A Cold, Wet Butt

(What a title! But it's true)

Before Christmas I was able to attend a Ladies Christmas Tea, hosted by Grace Fellowship Church, held at Tinelli's Hathaway house. (Our wedding reception was held there. Very beautiful and excellent service and food) The speaker, who happens to be my mother's cousin, Kathy ended up with an extra ticket. She kindly thought of me.

On the night of the tea I met my Grandmother, and her sisters Sidney and Joyce, and we headed off to Tinelli's, which is out in the middle of nowhere, think one or two houses in sight and a 20 minute drive to the nearest "town". As always with my Grandmother's family, we spent a lot of time laughing and making sure Aunt Sidney knew where she was going in the dark.

The evening was wonderful. The music beautiful, skit funny, speaker excellent as always, and the food decadent - chocolate fondant, bread pudding with black berries and oranges, and a carrot cake with pears! It was a nice evening out with family.

The end came, as all endings will - too soon. We gathered out coats and gloves, this is Christmas in Central NY after all. It had been raining the whole time we were at the tea. Aunt Sidney went to get her car and we waited, talking with other family members who were there and friends.

I helped Grandma and Aunt Joyce down the stairs and then got in the car myself. The seat was a little cold, but I figured it would warm up quickly. In only a few moments I noticed that my pants were a little wet. I thought it was b/c I had kept the door open for a few seconds before getting in. My pants proceeded to become wetter and wetter, and my underwear was also starting to feel a bit damp.

I reached my hand under my butt and low and behold the seat was not just damp, but sopping wet! My Grandmother's seat, on the passenger side of the car, was also damp, so was the middle. After trying to figure out where I could sit that would save me from becoming wetter, which there was none, and discussing how the seat could have gotten so wet with the door "closed", I finally decided to sit in the wet seat and have a very wet, very cold, butt.

My Grandmother and her sisters had a great time on the way home about me and my wet butt. I made it home and quickly went upstairs to change. Where upon my husband thought I had had a terrible time, since I rushed upstairs and didn't say anything to him.

Not Me Monday

I know I already blogged today, but couldn't resists posting this. (I really need to get Kristina to come over and have her show me how to add all the stuff she does. I'm bribing you with the new nutella shortbread recipe I have!)



Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I did not pretend to be asleep while my husband changed a very messy, screaming baby.

I did not tell my 2 yo that her hand would freeze and fall off if she didn't wear her mittens.

I did not tell my 6 yo that the tooth fairy recycles her teeth. (She doesn't believe in Santa, but does believe in the tooth fairy!)

I did not leave the upstairs gate open and find that the baby had climbed down to the landing and was heading down the rest of the stairs.

I did not become flustered at Calling Hours and forget where I was and whisper "Congratulations!" to one of the deceased's family members.

I did not laugh during said funeral, with my sister, when we realized the funeral service was written out in the back of the hymnal and that the pastor had gone out of order.

I did not pick up two of the same item in the store so that the girls each had one to carry.

Why so slow!

It never ceases to amaze me how slow the kids often are getting out of the car and into a warm building in the winter. It's cold, snowy, windy, etc., etc. and they insist upon moving their slowest. Meandering hither and yon, while never growing any closer to their destination. Trying to hurry them is like using a spoon to shovel. And once you've herded them inside they say, "I'm really cold Mommy. Can I have some hot chocolate?"

Remembering Aunt Joyce

This afternoon I attended the funeral of one of my Grandmother's older sisters. I enjoyed seeing family I haven't seen in a very long time, some of whom I did not recognize! I also enjoyed listening to everyone speak of their memories of Aunt Joyce. I did not see my mother's extended family very often. I enjoyed the times we did see each other. One of my most prominent memories of getting together with my Grandmother's family was laughter. She and her sisters loved to laugh. It was fun to make them laugh as well.

Growing up they did not have an easy life. 5 girls - Audrey, Gloria, Joyce, Sidney, Janice (my grandmother), 1 boy - Reginald. Their Mom died of cancer at age 33, leaving three young children and a husband who was in the military. Their Grandmother raised them. They all spoke very highly of her. Life was still difficult for them. Reginald died in his early teens from a seizure. Despite not always being together, the 5 girls kept in touch. Audrey died when I was very young. Gloria when I was a teenager. Now Joyce.

Their lives were not always easy. But, they kept on laughing. That is what I will always remember about Aunt Joyce.

(I last saw Aunt Joyce at the Ladies Tea hosted by Grace Fellowship Church. That's a story for another day.)

Over load

I've decidedly bitten off more than I can chew. I seem to have signed up for too much stuff to do outside of the holidays this Christmas! Right now I'm looking through what I've got and what I can easily delay. Here's my list:

1. play piano for Children's choir - must do
2. make cookies - highly recommended to do
3. participate in Living Nativity - must do
4. attend Sunday School play - must do
5. attend School Christmas play - must do
6. 3 family Christmases - must do
7. update my resume - can wait
8. refresher courses for work - needs to be done by Dec. 25th, thankfully on line
9. attend orientation days for work - must do
10. write - must do in order to sleep, which I haven't been sleeping well b/c I haven't been writing
11. apply for scholarships - can wait
12. apply for college - can wait
13. wrap presents - must do
14. plan snowshoeing/sledding for Young Adult group - can wait
15. attend flute ensemble at Blue Frog - really want to go, but guess I could skip it
16. keep up correspondence with people about my book - should do
17. work out - must do
18. organize ornaments - needs to be done by end of holidays
19. organize winter outer wear - can wait
20. practice piano for upcoming times to play at church in Jan/Feb - can wait

I feel better now that I know what needs to be done and what can wait. It's hard to put things off, since I want to do them all, but if I do, I won't have time for the kids!

Mansions in Heaven

As our world seems to be rushing head long into the Apocalypse, I've been dreaming of Heaven and the New Earth. It's very exciting to think of eternity and all that I've always wanted to do, people I want to meet, conversations I want to have with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, and just being in God's presence physically. My imagination runs wild, although I know it doesn't compare to the wonderful and amazing things God has planned for me.

There is one black mark marring my perfect picture of life on the New Earth. The city. The city that is 1400 or so miles square! Paved with gold, adorned with every known jewel, and inhabited by every person who has embraced the one and only Truth (ok, that part will be nice). I do not like cities, nice places to visit, but not for me to live. I also hate ostentatiousness (my new word). I don't like gaudy or things that are gilded. I want green grass, lots of trees, gardens, and lots of animals around where I live. Give me an old Victorian home with lots of amazing wood work, secret passageways, hidden reading nooks, and a massive libraries and a nice kitchen. My ideal and the way the Holy City seems to be portrayed in the Bible don't seem to line up.

For a while that freaked me out. Where would I live? Would I be forced to live in the city in a house walled with jewels and gold? Would I be cut off from the nature I so love, and clean air? For a while I no longer wanted to go to Heaven, but I certainly didn't want to go to Hell!

Then, wandering into my brain from a source outside myself (read Holy Spirit speaking to me), saying my pastor likes to use. If we both thought the same, did the same things, agreed on everything, liked the same things, one of us would be redundant and unnecessary.

Here I sit, in a house and life I never wanted, asked for, or thought I would enjoy. How much better God knows me than I know myself. I can look back through the years and observe God's faithfulness in my life to care for me, give me the things I need, and even things just for the shear enjoyment of them. Obviously He loves me greatly and wants to make me happy. Knowing me as well as He does, and I know the number of times He has been right in knowing exactly what I wanted compared to what I thought I wanted, I need to have faith. He has been faithful and consistent the whole time I've known Him, what makes me think He'll change once I get to Heaven.

For the most part I rest contented in the thought that whatever place He has prepared for me will be exactly what I want and need. But, I have had numerous chats with Him about what I'd like...

Boys and Girls

Last year Elizabeth and Samuel were playing a version of hide and seek. We have a little tiger with 2 wands. You can hide the tiger and find him using the wands, which light up and beep as you get closer. Elizabeth walks into the room where I happened to be. "Shhh, Mommy, we're trying to find a baby tiger. He's lost."

Then Samuel walks in. His pose is different, as is his intent. He tip toes around, sighting along his wand, which is held up to his eye. One eye closed, he says, "Mommy, I'm hunting a tiger." And immediately spotting the tiger, he proceeds to shoot it.

Elizabeth, meanwhile, is hysterical. "Stop him, Mommy. He's shooting the baby tiger!"

Satisfied the tiger is finally dead, Samuel turns to her, "It was a big mean tiger and I shot him dead."

Needless to say the game ended there, with Samuel taking his trophy off to be stuffed and Elizabeth wailing over the death of the baby tiger.