Yeah, yeah, I know. . . .

two posts in a row.

This is a horrible precedent to set. Oh well. . .it's all about determination, right?

Before I head to bed on this cold (albeit not as cold as the midwest) January evening, I thought I'd share some of the fun & frivolity of our last couple weeks. There was much fun. There was much frivolity. And, then there was. . . the other stuff.

The Fun
Our Christmas plans were a bit more "traditional" this year - as Mark's family was not with us over the Thanksgiving holiday. The last 4 or 5 years, they have been with us, and we've celebrated time together -- including opening presents -- in November, rather than December.

But this year, we pretty much kept the present-opening to one day -- December 25. Can you imagine?!

Prior to the "Big Day," Caroline had been bringing home various drawings and pictures -- letters to Santa, even -- describing what she wanted for Christmas. The main thing that kept coming up:

a drum

That's right -- she wanted a drum. And, eventually she added a "motorcycle" to the ever-growing list. But, I was stuck on the crazy drum.

I even went so far as to write a small article for our church's "newsletter-ish" publication. For December, each staff person wrote a brief Christmas greeting for the entire church. Mine had something to do with the fact that Caroline's wish list had changed/altered itself over the course of time. And, if memory serves, I made it very clear that I was not going to get her a drum.

I'm surprised no one called DCS. I got threats, sideways glances, and disapproving looks from members of my worship team -- because the girl needed drums. Now, please note: she never said drums she just said a singular "drum."

So, a day or two prior to Christmas, while out running some other Christmas-ish errands, Mark picked up a drum on behalf of Santa. And, when she came out to the tree on Christmas morning - she was quite delighted.

Of course, in the meantime, other presents (puzzles, a doctor kit, a baby doll, etc.) have taken her attention away from the drum. But every once in a while, she'll pull it out and start tapping away.

I'm glad that we were able to grant that wish for her -- there's something about fulfilling the wishes or desires of another person -- and watching the delight and wonder in their face as they realize a dream has suddenly come true.

The Frivolity
One of Edison's wishes came true in that we got a Wii for Christmas (Thanks, Nana & Papa!). We are now the proud owners of a Wii, Wii Fit Plus, and four controllers with rechargeable bases. The kids have really had fun with it . . . .all four kids. Just tonight, Edison and I played his new game "Wii Sports Resort" which has archery, bowling, table tennis, canoeing, and various sky games on it.

We rocked at table tennis. I beat him at the 3-point challenge in basketball. He didn't like losing. . . especially to his mom. But, the crazy thing has us playing, laughing, and exercising together -- and that's the whole point.

The Foibles
This year, we were concerned about the rampant nature of the flu -- the H1N1, to be specific. To date, neither of the kids have had their H1N1 shots, but we've managed to dodge it. Caroline, however, got sick (stomach bug) on Saturday night, December 26. She (and of course, Mark) was up pretty much all night - throwing up. Mark, thankfully, didn't get anything from her -- but Grandma, who had spent the morning playing with Caroline -- wasn't quite so lucky.

After the initial 6 hours of sickness -- and the tired that accompanied it, both Mom & Caroline bounced back to normal. (Or so we thought. . . .)

On Monday morning, I noticed that Caroline's hands were purple. So were her lips. Rewind five years -- she had open heart surgery because of congestive heart failure due to a Ventricular Septal Defect. Cue ominous music. Cue panicking mom. Cue call to doctor.

Load up car and go to the cardiologist.

The pediatrician's office said that they would be more inclined for the heart doctor to see her -- so off we went! Our regular doctor was on vacation, but his associate is wonderful. After an EKG, echocardiogram, and full inspection by the doctor, we were told that she was probably dehydrated. He said that typically when a body becomes dehydrated the body acts like it's in frostbite-mode. The blood circulates away from the extremities -- and goes to vital organs.

In other words: Give her some juice, and she'll be fine. And, she was.

It amazed me how quickly I gave into fear. I knew in my mind and heart that her heart was okay -- but there was that one voice -- ringing in my ears. And, in my most frightened moments, that was the voice to which I listened. O, to have listened to that still, small Voice telling me that she was in His hands -- and that I didn't need to worry. Because, that still, small Voice was right -- she was, and is fine!

The Other Stuff
Over the last year or so, Edison has begun playing bass more seriously -- with the church's youth band, with his school's worship band (chapel), and more recently with the choir at his school. He's pretty good -- and I take no credit for his ability or skills. He is primarily self-taught -- and he had a good little teacher.

So, when I started making plans for this year's Christmas Eve services, I was planning on Mark playing during the early (6 p.m.) service, but thought it might be nice to add Edison to the "band" for the 11:30 service. Edison agreed to play - and after a pretty laid-back rehearsal, he did an awesome job.

Fast-forward to last Sunday, as I'm driving to church - realizing that I have NO band to speak of, and just lost my bass player to Caroline's stomach bug - I turned to Edison, as we drove to church. "So. . . .do you want to play bass with me this morning?" I told him the songs - which he knew most of them - and agreed.

We got to church, set things up, and began practicing. He did GREAT! I was, and am, so very proud of him. I purposely didn't make a big deal out of it -- announcing it to the congregation -- because I didn't want to appear too proud. (But, baby I was!) It helped that one of our good friends came up to me (in Edison's presence) after service and commented that he was so glad I'd gotten rid of that "other" bass player and replaced him with Edison.

(I think that comment, alone, made Edison's day -- I know it made mine!)

So, there you have some of the fun, frivolity, foibles, and other stuff that made up our Christmas. It wasn't Norman Rockwell -- but then again, what is?!?!

And seriously. . . like the old song says, "Baby, baby, don't get hooked on me. . ." because my blog-writing stamina may not hold out for more than 3 posts per week.

You can't say I didn't warn you!