An Accidental Loss of Jesus
The Sound of Music LIVE Unreasonable
expectations abound when it comes to the groundbreaking three hour performance
of The Sound of Music LIVE on NBC December 5, 2013. I grew up watching The Sound of Music, and of course Carrie Underwood isn't Julie
Andrews, but she and that cast did a decent made-for-TV LIVE version of a
classic Broadway musical made movie that can't be matched. There are a number of reviews floating
around, but this is the article that seems most accurate of the ones I’ve read.
Thanksgiving Across
the Years This Thanksgiving was a really nice one for Kevin and me. We began the day by going to Mass to
celebrate the ultimate feast, the Eucharist (the word literally means “thanksgiving”). Later we headed over to my sister and
brother-in-law’s house for the family meal and visiting. The food was delicious and the quality time
together very enjoyable! To read about
some of our past Thanksgiving adventures, mishaps, and traditions, click here. 
Last Night Kids concept of time is amusing. Lately, Sunshine typically begins and/or ends
each of her stories with “last night.” This
has occasionally helped me in the department of distinguishing fact from
fiction, though, with her it can be a very convincing mix of the two. Knowing that her parents had trouble with the
minivan’s alarm going off by itself, I was incredibly impressed when in
subsequent weeks, she spun a very animated, action-packed, high adrenalin story
about a school bus needing to be fixed and babies crying because of a loud
alarm that went off when a battery died.
Kevin was visiting us at the time and got to witness this based on a
real life event story, and we were both amused and awed. Just remember, your children are always recording audio and video whether you want them to or not.
Like most people,
I prefer to be informed of a problem and asked questions rather than
immediately accused of being the culprit when I’m just as likely a suspect as
the next person. If the cookies have
some type of chocolate in them, it might be most efficient and also highly
likely to assume that I have been one
of the people responsible for the disappearance and consumption of some of the
cookies. Though it would be unfair and
presumptuous to believe that I am the
only guilty party involved in the case of the missing cookies, it isn’t
unjust, given my appreciation for goodies, to think that I’m among the likely
suspects…
Christmas
Card Cop-out I would
like to say a sincere thanks to all of you who sent us Christmas cards! You
didn't receive one from us this year not because we don't love you, but because
I decided to try and maintain my sanity and a prayerful spirit while Kevin and
I have lot going on right now. In other words consider yourself, loved, hugged,
and prayed for!
Teeth R Movin’ This has been an interesting couple of weeks for
teeth in the under 3 age bracket of the household where I nanny. The twins both have their two front bottom teeth
starting to peek through their gums the same week when their older sister had to have her top
two front teeth removed. Though it’s made
me think of the song “All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth,” I’m not
sure it actually applies to any of them at the moment. Cutting teeth is painful, but having them
pulled is not too fun either. Hopefully
the tooth fairy will also bring something nice for the girls’ mommy and daddy
this weekend. 
No Family, No Celebration A
Christian friend texted me this week to check in and see how Kevin and I were
doing. Talk about a humbling experience,
this busy single mom (of a 14 month old little boy who’s super cute!) works
full-time and lives a few hours away from us, and she's the one who takes the time to reach out to us
to see how things are going. (Major guilt
enter stage right and left.) I asked her what she was doing for Christmas. She said she has to work Christmas day, and that since she has
no family in this country, she usually doesn’t do anything special to
celebrate. How sad is that. Not sure if Kevin and I will be able to go
see them sometime soon, but we’ll certainly be sending something to help them
celebrate Christ’s birth and God’s love! If you know someone without family nearby, try to include them in what you're doing and/or do something special with them between now and New Year's.
It turned out Mom
was the only one who had trouble with the tree.
She’s apparently really allergic to Scotch Pines, so Wednesday night we
had the second quickest ornament and tree removal ever for our family. As misfortune would seem her lot, my mom
exchanged the Scotch Pine for another tree at the lot, put it in the stand last
night, and by 1:00am, was having trouble breathing, so she threw a coat on over
her pajamas and dragged the thing out the door. (Today she got an artificial tree, which we would
consider almost sacrilegious if my poor Mom weren’t so allergic to all of the
live ones she’s come across this year, at least from the lot where we usually
get them.)
Triage for our Christmas
Card List In the event that you didn’t receive a Christmas card from Kevin and me
this year, rejoice and be glad! No,
really. I’ve decided this year to
concentrate my card writing/mailing efforts first and foremost on family and
friends of ours who 1.) are currently in the hospital 2.) were just released
from the hospital after major surgery 3.) are serving in the US military
overseas, and/or 4.) have lost a loved one in the past six months. 
I laughed uproariously
during the modern part where they sang and danced to 70s disco music rewritten
with Christian lyrics, and I was very amused by the Bethlehem shepherds’ musical
number about how they hate sheep. I love how they combine Christmases present
with a flashback to the first Christmas, and then the spectacular finale of Christ’s
Second Coming. Of course, their
performance of The
Midnight Cry (always gives me chills-especially hearing so many hundreds of
people singing it in person) is always one of my favorites. 
What are we really waiting
for this week, this month, this year? 
Thanksgiving
Redo As some of you may recall, Kevin and I managed to miss not one,
not two, but three different Thanksgiving dinners this year because we were
sick. We have some wonderful friends who
didn’t get to celebrate Turkey Day together with the traditional fare. Laura and her husband Jeff hosted a
Thanksgiving dinner at their home this past Monday evening that was absolutely
delicious, positively delightful, and at times, downright hilarious. Okay, so the food was delectable, but the
company made for some unbridled laughter.
Thanks, God, for friends who have become family! 
Upon closer
examination, this seemingly inane song, sounds rather creepy. Do we really want kids thinking that some
stalker Santa is watching their every move? Does it make sense to make a bigger
deal over having our kids go sit on some stranger’s lap and tell him what we
want for Christmas than to marvel at the circumstances and love implied by
Christ’s birth? Yikes, let’s hope not!
