Christmas Meltdown

Can I be honest? I don't really like Christmas. Oh, I like the idea of Christmas, and I have some wonderful Christmas memories, but Christmas has become characterized by insane rushing about, trying to meet everyone's expectations of what they want Christmas to be. And it all leaves me exhausted and discouraged. And this year add sick to the list. I have a heck of a cold, and I just want to crawl in bed and sleep until the New Year.

But Hannah (and others) look forward to the one day each year when I actually make cookies the real way...by pulling out the flour and sugar and butter and the humongous Kitchen Aid mixer. So we started the cookies tonight. So far they are a disappointment. The Giradelli cookie mix I bought (OK, so I cheated a little) created little piles of crumbs that, while they taste good, won't hold together for anything. The spritz cookie press yielded misshapen trees and stars, all with red sprinkles for consistency (I honestly thought I put one each of the green and red sprinkles in my grocery cart!) So with flour and red sprinkles covering every surface of our kitchen, and with no supper for the kids served yet (does cookie dough count for supper?) I've called it a night. Hannah still wants to make cut out, frosted cookies tomorrow. I just don't know if I have it in me.

Tomorrow is our annual seafood dinner - a tradition that started when Mom first served breaded shrimp on Christmas Eve when I was a kid. This year David has requested lobster tail. Dream on. Christmas presents are opened after church - not one is wrapped yet. Tonight I see lines of cars inching slowly through our neighborhood, looking at the Christmas lights. Are their cookies all done? Are their gifts all wrapped? I'm jealous that I don't have time to enjoy such simple luxuries.

So I'm feeling a bit Scroogish right now. I'm sure a good night sleep will help. A Carribean cruise would cure it for sure. I can definitely understand those who skip town and let someone else do the work for them in some Swiss chalet or on a Hawaiian beach. But somehow the thought of Christmas anywhere other than in snow-covered Iowa doesn't seem right. Even with all the craziness and stress.

Jesus said, "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" Matthew 11:28. Here's to finding some Christ in your Christmas.

Christmas Count Down

Every year it seems to get worse. December careens by like a runaway train down a mountain. And here we are...three days before Christmas (because everyone knows that Christmas Eve is really the big day.) I'm so sick of everyone asking, in that polite "I don't really care" voice, "So, are you ready for Christmas?"! The answer is always "No, but it will come whether I'm ready or not." And I'm definitely NOT ready!

I have been attempting to slow down just a bit. It's hard. But I've found that forcing myself to take one photo per day - no matter now mundane the topic - has allowed me to stop for just a second, or a minute, and enjoy something. I'm planning to put them all together in a scrapbook that will be titled, simply, "31 Days." Here are a few highlights.













This weekend was our annual Schmitt family Christmas gathering, so that is one big hurdle jumped. We missed Warren because of blizzard conditions in northwest Iowa, but otherwise it was a wonderful time. As always, those cousins provided enough entertainment for all. Merry Christmas!

The wrestling season has begun!

I know it's hard to tell, but that is David's purple butt in this photo. The Des Moines Register's caption under the photo reads "At 140 lbs. North/Hoover's Juwan Parrish got the victory over Johnston's David Miedema." Now, is it just me, or does anyone else have an overwhelming urge to twist young Juwan's thumb right off? I mean, isn't there some rule about excessive celebration? This may sound a bit like maternal sour grapes, but I get pretty passionate about sportsmanship. And from my vantage point, this doesn't look like great sportsmanship.

David may have lost on Thursday, but he won 1 of 3 matches on Saturday. Not the strongest start to the season, but hey, he's only a sophomore, and there's a lot of season left. Go Miedema!

December Sky

We were treated to a rare and beautiful sight tonight as a sliver of the moon joined Venus and Jupiter in the southwest sky. Serving as the backdrop for our increasingly festive neighborhood, the view was awe-inspiring. This conjunction apparently will not happen again for 50 years, at which time, as Hannah reminded me, I will be “only 99 years old.” I’m looking forward to it!