Saturnalia for Everyone

Here are the outtakes of the Christmas card photos. We chose the one that best represented the true personality of the girls, complete with a Charlie Brown Christmas tree. I wish I could send out the perfect family portrait where everyone is photogenic, but that would not be "us". "Us" is slightly off, but real.

While watching a sitcom the other night, I learned that the Christmas tree is a byproduct of a pagan holiday called Saturnalia, which was celebrated on December 17th. The appropriate spelling of this holiday is varied, as is the link of the tree to the holiday, but thanks to the internet I have deemed it true. And, when I worked as an accountant in the '90s, I knew a guy who told me that the tree was a pagan symbol and he provided me with the same info I heard on The Big Bang Theory, so there.

In the true spirit of acceptance and tolerance and equal opportunity for all holidays, I say Happy Saturnalia to all of you. Without out it, there would be no Christmas trees. Without Martin Luther, there would be no lights on the trees. Without the Wise Men, there would be no tradition of gift giving. And without my mother, there would be no yummy food on Christmas Eve. I love each and every one of these things, plus Jesus, so thank you Jesus and pagan tree cutters and Martin Luther and Wise Men and Mom.

A Great Tradition

I have a giant book of Christmas music and I will play songs for the girls and they sing along. Some of them sound bueno, some of them are mucho dolor. I wish I was a better example for my daughters, practicing every day and learning new pieces of music, but alas, I have fallen off the piano wagon. The girls just love it when I get going on the songs, though. Roxy dances all around on Jingle Bell Rock. Winter Wonderland is probably my best piece, and Darby happens to love that one. I have no clue what Good King Wincheslas is even about - the words sound like the Kinks' inspiration for Father Christmas, which is a particularly odd, punk-ish song.

I have taught my daughters to sing Hark the Herald Angels Sing, but like the Peanuts gang does it, with wide open mouths and noses pointed in the air. When the song leader lead that song at church on Sunday, that is exactly what Darby did. Darby should be a part of the Peanuts gang. She could be Frida, who is always concerned about her naturally curly hair. Like naturally curly hair is something to brag about! Roxy would probably be Snoopy. She would especially like having a little bird follow her around...

What I Like About Dar

Darby is so uniquely Darby. She is impossible to sum up in 6 words and trying to describe her would required hours of observation. I had a few 'only with Darby' moments this weekend. When going to a store, restaurant, or public place, be prepared to have to guide her through the establishment because she will get distracted by words. Not spoken words, but written words. I have taken her to restaurants, like City Bites or some place where they post reading material in the bathroom stalls, and have known that I would have to pry her out with a crow-bar because of the literature posted on the walls. She HAS to read it, in its entirety. When we take her to Dagwood's, a sandwich shop based on the comic strip, she sits mesmerized by the flat screen TV that projects a continuous loop of comic strips. And when you go to museum, be prepared for information overload. She is completely addicted to the written word.

She also loves to hear stories. Not exactly soap operas, but the kind you hear on the Delilah syndicated radio show. Last night, as I was putting away the remain of Mount Laundry, I found Darby drawing in her room, listening to a Stevie Wonder Christmas song. We don't own that one in particular, so I asked where she got it. It turns out that Darby has discovered Delilah and was tuning in to her broadcast. Delilah listens to those people from all over the United States that call in to dedicate songs by Rod Stewart and Celine Dion to long lost loves, old high school friends, and people that want Delilah to listen to their hardships. I NEVER listen to Delilah, mostly because Scott would make fun of me, but Darby absolutely loves it. She even memorizes all the stories. And she tells them to me - all of them.

I am convinced that one day Darby's love of words and passion for dramatic stories will manifest itself in a great novel or a magazine article. Or maybe she will start her own blog, specifically for Delilah fans...

Angel Food

We worked at our Angel Food ministry this morning. For $30 you can buy a significant amount of food that would cost twice that much at the grocery store. For a family of four, all of the portions are ideal and I have been pleased with the quality of the products. It is basically the same things you could buy at Wal-Mart. There are additional options where you can buy a 5 pounds of chicken breasts, boxes of reduced portions for seniors or those living single, and all sorts of others choices. The good thing is that in these economically scary times, the food you buy for your family seems more expensive, but not Angel Food. We have been able to reach out to those families experiencing job losses or just hard times, and the food is a needed blessing. My girls really enjoyed helping out with food sorting this morning and we will definitely do it again, as well as order food again.

What I Like About Rox

My husband and I had lunch together, ran errands, and discussed Roxy. She was in the foulest of moods this morning: school is boring, getting ready for school is boring, I don't like my pants, you are making tangles in my hair, etc. The list was long, and I was speculating out loud to Scott that she would come home in a beautiful mood and the whole morning would be forgotten.

Sure enough, it was. Roxy had earned many behavior bucks at school and had chosen little prizes to give to every person in our family. She has been promoted to a higher reading group and was very proud. And after she gave me my present - a little packet of peanut butter M&Ms, I immediately forgave the foul temper tantrums from the morning. Thank you for the prizes, Rox. You know the true meaning of giving.

The Ghost of Christmas (Card) Past

I found this relic in the basement and have been reflecting on the last six years. So much has changed since my babies were 8 months and 4 years old.

1. We have moved three times since this picture was taken.

2. Roxy's eyes have turned hazel, like mine. Darby has kept her daddy's baby blues, though.

3. I sleep through the night on a regular basis. Woo-hoo!

4. I no longer have a little baby to cuddle. This picture makes me want to go back to the moments of naps, preschool, sippy cups and car seats.

5. Darby no longer loves High 5 and Veggie Tales.

6. Darby and Roxy are very good companions now. They do so many things together. Roxy is learning Darby's vocabulary and Darby is picking up on Roxy's sense of fun and action.

7. The hair: as Led Zepplin put it, the song remains the same. If only the hair could change...

A Tasty Thought

Last night, out of nowhere (which is usually where Darby's thoughts originate), Darby asked Scott about egg nog, because she has never had it before. She will probably never try it now because Scott told her it was really like Christmas Phlegm. I immediately remembered playing charades with my cousins and watching one of them act of "The Flim Flam Man" by blowing his nose into his hand. Of course, my cousins immediately got the answer and I never have been able to extract the thought of phlegm from my brain.

Scott is looking forward to Festivus this year, if you can't already tell. I anticipate that the Airing of Grievances will be enlightening. We plan to watch the Seinfeld episode about Festivus when we celebrate with Scott in a couple of weeks. It should be a Festivus miracle...