The Joy of Christmas

It's been a busy season for us. I can't believe it's the eve of Christmas Eve. The time has flown by and part of me was wondering, have we done it all yet? There was little nagging feeling that maybe we could have done more, baked more, writen more cards, deliverered more treats to more friends, blogged more, carolled more, etc... Up until Saturday I had felt a little numbness about the holiday season. I was sort of going through the motions. I felt a bit of the spirit when I'd pass by the block in our neighborhood that is particularily lit up with colorful lights. Or, when we went to the Christmas musical program at church, I felt it too. But, Saturday was pivotal for us. I must admit, the feelings Mark and I have lacked feeling were in part due to the eagerness we feel to put an end to this year. Those of you who know us well know that this was not the best year for us in some ways. We have been presented with unexpected challenges this year, but these challenges have brought us plentiful, rich blessings. Back to Saturday.... We(ok, I) was feeling the pressure of having to buy more and more gifts, you know just when you think you're done, new obligations to gift appear, and I may have lost the true meaning of giving. I think the commercialism was getting to me. (Maybe I was just irritated because I thought we got great deals shopping at 4am the day after Thanksgiving and apparently this year there are better deals the week before Christmas!!)

We took the kids to the 99cent store to shop for their Christmas gifts. Just watching them get so excited to spend their own money on gifts for each other and their extended family was so fun. They each were very certain about what they wanted to get each person on their list. As David proudly counted out his money to pay for the gifts he'd chosen, it hit me. He was experiencing the true joy of giving. Yes! It made the trip to the questionable part of Escondido so worth it. I wanted to feel that way about giving, I wanted to be that excited about sharing what I have. Later in the afternoon, we received a gift from a family member that brightened our season. We were overcome with gratitude, not only for the example of generousity that was displayed, but also for the simple act of giving and sacrifice that we were a recipient of. In one short day, we witnessed the joy of giving and the joy of receiving. Had we not had the challenges we've had this year, we would not have been in the position to appreciate the gifts we have been given in such a meaningful way. We are humbled by the gift of our Savior's birth and by the awesome gifts our Heavenly Father continues to bestow upon us. The Lord is constantly mindful of us, as is evidenced by His guiding hand in our lives. May each of you who this reaches take our most heartfelt wish for a very Merry Christmas!!

Any advice?

Ok, so I need advice on two topics.
1. My digital camera is broken (dropped on the ground at Disneyland, bummer...) and I took it to the camera repair place, they won't get it back to me until after the first of the year. Clearly I need my camera for the upcoming two weeks events! I can't imagine using anything but a digital camera, should I buy a cheap one to tide me over, or do I use my old film camera? Maybe some one has an extra digital camera lying around they would lend me for two weeks. But, knowing my track record with cameras I probably wouldn't reccomend lending one to me. I just must have the ability to photograph my family over Christmas, the visit to my sister's, my niece's baptism, and New Years. What a dilemna. Can you even get a decent camera for under $100? Any advice would be welcomed...
2. Abigail has mastered climbing out of her crib. She is much better at it than I ever remember the boys being. She is so thrilled with her new ability that she keeps getting out of bed and going for the communal(David) bed. She has a twin bed in her room, but what are the chances I can get her to stay in there? It's so sad, my baby's outgrown her crib. She's loved it so much and she naps so well, I'm afraid of disrupting that gig. Once again, any advice would be welcomed! (I can't even post a cute picture of all three of them asleep in the bed together. argh!!!!)

Bed Buds

Just recently the boys started sharing a bed. James will very politely ask David, every night, if he can sleep in his bed with him. It's pretty funny because David likes to take a minute to pause and think about it, but so far, he has always said yes. Then for some reason, even though it's freezing at night, the boys insist on taking their shirts off. They do pile like 5 blankets and 10 pillows in them bed with them, so I think they are pretty well insulated, everytime I check on them they are warm as toast. I can't help but thinking it's too bad they didn't start this bed sharing back when the Parmleys were here. Would've freed up a real bed for Claire!

The "Magic" question is...

How many times can you visit Disneyland in a twelve month period and still have fun? Ask the Mendenhalls because we have the experience to prove that at about the 10th visit of the year it finally starts to get a little old. Here's my top 5 ways to tell if the Magic Kingdom is losing it's Magic for your kids:

1. Buzz Lightyear walks by and your 5 year old son doesn't even break his stride, turns back, waves at Buzz and mumbles something like, "wassup, dude?"

2. You have fabulous pictures from every ride that takes your picture (I can name them all but I won't bore you with details) because you know the exact place on the ride when they snap the pictures.

3. You start to believe that the corn dog stand on main street sells really good food.

4. You start fantasizing about what you'd do with the employee discount you could get at the Star Trader store if you got a job there.(Of course, they'd hire you in a second because you know all the merchandise better than most of the employees they already have.)

5. You decide to surprise your kids with a special day at Disneyland and your oldest responses with, "oh, yeah, I figured that's where we were going..."

I guess we've got our money's worth!!

Where's that stinkin' Pollyana when I need her?

Please excuse this post for what it is, a gripe-fest. I hate be a downer, but for the sake of using this blog as a personal journal, I'm going to do a little venting. I'm not sure what is up, (ok I am pretty sure what is up), but I am in major grumpsville. It started when I woke up from a nap on Sunday aftenroon and it's just gone downhill from there. Today was the first time at work that I actually had a crappy time. My feet and legs ache, my brain is mush and frankly I don't want to go back tomorrow. What to do? Oh well, I guess I'll just get up tomorrow morning, throw my legs out of bed, kiss my babes good bye and head out again. I have gained a whole new appreciation for my "old life" and I swear not to take it for granted when I get it back. (hopefully soon!!!)

The End of an Era

The time was right and I finally changed the name of our blog. Hopefully "Mendenhall 5" will be a little easier to remember and type! To my blogging friends, when you get a chance, update my link on your blog with my new address. Upward and onward....

I love how excited the boys get about decorating for Christmas. Frankly I'm not sure where they get it from because I personally don't really enjoy any of the process! (Sad, I know...) James was particuarily thrilled about decorating the tree. He took great care to place each ornament (initially). Then near the end, he just started throwing the lighter ornaments at the tree until they stuck. It gives a real nice random effect. The kid's got talent. David's interest lies mainly in making room for gifts under the tree, placing the stockings in a clearly visible spot, and of course breaking out the Christmas pajamas. We've both got the holiday jammies this year. I sure do love these kids. David is such a little love bug, I love his hugs and kisses. Maybe it's because I haven't been around them as much because of work or maybe it's just because they know Santa is watching, but they have all been on particuarily good behavior lately. I'm relishing every moment!!

Y Fans? The blood runs Red.......

Last night was a blast at the SDSU vs.

BYU football here in San Diego. Clearly, we tried to be true to the Blue, we fully outfitted our kids in the appropriate attire, and Mark and I did wear blue, but as the game went on, I began to have trouble curbing my loyalty to the Aztecs. For the record, I did attend SDSU from 1991-1993 and Mark attended from 1995-1999(he graduated from there, I obviously didn't), but we had our share of years of routing for the Aztecs. To make matters worse, I come from a Uof U bloodline and I did attend my Radiation Therapy program at the U's hospital, so on many levels I felt hypocritical cheering on the Cougars. In reality, I was clearly there for the social aspect of the experience and hopefully I didn't make too many enemies when I wore the SDSU hat for the last half of the game.

The kids had a great time running around and playing with their buddies. James was thrilled that he got his hat signed by Cosmo. (I just learned who that is..)