Christmas And Everyday

Even though I started earlier this year to get decorations up and cookies done, I am behind. I end up being the one to do it ALL...I DID get the kids to put the tinsel and ornaments on the tree. But the rest of the decorations and the cookies are all up to me. If that was all there was to do, I could get it done quickly enough, but the everyday real world waits for no one. You know...the vacuuming and dusting that you do and once you get from one end of the house to the other you have to start all over again. Especially with Max in the house. Who wants a dog fur 'coat'?

And of course there is the never ending pile of laundry. I have gotten that down to a twice a week thing.

I did manage to get one gingerbread house done. This gingerbread house was done in 2 days. I wanted to fuss with it more and make it look better but it came out pretty good...considering. Troy is going to be out of town this week and he needed to deliver it last night. We gave it to his friend Dave that he plays golf with. Dave is older and his wife had surgery on her knee. She is laid up for the holidays and they are expecting the kids and grandkids for Christmas holidays. The little ones and pick it apart.









I have another one to make. I will take the next 3 days to work on it while doing other things...I have a music booster meeting, bags to fill with food at the food pantry, sugar cookies to frost and gingerbread men cookies to bake and decorate, presents to wrap.

The 2nd house is going to the Youth Pastor at our church. He works so very hard with those teenagers! His wife is a teacher at a preschool and they have two little very very active boys. They will like to eat it, too!

We will be gone for the weekend...visiting family before the Christmas. Doing things a little differently this year. I guess I will put off the grocery shopping until we get back.

Taking In Strays

My parents' house always seemed to have an invisible neon sign out front that only small stray dogs could read. Or perhaps it was a certain sound that the house emitted that only small stray dogs could hear. Without even knowing they wanted another dog, a small one, of the toy fox terrier variety, would just show up. My parents would just take it in and keep it warm and fed until it was time for it to pass on. The life span of a toy fox terrier was barely double that of a hamster. We are on our third hamster in 4 years...of course the first two we had simultaneously. Cookie lasted 2 years. Jacque lasted 3. I found both of them dead first. I am not looking forward to when Pete transpires.

Our house seems to have a beacon of its own. We end up with stray kids. Last night was another example.

There is this boy, Hunter, that Bethany has known for about 3 years, at least. He is of some sort of middle eastern descent (although, he was born in America). I have watched over the years as I would pick Bethany up from school, Hunter would always be by her side joking around and there was always The Hug. Bethany is a hugger. She didn't get it from me. She got it from her friends, mostly. Everyone always has wanted to hug her. She will still come up to me and drape herself on me from time to time.

Anyway, she and Hunter have always been buddies. He has his moods of silliness tinged with some kind of sadness.

Last night, as I was starting dinner, the doorbell rang. I looked out the front door peephole and there stood Hunter. I was surprised becuz he has never been to our house. I opened the door and said hello and he looked at me kind of confused...he has only seen me through the windows of a car. He said, "Is this where Bethany lives? Is she home?" I showed him into the livingroom and went to find Bethany. She was confused by his appearance also.

They sat in the livingroom and talked while I got dinner ready. I kept poking my head into the doorway and asking, "Would you like some hot chocolate?" "Dr. Pepper?"
"Could I get you to drink the kool aid?" He would crack up and politely decline while Bethany would say, "Mom! Quit being weird!"

When dinner was ready, I announced to Hunter that dinner was ready and I had set him a place and he didn't have to eat but he had to sit. He looked at me with a varying wave of emotion and I said, "Just do it." He just grinned and sat down at the table.

We were having a sort of leftover night...leftover some things from Thanksgiving along with Mac and cheese and hamburgers and hotdogs. Bethany said, "This probably looks like a weird dinner." Hunter said, "No! This looks better than anything I ever get! My dad cooks SOME times...and it is always something odd. But usually I cook up some ramen soup and call it dinner." I said, "Must be your family is always busy and gone in different directions?" He said, "To tell you the truth, I don't have any idea what it is my mom does or where she goes." What do you say to that?

After dinner he thanked me for feeding him. It was so very cold out...Troy volunteered to give him a ride home. I heard Bethany saying, "You'll love this car! It has seats that get warm!" I laugh becuz she is so fascinated by that and I hear her tell everyone!

My kids always seem to attract those kids that don't seem to have a cohesive family life at home. Then again, perhaps I am really out of touch and we are a minority type family...we have family dinners and conversations at the table.

I said something to Bethany this morning about it being odd that Hunter just showed up. She said, "he said something about his dad kicking him out." great. I also said, "I wonder how many times we will see Hunter now that he knows we will feed him?" LOL I also understand now, why he hugs Bethany so much...she hugs back. AND I also understand that sadness in his eyes. It is amazing to me that the kid isn't hanging out with the ones that like to smoke pot, drink, and get into trouble. But he is very polite and well spoken. And when we said grace before dinner he said, "I always have said a prayer before I eat...but no one has said it with me." Hunter is definitely an enigma.