Celebrating Christmas, version 4.7

Like lots of moms, I struggle with how to celebrate that big giant holiday at the end of December. It has felt overwhelming for a long time, pretty much since I had two little boys born the week before Christmas, adding their birthday celebrations to the mix, along with my mother-in-law's and my father's. Buying presents for all my relatives for all the big events in December can be a stress factory. I have tried different ways to "celebrate Christmas" and haven't been totally satisfied with any of them.

Jan and his fiancee, Sallie.

This year is potentially more overwhelming because my second son is getting married 4 days after Christmas in California. His birthday is a week before Christmas so he is going to have all his big holidays within 11 days! We're excited for both of them though.

As soon as they got officially engaged September 24th I knew I had to go into high-speed. So I made a list for both the wedding and Christmas and I've been working on it ever since. I also let go of my ideals of getting the perfect presents or perfect anything. And I keep reminding myself of that.

Here it is, November 28th. How am I feeling? At this exact moment, actually pretty good. Maybe I'm delusional but it's feeling doable. I've figured out my gifts for just about everybody and they're mostly purchased. The gifts I have to mail (including our missionary's) have been shipped. The clothes for the wedding are mostly ready, except for my dress which is in progress. I'm sewing it, my friend is helping me, and I'm hopeful that it's going to look okay. There's still a lot to do but I'm hopeful it will happen.

Today we put up our Christmas tree--probably the earliest ever. It helped put me in the Christmas spirit. We put up our many nativity sets and tomorrow we'll start celebrating Advent. I'm hopeful that this year maybe I'll find the right combination for our Christmas celebration.

Talmage doing a selfie.

Comments

Our Cousin Drew

This last week, my brother and his wife lost a very precious son, just 13 years old. He collapsed while running with a cross-country team and passed away before he could be revived. Everyone that knew Drew is broken-hearted at this loss. He was the happiest, most agreeable kid we knew. I remember him being at my house without anyone close to his age to hang out with, so he found our Duplo blocks and started building even though it is a toy that boys his age don't usually enjoy. He was so content. He didn't complain that I ever remember. His mother always called him the perfect child. He will leave a big hole in not only his immediate family but our extended family as well. Here is a poem my aunt shared that seems fitting: Leave Taking How I would have liked to wave goodbye and watch until you turned and smiled and disappeared on the horizon. You who taught me to dance and let me teach you, who laughed at my stories and winked at me when I was sad. I can just see you trav

Remembering Drew

This weekend we celebrated Drew's life. On Thursday night, we gathered as an extended family and had a dinner then sat in a big circle and talked about our memories of him. I took some notes and here is what people said. Grandpa (Gary Hansen): The last time we saw Drew was last week on the 4th. I remember all the cousins on the trampoline, bouncing up and down and playing basketball. Grandma (Susan Hansen): I asked Drew to come over last winter to teach my Activity Day boys how to make origami stars. He was very patient in working with them even though they were pretty clueless. Eventually they all went home happily with their stars. Paula: This last winter we invited Bruce and Michelle over for dinner and we didn't have anyone his age for him to hang out with. I remember that Drew found the Duplo blocks on his own and played with them all by himself, quite cheerfully entertaining himself. I asked him if he wanted to play with a different toy--maybe something more sophistica

Drew's Funeral

Yesterday was the viewing for Drew and then today was the funeral. There were a LOT of people at the viewing. Bruce and Michelle greeted people for almost four hours yesterday and then again this morning before the funeral. Bruce said that if weren't for Drew's death, it would be the best week of his life with so much love being shown to them. Friday actually began with a family run in Drew's honor. We started at a church by the new Lindon temple and ran to Bruce and Michelle's house with breakfast following. Friday night was the viewing. There was a very nice display of all things Drew. This was one of the pictures displayed and I recognized someone I know: We stood in line and the paramedics who worked on Drew stood in line behind us so we got to talk to them. Here's a fun fact: They cover both Orem and Vineyard but Vineyard gets a lot more 911 calls than Orem per capita. It's a younger population and they are quicker to call. They said it's hard when the

Search This Blog