On Christmas Eve Cody came bounding in the door and headed for the basketball court outside. His athletic efforts were suspended, however, when he smushed the basketball in some of fatty's yellow brown poo. Ooooohhh!
One of the highlights of the nights was Cindy's "toddler pop star" set that she gave to Casey. It had this wild pink wig which we all passed around for laughs.
Here's Larry in the pink wig!
When no one was looking Casey would sing into the microphone: "if you like it then you should have put a ring on it," which her mom has been singing around the house ever since she saw a Beyonce concert on TV.
Casey put on the pop star high heels. She slid around the floor and said, "I'm sliding on the ice!"
Zarni looked super cool in Cody's hat, which everyone called the "Frosty the Snowman" hat!
We tried to take some pictures of Casey and Ayar all dressed up. Casey wore here pretty dress for about 30 minutes. Then she said, "Mom, can I put on my spider man pajamas? They're so cozy!"
Ayar made my cousin Cindy laugh with the Frosty the Snowman hat, too!
It was a lot of fun having such a beautiful, smiley one year old around for Christmas. I think we should rent out a one year old for ever Christmas! Not a 2.5 year old, though. Casey screams.
Jacob was thrilled that he got NOT ONLY two Nerf Blasters but also two NERF SWORDS. He and Zarni and Josh played with them all day. Casey loved the heirloom book she received from Brenda and Thihan. It's about a little doll named Sugarplum. It's out of print now and it was my favorite book as a child. Zarni got a pirate ship from us, but his big "bling" present for the holidays was a cool train table from Nana and Papa! It was all set up and ready for him to play with on Christmas morning!
How has your year been? Mine was good. I am a good boy in school. I am good at following directions.
For Christmas I would like a Nerf Blaster, even though my Nana won't like it.
Your friend,
Jacob
Dear Jacob L. Newman:
Greetings from the North Pole!I received your letter requesting the Nerf Blaster and I think I have a few left in stock.You’ll have to wait until Christmas morning to find out for sure!
It seems like you have been a very good boy this year.I remember when you made an ice pack for your sister, Casey, the day she fell off the bed, and all the wonderful pictures you drew for your mom and dad.I’m also pleased that you can clean your own room, brush your own teeth, get ready for bed yourself, and help out around the house.Your teacher, Mrs. Smith, also tells me that you are working very hard in school to focus and pay attention.Good job!
It’s been another cold year here in the North Pole.However, I am concerned about global climate change.The earth’s surface is getting warmer, and I worry that someday the North Pole might melt!You can do your part by always turning off lights when you’re not using them, and not wasting water, and always walking when you can---instead of getting in the car.
Here’s a picture of me with one of my reindeer.
This is Prancer.Isn’t he a beauty!
I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!Please tell your sister Casey that I hope she writes me a letter next year.
When I was in high school I was a very active in my church.It was called Inglewood Presbyterian, and it was about 2 miles from our house.We had a pastor named Hank Wapstra, an apple cheeked, rotund Dutch man, who inspired in me a love of history with his frequent lectures on the Old Testament and the map of Israel that he often taped on his pulpit.He was very active in ministering to the physically handicapped;he used to say that most fully “abled” people had “a wheel chair between their ears.”
I was more evangelical than my parents.When I was 15 years old I was dating another Christian, a guy named Lance, and he said that when he had kids he wasn’t going to tell them about Santa Claus, because Santa Claus was a lie that distracted people from the true meaning of Christmas.I had grown up with both traditions, and I was devastated by Lance’s proposition that Santa Claus be jettisoned in favor of a Christ-only Christmas.
After a very teary conversation with Lance, that eventually led to our break up, and I told my dad that maybe I wouldn’t incorporate Santa Claus into my traditions when I had kids of my own.My dad started to laugh, his shoulders rolling up and down.He was sitting in a high back dining room chair, and he starting laughing so hard that he doubled over until his forehead was nearly touching the floor.Needless to say, I wasn’t able to resolve this very painful dilemma in time to save my relationship with the dogmatic Lance.
Today the tables are turned.I no longer believe in God, and now I’m not sure how to tell my kids about the religious themes that are still a big part of the Christmas holiday.
I had an opportunity to think about this last week when Josh took the kids to his graduate school campus, Duquesne University, which is a Catholic University.There were dozens of Nativity scenes around campus, including one in a church that Josh ducked into to get out of the cold.Later that weekend Casey told me about their trip to Duquesne.
“Mom, I saw baby Jesus.I saw baby Jesuses all over the place!”Then Casey screwed up her forehead and got a serious look in her eye, like she was telling me something important that I would need to know later.“But then he died.And then he came back to life!”
Jacob chimed in:“Yeah, he died and then he came back to life!”This is a very exciting idea for Jacob, because when he grows up he wants to be a super hero who never dies.Or, as he recently announced, a “Pittsburgh Steeler.”
This conversation got me to thinking:how do I talk to my kids about the beliefs of other people?And, in this case, the beliefs I myself used to hold?How do I represent something that I disagree with to my kids?
More Christmas Downtown, Ice Rink and Gingerbread at PPG
Pittsburgh Plate and Glass is one of Pittsburgh oldest companies. In recent years they have tried to turn downtown Pittsburgh into a mini "Rockefeller Center" by putting a skating rink in their courtyard. Last week we went downtown to check out PPG's Christmas spirit. The outside temps were in the 60s, but the Christmas spirit was abundant!
First, check out Casey in the pink sunglasses to match her pink winter coat (courtesy of Violet!). Inside the PPG lobby were the winning "gingerbread houses" made of graham crackers and candy. There were gingerbread houses representing the Duquesne incline and even the PPG towers themselves.
We walked over to the Macy windows (not pictured here) and then back to the skating rink. The kids begged us to take them skating, but with Josh's bum arm we didn't dare risk it. PPG was handing out free hot chocolate, which we enthusiastically slurped down.
On the way back to the car I snapped a few more pictures, including Jacob posing in front of the ice rink and Josh and Casey clowning around. It was a lovely afternoon!
About 6 weeks ago I received an email about a class offered at the Children's Museum for a special holiday craft. When I signed up for it I was told that we would learn to make special tinfoil-covered Christmas castles. I was intrigued, so I did some research.
As the class website explains, "one of the most beautiful European Christmas traditions, the Cracow szopka (“shop – kah” ; plural: “shop –key”) is a folk art form with a rich history dating to the Middle Ages, when they originated as puppet theaters in the churches of Cracow, Poland. These structures were used for morality plays during the Christmas season. In the nineteenth century, szopki became a favorite performing art form in Cracow cafes and cabarets and featured much social and political satire. In 1937 the first Creche Competition was held in Cracow’s Market Square. Since that time the tradition has grown with hundreds of men, women and children making szopki each year and entering them into the annual competition."
A Pittsburgher named David Motak, who has visited Cracow many times, created this class in order to teach parents and their children how to make these "Szopki". Jacob and I went to the Children's Museum on a Sunday afternoon, during the time in which Jacob usually has "quiet time." You can see in these photos that he is a little spaced out. Nonetheless, you can also see the beautiful castle "Szopka" that we made!
Would you glare at these two darling children? Maybe you would, say, if they were playing under your chair while you were waiting to be called to board the plane? Or if they were running in front of you at the airport, maybe screeching a little too loudly?
Maybe I would, too. But as the mother of these darling children, how far should I go to restrain my children in the airport when they are about to be cooped up for 2 hours (or 4, like when we're flying to Seattle) on the plane? I try to make sure they are not being too rude, or too loud, but I also want them to run and jump and play, since it's the only real exercise they are going to get all day.
In the Memphis airport, before Thanksgiving, I was particularly chastened when a grumpy overweight dark haired woman, in her late 50s early 60s, swiveled her head and glared at me, as if to turn me into stone. The kids were playing, actually pretty quietly, just under her seat. I shooed them out from under the seats and tried to think of some new ways to entertain them while we waited to board the plane, steeling myself for another period of forced enclosure, miles above the earth.
Our two flights back from Huntsville to Pittsburgh were mercifully uneventful. The crew on the second flight, from Detroit to Pittsburgh, was especially professional. They went through the cabin before the flight and encouraged passengers to spread out into the empty seats. They gave each of the kids a small packet with 2 cookies in it (even though there was no food or drink service on the flight), and they encouraged the kids to come meet the pilot at the end of the flight. In the pictures above they are posing with the Captain's hat on. They also got to pretend to "steer" the plane. Why can't more travelers in the airport be like this great crew? Even if you don't have kids, or you if you had them, but they are grown up now, isn't it better to pitch in and help everyone have a great flight? Don't we all owe something to the next generation, even if they didn't come forth from our loins?
On Christmas Eve Cody came bounding in the door and headed for the basketball court outside. His athletic efforts were suspended, however, when he smushed the basketball in some of fatty's yellow brown poo. Ooooohhh!
