed change for Dad, but it was really hard on me.  It was my first Christmas ever without my parents!  I had spent every single one of my 43 Christmases with my mom and dad.  Most of the time, my siblings were all there too!  That was the beginning of a big change for me.

Most things are still the same. We still decorate the tree with our traditional ornaments, but we've added some of Mom's.  We'll be baking and making our favorite Christmas cookies and treats.  We've got our baskets full of Christmas books in the living room.  I have my favorite decorations out.

Some things are different, of course.  I will miss being with my brothers at Christmas and I will certainly miss Elder Aaron.  Different isn't always bad though. My Dad's wife Carolyn joins us now.  She has a great sense of humor and makes the best desserts ever.  She made our white elephant exchange especially fun last year.  Lavender is here now too and she will bring a special excitement and joy to our celebrations!  With her and our little granddaughters here, it has been fun to shop for the little ones again.  I also talked it over with Marianne and Evan and we decided that Santa will wrap all of their presents from now on.  Santa has always carefully arranged his gifts on the couches for the children until they leave home.  He will still do that for Lavender, but not for the older kids.

It is freeing and exciting to introduce a bit of change into our Christmas traditions.  I know that as my family grows, things will continue to change.  We have already added a beautiful daughter-in-law and I am hopeful that our children will bring spouses and add grandchildren to our family in the coming years.  Changes will come and for the first time, I am excited about them.  As long as our focus is on our Savior Jesus Christ, our Christmas celebrations will be joyous!

Christmas Cleaning

My mom was the queen of Christmas decorating.  I've never matched her level, but I do have lots of nativities and other decorations.  This year I haven't gotten out even half of our Christmas stuff.  Mainly, this is because I feel like I need to do some serious cleaning first.  A couple of weeks ago I felt a prompting that we needed to clean out the hall closet under the stairs.  We discovered that one of our water storage containers had leaked.  The leak must have happened quite awhile ago because there was some mold.  Our wooden train board was ruined and one of the baseboards was moldy and had to be thrown out, but fortunately it hadn't gotten into the drywall!  We cleaned everything with bleach just to be sure and now things are as good as new.

This experience reminded me of some cleaning Elder Aaron has done recently.  I'll let you read about it in his own words:

October 22nd in Leamington. Ontario :  When we cleaned out the baptismal font a few weeks ago there were a lot of dead crickets and spiders in the font (Leamington hasn't had a baptism in over six months). But it was clean for John's baptism.

December 10th in Timmins. Ontario:   We had cleaned the font on Saturday and assumed everything would be fine. The first time we filled up the font, the water was a murky dark green color. So we had to drain it and fill it up again ( and we didn't have a lot of time before the service was supposed to start). Apparently the same water had been sitting in the water heater for ten months and acquired a green color. But in the end, all was well. The water was nice and clear. 

This got me thinking.   What really needs cleaning this Christmas is probably my heart.  What spiders and green gunk do I have lurking there?  Are there things I need to let go of?  People I need to forgive? Fears I need to release?  

Isn't that really what Christmas is all about?  Coming before our Savior with clean hands and a pure heart.

November 2012 Family Pictures

Photos of some of my favorite people - the Happy Hartz Family

By one of our favorite friends - Trevor Davies

At one of our favorite places - Spreckles Organ Pavillion in Balboa Park

Best. Present. Ever.

I am pleased to announce that I have finished my Christmas shopping.  Unfortunately, I still haven't  received all of it yet, nor have I wrapped and/or mailed everything.  But I'm working on it!

In case you are still contemplating what to get that special someone, I have a suggestion.  My kids (my oldest two, who just happen to be married to each other) gave me a wonderful gift on Mother's Day.  While it was perfect for Mother's Day, it would be an equally wonderful Christmas gift.  Best of all, it won't cost you too much!

Ready for the details?

Gather 52 cards and envelopes.  You can use simple cards or fancy stationery, just as long as you have something to write on.  Next comes the hardest part.  Think of 52 things you love (or are grateful for) about this person.  Again, these can be as long or short as you'd like.  When you're finished writing, you will probably feel really happy that you have this great person in your life.  Next, put each card in an envelope and then put all of them in a basket or other container.  Add a ribbon and you're set!

Ryan and Molly told me I could open the envelopes whenever I chose.  Since there were 52, I decided to open one every Sunday.  I have "cheated" a couple of times when I was having a bad day.  Just opening that little envelope really cheered me up.  I know it would bring some Christmas cheer to anyone on your gift giving list!

Happy shopping!

Day 10 - Cruisin' Around New York

Note: I am bound and determined to finish posting about our trip.  Since you've had to wait so long, I've included extra photos as a reward.  If you consider it a punishment, please keep it to yourself.

Thursday 10/25
This morning we slept in a bit and John brought us breakfast from a nearby deli.  While we ate, we watched a rooftop daycare out the window.  Then we watched Lavender.  The hotel had an actual crib rather than a pack n play and Lavender grabbed onto the bars and pulled herself up to stand for the first time.  In honor of her accomplishments, we decided to take a cruise. Well, a short cruise.  At least one where we could see the Statue of Liberty.  We were disappointed that she was still closed for repairs and figured we could enjoy her beauty from the boat.  We took the subway and then had a long walk to the ship.  It was then I realized that I had neglected to check the schedule before we set out.  It was a two hour wait until the next cruise.  I said, "What in the world will we do for two hours?"  Apparently my vision must be worse than I thought because Evan gently said, "How about that?" and pointed to aircraft carrier I had failed to notice.

The USS Intrepid was a great place to kill some time!  I didn't want to pay the $25 admission price, but then I noticed a little sign that said something about "public pier access."  I asked about it and found that we could check out the area for free and long as they saw my id and "signed me in."  I'm not sure what that was all about.  We couldn't go onboard the Intrepid, but we did get to see the Growler submarine and the Concorde supersonic jet.  We were also surprised to find a little corn maze and pumpkin patch.  They were even giving away free pumpkins!  We got a few pictures of Lavender, but she was fascinated with the hay and mainly just wanted us to leave her alone so she could play.

Lavender was happy with her baby-sized pumpkin and it was time for our cruise.  It was chilly out there on the ship, but we had great views of Manhattan, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.  Lavender and I relaxed while Marianne and Evan took lots of pictures.

We worked up an appetite with all that cruising and walking, so we stopped for lunch and we continued our cupcake tour.  The internet coverage in NYC was horrible, so the GPS on my phone wasn't very helpful.  Somehow we managed to find both Magnolia Bakery and Baked By Melissa.  Yum!

We trekked back to the hotel to meet John and then headed out for the High Line, a cool new park built on elevated train tracks. Side note:  riding the subway with a stroller is a pain.  The pain was greatly lessened because of Evan.  He folded and unfolded that stroller and carried it up and down the stairs and on and off the trains.  I carefully planned our route to the High Line so that we would arrive where there was an elevator.  It meant we had to walk a bit further from the train station, but I figured it was worth it to avoid the stairs up to the park.  No such luck!  The elevator wasn't working, so got a long walk PLUS the stairs.  We did enjoy the High Line though and it was cool to go at night.    There is great artwork in the park too.

By this time we were all a little tired and grumpy, but a quick dinner at The Diner and a good night's sleep fixed everything! (Did you notice that Evan got the most pictures in this post? Just my way of saying thank you for all the heavy lifting he did during the trip.  Lavender's stroller was much heaver than the cupcakes he carried in the picture above.)

Eight Month Birthday

In the midst of a busy vacation

We barely remembered the day,

But she celebrated life!

She reveled in the chaos of the city

Squealing with joy at the rumbling approach

And screeching brakes of the train,.

Smiling at strangers on the subway

Even stony-faced New Yorkers  

Who couldn’t help themselves

And finally smiled back at her.

Delighted with crowds of commuters

Even laughing when fifteen Japanese tourists

Swarmed around her in an elevator.

The perfect little traveler--

She was content in her stroller or carseat

But happiest in our arms.

Late Saturday night in Times Square

We were tired and a bit grouchy,

But she was calm and peaceful, long past her bedtime.

Carefully watching the throngs of people.

Drinking it all in with her eyes and ears

And savoring every drop

Like liquid joy.

October 2012 - New York City Harbor Cruise