Home for the Holidays

Erik and I were talking the other day and he asked what he got for his first Christmas and I told him he got a trip to Mexico.  

Dec. 2002 - Erik (left) and his cousin Wakely

 That year we had driven to Mazatlan, camped with a big group of family/friends by the beach (in trailers, motorhomes, tents), and played.   Santa didn’t come looking for us there as the trip was the Christmas present.  We don’t go every year but Erik has now been 5 times and it is a memory packed tradition!

Dec. 2008 - again Erik (left) and Wakely (well, part of him)

This year we are home for the holidays.   It has been nice.   Drinking mugs of hot cocoa, baking candied pecans in the oven, playing games, going on drives to look at the lights and listening to Christmas music. 

But, yesterday Jeff checked the weather in Mazatlan (just because) and today I heard him whistling the song “Feliz Navidad.” 

Merry Christmas!

Here is one of my favorites from allrecipes.com:

Pecan Snack

By: Bea 

"These smell like a walk through a county fair, and they taste heavenly!"

Ingredients

·         1 egg white

·         1 tablespoon water

·         1 pound pecans

·         3/4 cup white sugar

·         1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

·         1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1.     Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).

2.     In a large bowl, beat egg white with water until frothy. Stir in pecans and mix to coat. Combine sugar, cinnamon and salt and stir into pecan mixture. Spread on a baking sheet.

3.     Bake in preheated oven 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Store in an airtight container.

December happenings

Alright, I’ve been thinking about the bit in the last post:
“And then I can move on, because let’s be honest, constantly thinking about your problems can be all consuming and gets tiresome.”

Once again I have stumbled across an “easier said than done.”

Way to go Janae! (high-five)

I’ll be honest, I’ve been thinking a lot about my voice. Twice last week I was at gatherings where there were quite a few people and it was noisy. I could not project my voice, had an extra difficult time enunciating words, and knew it was hard for others to understand everything being said. I finally gave up and sat back to just watch and listen. I enjoyed being in the company of wonderful people and eating tasty food but afterwards I felt like crying.

What are my options? Becoming a recluse isn’t an option. Or at least it is not my first choice. At clinic we have briefly discussed various programs and devices to aid communication. It is amazing what is out there. But I can feel my irritation growing...let's move on!

So, then on Friday I headed back out. This time with Jeff to his work party then on Sunday we went to the L. family Christmas party (51 people!) and chatted and had a good time at both. I’d really like my voice normal but apparently need to adjust expectations for myself…this is going to be hard.

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I can hardly believe we are 12 days away from Christmas!

My Christmas hope is that everyone can feel the love of God in their life. My dose today came via a kiss goodbye from Jeff, a hug from Claire and Megan, and when Erik forgave me after a less-than-stellar-mom-moment. A kiss, a hug, and forgiveness make good gifts.

My bambinos in December 2007