Some Light Reading...

My great grandma's bible: An inspiration for us all.

The Family Tree

This past weekend my Mimi (my mom's mom, my grandma), my mom and her three sisters, three of my female cousins, and one of my cousin's daughters traveled to Louisianna to visit my Grandmimi (my mom's grandma, my great grandma). In total, we were five generations of women spanning 2 to 96 years old. Here I am with my mom, Mimi, and Grandmimi - four generations.

As could be expected of a group of women, there was an abundance of food, oodles of sweets, and a never endings stream of coffee. We feasted like queens!

We also played dominos, but only when we weren't discussing how to play dominos or making ridiculously silly comments. Only women would put up with so many distractions during a game of dominoes.

I love this picture of Grandmimi and Raelynn bridging the technology-age-gap.

We figured out that Grandmimi has 7 children, 25 grandchildren, 38 great grandchildren, and 6 great great grandchildren, with all but three of those individuals living. Obviously, we were just a fraction of her heirs, even when family from the area joined us.

When someone asked Grandmimi how she remembers all these names, grandmimi explained that she prays for everyone at night. Sometimes she falls asleep praying for everyone, so she starts over when she wakes up.

In the evening, everyone sat in a circle and prayed together. We took turns sharing what we enjoyed about the weekend. Not surpisingly, this caused some of us to cry, which caused others to cry, and so on. When it was Grandmimi's turn to speak, the room fell silent. Everyone was intent on hearing every precious word Grandmimi spoke. With her hands clenching the blanket on her lap, she cleared her throat and pursed her lips. Now we were on the edge of our seats. Then, with her weak and quivering voice, she said "I'm sure Jesus heard everything you said, but I didn't hear a thing." And then everyone was laughing again.

When Grandmimi prayed with us, she thanked God for the most joyous occasion she's had in so, so long. When I got home, I also thanked God for the most joyous occassion I've had in a long time. My family rocks.

And now its time to hit the gym. No woman can eat that much sugar in one weekend and not pay for it the next week.

Chaos to Calm

Moving.

It always starts out chaotic.

The chaos always gets worse before it gets better. Usually, large amounts of trash are generated, even though you thought you threw everything away before you moved. You might return that handy dolly before all large pieces of furniture have been moved to their final resting location. Perhaps the canola oil leaked in transit, spreading to nearby objects like a disease.

But after hours of clearing, cleaning, and shuffling, calm surfaces.

Ahhhh. Welcome home.

Holidays 2010

Chris and I usually go visit our families each Christmas, but this year we invited our families to come visit us. My family came for Christmas weekend. The highlight of the trip was the dining table my parents brought for us. It's perfect!

The table made possible many things. We had a place to eat our yummy Christmas Eve Dinner.

We had a place to do a puzzle.

And now I have a place to play my new piano, which Chris surprised me with on Christmas morning. He had been hiding it in a neighbor's apartment.

The Sias family came for New Years weekend. My in-laws arrived on our shared wedding anniversary. Their 37 years gave me perspective on our 3 years. Jesse and Vanessa (Chis's brother and wife) and A.J. and Lindy (Chris's cousin and wife) arrived shortly after the in-laws.

Three noteworthy things happened on New Year's Eve:

1. We played an impromptu Newly Wed game. The final rankings in this very entertaining and revealing game were as follows: 1st place - A.J. and Lindy, married one month. 2nd place - Jesse and Vanessa, married less than a year. 3rd place: Rudy and Lulu, married 37 years. 4th Place: Chris and Kim - married three years. Only one point separated first and second place, as well as third and fourth place. Unfortunately, many points separated second and third place. Chris and I were good hosts and allowed our guests to win.
2. The fire alarm went off in our building. In the rush of evacuating the building, I put on black sandals over my white athletic socks. The situation excuses this nerdy fous pax.
3. We saw an awesome fireworks display from the roof of our building. Not only were we blocks from the city's impressive show, but we could see all the fireworks going off all over the city. The fireworks were all around us, a 360 degree show, a bubbling horizon where ever you looked. It was an awesome way to end an awesome holiday season.

Cheers!

I am so thankful that our families came to us this year. I hope they had as much fun with us as we did with them. Next year, however, I think we will resume visiting them for Christmas. While our new apartment is bigger than our last place, it is loft style and has no separation between the main living space and the bedroom space. This made for some awkward encounters that shall be deemed "bonding moments between family." Some bonding moments do not need to be repeated.

A Blonde Moment

I went shopping the week before Christmas. I got to the mall early. I was surprised how may cars were already parked in the parking lot. I failed to take note of how many more cars the parking lot could hold. I shopped and I shopped and I shopped. Five hours later I left with three bags in hand containing, among other things, a heavy cast iron pan and a long winter coat. I left the mall and immediately noticed that the parking lot looked nothing like it did when I arrived. It was now overflowing with cars. Where did I park?

I walked and I walked and I walked but did not find my car, much to the disappointment of those following me in hopes of getting my spot. Where did I park?

I exhausted my arm muscles holding my heavy bags high so that the winter coat would not drag the ground. I started thinking about waiting until all the other shoppers left and revealed the hidden location of my car. Where did I park!?!?!?!

Oh, a mall security truck! I flagged him down. Yes, he could help me. Yes, he confirmed that people frequently lose their cars at this mega shopping center. No, I did not ask if any of the other lost shoppers where as young as I. Instead, I accepted his help with as much dignity as possible. And I thanked him when he found my car parked only a couple of rows from the point where I initially started searching.