Christmas: Part 3 of 2

Just a quick note to remind myself in thirty years that Barry, Canon, and I did have our own private Christmas this year. It was on our bed several days after Christmas at some random time during the day. There was no big deal made over Santa, just us and three presents for Canon. I had lots of ideas about what his big Christmas presents would be. I considered a train set, a tent, a table and chairs set, and a tricycle. None of those seemed just right when it came down to it. So instead, we stuck with the basic and the simple: pajamas, books, and a small train collection that he can use on the train set that I'm sure he'll eventually get. Sometimes low-key just fits.

My Favorite Things

Sing to the tune from The Sound of Music (if possible).

A Neutra-Grain bar with a cup full of juice.
Eating while watching my favorite cartoons.
Playing outside on the slide and the swing.
These are a few of my favorite things.


(instrumental break)

Playing with "Buzzss" and "Lot-Lot" and "Woo-y."
Falling asleep while watching Toy Story.
Coloring Dora and Diego with green.
These are a few of my favorite things.


When the book ends,
When it's nap time,
When my temper roars!
MaMa finds something to bribe me to sleep,
And then I begin . . . to snore.


(instrumental and dance break)

Yelling at Bull when he barks at the door.
Jumping and dancing around on the floor.
Stumbling around after Daddy spins me.
These are a few of my favorite things.


When it's "Time Out!"
When it's "No, No!"
When my luck runs out.
I simply find one of my favorite things,
And then I don't need . . . to pout.

Christmas: Part 2 of 2

This year's Hamilton Family Christmas felt a lot like the Christmases I remember when I was growing up. The last decade or so has been very mellow when it comes to gift-giving with my family. With eight hard-working adult siblings and a set of parents who want nothing more than for us to give to people who really need it, the pile of presents under the tree has gotten skimpy. This isn't to say that Christmas is all about presents or that the time we spend together during the holidays isn't fun. But now with growing nieces and nephews, I was reminded this December of what it felt like to be a kid at Christmas.

One of the things we were pretty good at was planning every minute of the weekend so that no one got too bored. We spent one freezing night looking at lights in the park two blocks from my parents' house. I don't think Canon knew what to do.

During the day, we spent as much time as possible outside, though the weather kept us in and out in shifts. Barry joined us on Christmas Eve, and the real fun began. If there was ever a lull in the events of the day, Barry was there to wrestle, spin, or tackle any child in sight.

After a Christmas Eve service at church and a trip around some of the shadier areas of town to view some Christmas lights, we made it back to the house for dinner. Of course, we couldn't end the night without first making cookies for Santa. Amelia and Kaden were definitely the most productive cookie makers. Canon showed absolutely no interest, and Ceil's energy was focused on sneaking spoonfuls of icing to eat. By the end of the night, I'd say Santa was able to get his sugar-fix at our house.

Because my little brother's family recently moved to Kentucky, and his work schedule did not afford them the time to travel to and from Greenville, we made the most of their absence on Skype. They "called" us Christmas Eve night, and we were all able to see and talk to the Robert Hamilton's during their family Christmas. It kind of felt like one of those holiday commercials where long-distance families chat through the computer. Technology truly is amazing!

Christmas morning was as exciting as I remember it as a child. Just like when I was a little girl, I was the first person awake, or at least out of bed. Kaden, in the room next door, was the perfect little boy as he sat in his bed talking to himself until someone came to get him. To relive some childhood moments, I got up and went to wake up my big brother on Christmas morning. He was as happy as I remember him being back then! Once the present-opening began, I remembered that I was a parent, not a participant. Canon was only interested in the presents that other people were opening and spent the first part of the morning fussing - quite obnoxiously - about wanting to take his cousins' toys. At one point, we had Ceil open his presents for him in the hopes that he would try to steal his own gifts.

We eventually got him to enjoy some of his own things. This is a Rody that MyGoo and doc gave him. He had more fun falling off of it than bouncing on it!

By the end of the weekend, everyone was friends again, and the parents were more relaxed. This is a typical scene during dinner time. While the adults ate at the dining room table, the kids watched various Christmas movies in the den. Don't worry . . . Amelia was in charge. She's a very responsible six-year-old.

Merry Christmas!

Just for Fun

Now that I've got a few extra hours each day, and we had an unusually warm day in Dothan, I picked Canon up from school a little early to go to the Rotary Miracle Park. The Miracle Park was built so that every child could have a place to play. Kids with walkers, wheelchairs, and none of the above can access the many slides, swings, musical gadgets, and sensory toys throughout the park. It is one of Canon's favorite places in town. I'll just let the pictures show you.

I love seeing him this happy!

Christmas: Part 1 of 2

Christmas: Part 1 took place in Winfield this year the weekend before Christmas. It really was like being a kid again. The massive pile of gifts stacked under the Christmas tree made all of us giddy with excitement . . . and greed!

The fun started Saturday morning when we all woke up. Since neither Xan nor Canon are quite old enough to understand the whole Santa Claus thing, no one got up any earlier than normal. We ate a good breakfast, then headed to the Living Room to see what jolly old Saint Nick had delivered. Barry and I got tons of great stuff (mostly money for a new bed), but of course, our focus was on The Can Man. The pictures illustrate much better than my limited vocabulary can.

Though Canon is into lots of things right now, Toy Story is definitely his favorite. "Woo-y" and "Buzzss" are said multiple times each hour. So you can imagine his excitement when he opened these gifts. Not sure if you can tell, but the shirt he's wearing in the first picture is a Toy Story 3 t-shirt. We had to put it on immediately. He wouldn't even give me time to take off his pajamas first. Aunt Lydia gave him the Woody doll, and he carried it around the rest of the day.

These are some other great gifts - a dog that follows his bone, and an IXL by Fisher Price. The IXL comes with interactive coloring pages, games, stories, music and pictures with each downloadable game. Canon loves playing with Barry's iPhone, so Nonna and Poppa thought this would be more age-appropriate. Of course, he loves it!

Canon loved everything Xan, and Xan loved everything Canon. Ever since the whole New Baby thing has entered our lives again, Canon has been very interested in babies. In fact, no matter how many times we tell him to say "Xan," he responds with "Baby."

Besides opening presents and obsessing over cousins, we spent the rest of the weekend just relaxing. We put in Toy Story 3 to subdue Canon for awhile, but the adults were more into it than he was. Barry suggested several times, whenever he snapped out of his Woody-induced coma, that we turn the movie off because Canon was not even watching it. Then Buzz would appear, and we wouldn't hear from him for another twenty minutes or so.

The long ride home was broken up by a visit to Big Mom. What did we do the rest of the way home? Watch Toy Story 3, of course!

It's a Girl

See, I told you!

Checking a New Box

Barry has been joking on some of our "older" friends for a couple of years now that they check a different box than we do. You know the box I'm talking about . . . the one that says "30, with children." Well, the box welcomed me today. I have officially reached a new decade. Fortunately, it all happened amidst several friends who were also turning 30, though none of them have kids (yet). Sam, JD, Matt, and I all have birthdays within a few days of each other. Since we have a large group of mutual friends, we decided to have a joint birthday party last weekend in Birmingham. Our loving spouses organized the whole thing, and we were surrounded by tons of people we knew and loved . . . and maybe a few we'd never seen before! Of course, the good birthday girl left her camera in the cold car, and I still haven't managed to swindle photographs from the others at the party. I'll post them as soon as I get them.
I got another celebration in Dothan amidst several friends also celebrating birthdays in December. Mary, Tuan, Brandon, Jessica, and I all have birthdays within about two weeks of each other, so we try to do something fun every year. This year, Leah organized a dinner for us at Kyoto. It was so relaxing and just fun to get together with everyone. We usually get together once or twice a month, but usually at someone's house. It's just easier that way with so many kids. Being out at a restaurant was a nice change, especially when Barry took our ferociously fussy son home early because we just couldn't manage to make him happy. He's a good husband . . . and dad.

Familiar Tera-tory

Today marks the five-year anniversary of Tera Morris' death. For those of you who don't know the whole story, I'll give you the short version. Or the shortest version I'm willing to give :).
A year after graduating from college, I decided that I needed to go back. My grandmother had graciously left my siblings and I a large sum of money when she died, so I did what any responsible twenty-three-year-old would. I quit my job and re-enrolled in college to become a teacher. While the sum was large, it wasn't quite large enough to handle rent, tuition, food, bills, etc. etc. I was home one weekend in October and mentioned to my dad the idea of getting a part-time job. He was always very generous when it came to our education, but I was really trying to do this on my own.
I returned to Birmingham on Sunday, and a couple of days later I was sitting in a friends' apartment. I mentioned my job hunt situation, and he mentioned a way to fix it. He was/is a teacher at Simmons Middle School in the Hoover City System, and they had just enrolled a new 6th grade student - Tera. Tera had a brain tumor. Diagnosed years before, the tumor had begun affecting her physically only in the last several months. She spent most of the previous summer and the beginning of that school year at St. Jude in Memphis. Her doctors decided that in addition to her digressing physical abilities, her emotional and social well-being was also taking a downward turn. She needed to be with friends. She was allowed to come back home and return to school, but she would need help.
I interviewed for the job that week and started work on Friday. It's amazing how things work out when you let God take care of it. I know everything in life is a "God Thing." But this was one of the more obvious God Things I have ever experienced.
Tera and I got off to an easy start, though there were a few kinks we had to work out. For example, at 5'4" I was about the same size as many of Tera's classmates. Though significantly taller than Tera, it was easy for us to get a little too comfortable with each other, and there were times when we had to re-establish our teacher/student relationship. Though we both knew it wasn't really that. It was much more mutual than that. We were not quite sisters, not quite mother-daughterish, but it definitely felt like family. We both learned from each other, and we definitely loved each other very much. We were, literally, attached at the hip.
Barry and I got engaged that year, and we made plans to move to Dothan. I would have to leave Tera after only a few months. Tera came down with her mother and two of her teachers to attend the wedding. She sat with my guest book and charmed all of our friends. She even stole a dance with my husband, who later said she was heavier than she looks!
Tera started a new year in seventh grade. Though things just got physically worse for her, I'm assured her strong, sweet spirit never faltered. She was readmitted to St. Jude for several days that October, and I drove up to surprise her. Over the next couple of months, she attended school less and spent more time at home with her family. She got to do some of her favorite things in those last few weeks. She and her friends spent an afternoon at Kay jewelers getting "gussied up." She scrapbooked with her mother. All of the things she wanted to do. Her mother told me that the morning she died, everyone was there with her - her mother, father, sister, and brother. It was beautiful, just like Tera.
That day, I was observing at an elementary school in Dothan. When I left the school, I had two messages, both from Birmingham friends who had "news." I waited until I got home to listen. I knew what they were about. When I pulled into my driveway, I was already in tears. There were two rosebuds blooming on the bush just outside the garage. I only noticed because it seemed so strange to me that roses would bloom in December. (I now know that the unusual part is that there were only two roses on the bush. There are usually many more than that in December). When the messages confirmed what I already knew, I decided that I needed a pick-me-up, so I cut the two rosebuds and put them in a vase in my house. A few days later, at Tera's funeral, I would learn that there is a connection between Tera's name - Teresa - and roses. I have never prided myself on being a good listener (especially in church) and I kick myself daily for not storing the words spoken during that particular funeral service in my long-term memory. So I won't even attempt to regurgitate what was spoken by the priest that day. I will just say that it was what I needed to hear then, and when we built our new house, I put in some extra rosebushes.
That was five years ago. One week from today, I will go to my second doctor's appointment. I will only be 15 weeks pregnant, but I will find out on that day that I am having a little girl. And her name will be Tera.