Saturday, December 16, 2006

Three of Brendan’s friends were in a local production of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” so Brendan and I had a date and went to the play together. We had spent the week reading the book and I was surprised to find myself teary at the end when these horrible kids truly get the meaning of Christmas for the first time. It was fun to see our friends in their acting debut and afterward we went to congratulate them over cookies and punch in the church basement. I found Nathan, one of the boys in the play, and told him he had great stage presence and delivered his lines loudly and clearly. He looked at me blankly and then turned to Brendan and said, “You didn’t look very interested during the play.” Brendan replied, “That’s because I’m not so interested in plays, really.” OK, then. They both seemed just fine with this exchange but I was horrified. Brendan actually did enjoy the play and his look of disinterest was actually because he was very focused on it. One day I will have to teach him about nonverbal communication.

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

I am the room mother for Brendan’s kindergarten class so I got to help plan my first Christmas party for a class. I was working together with Lisa Kim, an expert room mother who was full of ideas so that was wonderful. We had parents sign up to bring treats. I included a few lines for someone to bring popcorn and fruit so that it wouldn’t all be cupcakes with an inch of frosting. In the end, those that had signed up for fruit must have forgot so the kids overdosed on sugar anyway. I didn’t hear any complaints coming out of their mouths. In Lisa’s older son’s previous Christmas parties, they had done a book exchange where every child brings a wrapped book and they each get to go home with a book. I was all in favor of the idea but a little worried that not every child would bring a book. Lisa and I both supplied four or five extra books for those who forgot and it was a good thing that we did because only twelve of the twenty remembered to bring books. The party was crazy and chaotic and I was very thankful that I am not a kindergarten teacher and that I only had to manage one six year old all day. When it came time for the book exchange, an interesting thing happened. There are only two white kids in Brendan’s class, Brendan and a little girl named Sophie. Everyone was thankful and excited about the book they received except Sophie, who went into a full blown fit because she didn’t like her book, and Brendan who had a more muted reaction but was sulky nonetheless. Hmmmm.

Christmas 2006 – Spokane, WA

We spent a wonderful, relaxing week up in Spokane, WA with Peter’s family. We were able to spend time with each of his four siblings and their families which was an unexpected blessing. While the kids played with their cousins in the great room downstairs and outside in the snow, Peter and I had the chance to talk with family, play numerous games, take naps, eat, and generally enjoy ourselves. For Christmas, Peter received a night at the historic Davenport Hotel and he chose to take me with him! We left Christmas evening and luxuriated at this beautiful hotel while the kids had a sleepover in Grandma Gail and Grandpa Roger’s room. A real treat for all of us!


New snow in Spokane

It is the Smith tradition to have a birthday party for Jesus on Christmas Eve. We told Jason about this in the morning and he was looking forward to it all day. He practiced singing “Happy Birthday” to Jesus with gusto. Later in the afternoon, he was concerned about who would open Jesus’ presents. He looked a tad disappointed when I said there weren’t gifts to be opened but he was probably just relieved that when it was his birthday he would definitely get presents. But then he wondered when Jesus would be coming. He didn’t want Jesus to miss his own birthday party. I began by trying to explain that Jesus was already here but that almost led to a big game of hide and seek with Jesus being the one to be found. So then I tried to explain how Jesus was born a baby and then Jason piped in about how he grew to be a “dolt” (adult). “Yes,” I said, “and then he died . . but came back to life again . . . (I could tell I was losing him) but is now with us in the form of the Holy Spirit . . .” (Jason’s eyes are glazed over by now). When I was through with my attempt at answering the theological mysteries of Jesus, Jason pressed the question to me again, “So where is Jesus?” I gave up and answered, “Jesus got stuck in the snowstorm so we will have to have the party without him.” Family members within hearing distance of my lie burst out laughing. But Jason was satisfied and hurried on to the next question of importance, “Who will blow out his candles for him?” That was a much easier one to answer!


Hearing the Christmas Story at the Birthday Party for Jesus

Christmas 2006 – with the Duecks at Big Bear Lake, CA

After a crazy trip home from Spokane with many delays and rebooking which would have made us stay the night in Sacramento, except that our third flight was several hours late so we ended up making it anyway, we fell into our beds at midnight. We had a day to unpack and pack again and prepare for several days at a mountain cabin with the Dueck side of the family. We planned everything, down to the number of peppernuts we were taking, but neglected to account for the car keys. We packed both cars in the morning to make sure all the food we were taking would fit and then Mom and Dad left with Brendan. Peter, Jason and I enjoyed a bit of downtime in the morning and then were planning to leave after lunch. We were all set to go but then realized we had no car keys. Mom and Dad had taken both sets with them and we didn’t even think to ask. Instead of Dad driving back three hours to deliver the keys to us, we managed to contact a friend who told us how to break into his house and steal his Jetta. Peter biked down to pick up the car, we repacked everything and finally hit the road. We realized again that both our boys get carsick and thankfully, Mom and I both had Ziploc bags along to catch the spew from the mouth of our babes. I think I should remember my boys’ propensity toward carsickness in the future.

Our Christmas celebration was chock full of rituals. We instituted a new ritual this year, a Christmas Writing Project. Each person from the youngest to the oldest, contributed a personal true story which they had written down and then read to the rest of the family. We compiled these stories in a binder which we will continue to add to over the years. The adults in the family chose names at Thanksgiving for our Agape Gifts. These are homemade gifts, certificates, or donations to different causes or organizations. One evening, after the kids went to bed, we gave these Agape Gifts to each other. Before opening gifts on our “Christmas morning” we had all the children stand in a circle and the adults stood behind them. We prayed and blessed each child, saying how they were gifts to us. And finally, we assembled MCC School Kits after watching a short video explaining where the school kits go and how they bless children all over the world.

In between these rituals, we played games, went sledding, and tried to make a dent in all the food we brought up to the cabin.


Brendan's gift to Grandma Anne and Grandpa Al: a story he had written which was about a go-cart ride that took them into dinosaur time and ended up with Grandma, Grandpa, and Brendan falling in a toilet. It's not funny at this age unless a toilet is involved.



Peter's superb launching form and Jason's suave sledding style


Brendan's spectacular sledding form

Thursday, January 4, 2007

Throughout the evening, Brendan and I were talking about Africa and what it would be like IF we were to move there. He wanted to know what language they spoke in Africa so we discussed the different tribes in Zambia and how English is the national language so we would be able to communicate with many of the people around us. He also wanted to know if we would have a TV, to which I replied, “Probably not.” I said that we would rely on watching DVDs on our computer like we did in Prague. He said he would make friends with somebody who has a TV so he could watch it at their house. When I said that we would be very rich compared to most of the people around us, he said that he could give some of his stuff away to them. After he had showered and was putting on his pajamas, he turned to me and said, “For the first time, I’m actually starting to care about the African people. I want to share my toys and give them money for food.” Hallelujah!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Cheryl