Mama you roll. Dada you rock.

We had a fun Christmas this year. While it was tempered by the constant rushing of seeing family at various locations and Valerie teething (got a new one in on the bottom), we enjoyed ourselves. I even managed to surprise Dan (not an easy feat since he is typically around when I get him something or I have to ask his advice on this or that). I bought him a couple pair of jeans and wrapped them up as from Santa then hid them until Christmas Eve when we took out all the presents and put them under the tree.

It all started Christmas Eve when the Warrens (my sister Sheri, her husband Randy and four of her six kids) came by Sandy's (my other sister who lives here in Albuquerque) house to prepare some items for the Christmas Eve Danish celebration planned at my Dad's house later that evening. I gathered up the kids and drove down to help. After a while Sheri and I got dropped off at Sandy's work to join her for her hair appointment. Sandy had asked her hair-dresser to add us to her appointment (which ended up being 3 hours long). Sheri closed her family cafe earlier this year and since she no longer had to have her hair long enough to pull back she was ready to chop it off. She looks really cute now! Sandy needed to have her color touched up and her hair trimmed. I hadn't had a trim of any kind for about two years and with my hair at waist level was finding it somewhat inconvenient to work with. I thought I'd go ahead and take it to shoulder level and donate the rest. Prescilla informed me that I needed at least 10 inches to donate it which put it right at shoulder level. Then she styled it to be somewhat shorter. It just brushes my shoulders now and I'm loving it. I just wish I could straighten it, but I don't have the knowledge and income needed to get myself a good flat iron. It's still long enough to pull back, but short enough to leave down without irritating me and getting in my way.

I mentioned that the appointment ran WAY long and that put us behind schedule as far as getting me back home so that I could get ready and drive us out to my Dad's house. We were originally supposed to meet there at about 4:45 and start dinner at 5. We ultimately didn't get there until 5:30 and we didn't eat until closer to 6. The rushing meant that I left a lot of things at home that I wanted (address and directions to my sister-in-law Sarah's house being among them) and Valerie wasn't letting me out of her sight (not uncommon when she feels that I've deserted her with strangers... which is kinda what I did when I went to the hair appointment). By 7:30 she was ready for bed and we hadn't finished with the Danish Christmas celebration yet. I have to admit that my temper was frazzled by the time we got home. We had originally planned to drop by Sarah's but we couldn't get ahold of anyone to remedy my forgetfulness. It's probably for the best since Valerie fell asleep in the car and went straight to bed as soon as we walked in the door. Our original plan to open a present each Christmas Eve was barely saved by Gabriel insisting that he didn't want to go to bed without having unwrapped something. After he was in bed, we finished our preparations (we ended up only wrapping the kids gifts since we were more interested in watching the opening than participating) and dropped into bed ourselves.

Christmas morning got a late start since Gabriel refused to change his pull-ups (I don't understand why he does this) and we wouldn't let him open gifts until he changed. When everyone was ready we sat the kids down and went to town. Our traditions say that Santa brings one gift per person along with a small stocking stuffer. The rest of the presents are from family or friends. The kids didn't seem to care where they came from as long as there was paper to rip. We had scheduled Dad, Lucynthia (my step-mom), and Sandy to join us for breakfast and they showed up starting about mid-way through the opening. Dad and Lucynthia found it quite fun to watch the kids having fun. After breakfast burritos and sour dough waffles (mmmm....) the guests left and we put the kids down for a rest anticipating the rest of the day to be crazy. We were right.

Around 2 or so, we drove to my mother-in-law's house for the gifts from them as well as to caravan to Bill and Prescilla's (different Prescilla and they are Cory's (Dan's step-father) parents). On the way there we dropped by a friend's house to pick up a gift they had (I figured it would be easier for us since we were in the neighborhood rather than having them drive all the way across the river). It's a family from our previous ward with a son the same age as Gabriel and he wanted to join me inside to say hi. They had gotten a Wii and were playing it. Gabriel unfortunately wanted to join them even though we were in a hurry and leaving was a tramatic experience for our son. Things got better when we got where we were going as there was food, family, and... presents. Despite the nap, Valerie still wasn't feeling tip-top and we ended up leaving a little earlier than originally planned. Once again, bed was the order of the day for the kids as soon as we got home. Our plans were different. Dan had received some video games for Christmas and was anxious to try them out.

What does all this have to do with the quote from my son that titles this blog entry? You see, while my mother-in-law just wanted to see us on Christmas day, her husband, Cory, had an alterior motive. He got an XBox 360 for Christmas along with several games (Guitar Hero, Burnout, Nascar, etc) and wanted Dan to help him set it up. And while my mother-in-law was buying games for her husband, she decided to get one for us so for Christmas Dan and I got Guitar Hero 3 (bundled with a wireless guitar controller) and a second guitar. The day after Christmas we decided to try it out. I'm not very good, but just yesterday Gabriel told us, "Mama you roll. Dada you rock." It's nice to know our children don't think we're uncool ;)

Christmas 2007

Some of you are familiar with my husband's history (medically speaking), but even then, not all of you may know what the deal is with the wheel chair that he turned into a road warrior machine for Halloween. The season being upon us again, I thought I'd share the story with you.

It started a few years ago with Dan having problems with his back. He'd had pain before, but it appeared to be stress related as it disappeared when work calmed down. When it returned he didn't think much of it as stress had reared its head again. When the stress died down but the pain didn't, Dan and I got worried. We scheduled an appointment with the doctor and the doctor didn't like what he was seeing. We scheduled an MRI and the truth was revealed. Degenerative Disc Disease. What is it? What causes it? The doctors don't know for sure. In most cases it appears to be triggered by injury or hereditary genetics. In Dan's case neither applies. It is the diagnosis given to people who's discs are degenerating (hence the name). In Dan's case the disc between his L5 and S1 vertebrae is shredded and the pain is caused by the nerves getting pinched and, more recently, by bones rubbing together. The pain is also constant. There is no surgery (covered by insurance) that has been proven effective so the only option is pain management. At first we tried standard physical therapy, but that only seemed to worsen the situation. Next we tried injections which at first appeared to be working. But the one effective treatment was followed by a not-as-effective treatment which was followed by a not-even-effective treatment. Different treatment options were tried with no futher success. When we moved to Albuquerque we thought that a fresh perspective might offer more options. The doctors here, however, didn't have anything new and by that point we were living off of severence and credit (thank heavens for Cobra insurance coverage).

Dan found a new job with his current employer (Thomson Elite, now Thomson Reuters) and we found that trying to set up doctor appointments with a non-flexible schedule nearly impossible. But while the doctor visits stopped, the progression of things didn't. During the course of the day Dan found that simply walking places was putting extreme stress on his back and frequently getting around the house without his cane was unheard of. We started looking at wheelchairs. Primarily for use at work, we still wanted something that he could bring home which meant that we needed something light and collapsable. Though our insurance offered assistance, unfortunately it wouldn't cover what we wanted and we were left with having to pay for it entirely out of pocket.

Dan's employer is very big on giving back. Throughout the several locations around the country, the empoyees are often treated to small treats or lunches (catered or out). It's no surprise that the employees mirror that generousity and that every Christmas season they seek ways to help out a family in need. They gather donations and use it to purchase things that a single family they've selected with help through local organizations have either requested or shown a need for. For 2007, the Albuquerque site decided that they didn't need an organization to find who they wanted to help. They looked at one of their own. Dan was approached by his co-worker who informed him of their desire to help and requested permission to go ahead and purchase the wheelchair for him. With tears in his eyes, Dan accepted the offer. The response from the rest of the site was overwhelming. Not only did they raise enough to buy the model that would work best for us, they actually raised almost $200 more than they needed. As my sister's daughter-in-law put it in her recent blog entry we cannot do it alone. And I would add that we weren't meant to.

Though there may be few who read this from that wonderful site, thank you again for the gift that keeps on giving. God bless you all for your love and kindness to us. And God bless all those who have helped us and continue to help us these last couple of years.

Merry Christmas!

Stories

Two things have been on my mind lately and I wanted to vent. Thankfully they can both be summed up in a single word: Stories.

Without getting into much detail, my husband gave me my Christmas present. Yes it's early, but there was reason as there was a time limit on certain things. And I say singular Christmas present because it's a bit pricey and he's already declared that it represents Christmas and Birthday presents to last at least until 2010. As if I needed any better excuse to read, this gives me the ability to do so anywhere. Now I find myself with more "books" than I know what to do with and the same amount of time to read them. Stories to fill my non-existent time.

The second section touches upon the Family History research I've been working on. One of Dan's distant grandfather's left his first wife and two children (Dan's ancestor) and went west. I have records and plenty of public family trees showing that he had joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and later married 3-4 additional women (yes he was a polygamist). Records indicate that he was baptized the same year he left his family and I could only wonder why. Assumptions didn't set well as members of the Church hold family to be very sacred. One possible explination suggested that he joined and his wife rejected him. Another suggests that she was kept from him as he was driven away. I couldn't see any possible reason for him to move to Utah without him joining. I finally got up the courage to email one of his other descendants and that's when I learned more. Though I'm still not sure of the reason (differences of opinion and seeking his own fortune being possibilities) I learned that he actually was on his way to California having left his wife and children behind. The wagon train stopped in Utah to get supplies and a guide where he was taught and then joined the Church. Upon learning of this, his family disowned him. While I cannot say that the situation was any happier, knowing the story somewhat vindicated him and his actions. Facts, numbers, and names are all well and good, but you need the stories to color in the outlines too. Stories to fill in the details. Now if I could only learn his first wife's story...

Merry Christmas!

This is an email that I've sent out and if you already got it, you can ignore this post. If not then follow the directions and email it back to me!

Hello Friends.....Welcome to the Christmas edition of getting to know your friends. Okay, here's what you're supposed to do, and try not to be a SCROOGE!!! Just copy (not forward) this entire email and paste into a new e-mail that you can send. Change all the answers so that they apply to you. Then send this to a whole bunch of people you know, INCLUDING the person that sent it to you......Tis the Season.

HO HO HO!!!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial, it's old and leans, but it functions :)

3. When do you put up the tree? Used to be day after Thanksgiving, kids and cats have moved that back throughout the years

4. When do you take the tree down? Depending on how much the cats have been into it, sometimes day after Christmas

5. Do you like eggnog? I used to, but I think I'm losing my taste for it

6. Favorite gift received as a child? I honestly don't remember

7. Hardest person to buy for? Dan. He's got a huge list of video games and DVDs he'd love, but it's never a surprise for him and I'd like to surprise him.

What happened to number 8? Someone ate it?

9. Do you have a nativity scene? One that my mother bought me a long time ago at a craft fair and a small statuette of Santa kneeling to baby Jesus

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail, not everyone has an email account and we don't want to leave anyone out :)

11.Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Hum...see #6

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Various forms of Christmas Carol from Scrooged to Muppet; from Mickey to George C Scott ;)

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Day after Christmas previous year. If I see something I know someone will like that's a good deal...

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Pasole (though I haven't had it in a long time), cookies, ham, and chocolate

16. Lights on the tree? Yes, some day we'll upgrade to a prelit tree :)

17. Favorite Christmas song? Mary's Lullaby (Tonight You Are Mine)... this year ;P

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Finally we get to stay home. We'll visit in town, but no long trips!

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Yes... if I sing it

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star, most angels are depicted with wings... plus it's more lights for the tree :)

21. Open the presents Christmas eve or Christmas day? One on Christmas Eve, then the rest on Christmas day

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Realizing that you bought a bunch of gifts throughout the year for one child and almost nothing for the other ;P

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? I love them all as they all represent different things and years

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Ham

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? To have family close... I already got it!

26. Who is most likely to respond to this? Natalie or Genaphur

27. Who is least likely to respond to this? Karma, since she sent it to me ;P

Merry Christmas Dear Friends!!