SWEETNESS IN DISAPPOINTMENT

Last night I was supposed to be at our church's Women's Christmas Dessert. Instead, for reasons beyond anyone's control, my ticket and I were at home. 

I've missed the event several times over the years, which hasn't bothered me at all, but this was the first time I'd had my plans to go be foiled. Silas was there, having driven up earlier in the day to work, and Devon was there because he volunteered to help with parking, which meant I had to battle an hour of torrential rains and rush hour traffic to drop him off at an event I wanted to be at myself. I cried the whole way home.

In the scheme of things, it's not that big of a deal. I'm not facing my first Christmas after the death of my teenager, like one friend is. I'm not facing my first Christmas with a broken marriage, like another friend is. I'm not a single parent of young kids who never leaves home by myself because there's no extra money for the fluff of life and no one's available to watch the kids who are too young to stay home alone, which is the reality of several people I know. It was just a few hours of eating treats, singing songs, listening to a speaker, and visiting with friends and strangers. 

But I was looking forward to it.

I had a pity party for myself all day long, complete with tears and a little temper tantrum at one point, bemoaning all the reasons I was upset about it, so today I want to document what was good about the situation. Because there's always good, even if it takes me a while to recognize it.

Full disclosure: I took the ticket picture last night with every intention of sharing it on Facebook in a whiny post, even though I think whiny posts about trivial problems are incredibly annoying. Double points for immaturity and hypocrisy. We've all done those whiny posts at some point, but it's much better to use the picture today in a grateful post!

* Silas offered to stay home from work so that I could attend. Although he could have done that, responsibilities trump privileges. I insisted he go to work, but was so grateful for his willingness to change his day (and paycheck) around on my behalf.

* Naomi and I took Tyler out to do his Christmas shopping. He'd already purchased a gift for Naomi, but got the remaining four last night. I love seeing my kids' thought processes as they choose gifts for others and appreciated Naomi sticking with him at the end since I had to stay away for the sake of not seeing his gift for me.

* We got in the car after shopping and Naomi handed me a bag of Twix. Although baked goods are the biggest weakness for my sweet tooth, I love Twix. A lot. She knew I was really disappointed about missing the church event and wanted to brighten up my evening a bit, which was super thoughtful.

* Beep sent a text while we were at the store, asking if I was free to chat. I let her know I was busy at the moment, but we spent an hour on the phone later in the evening. I'd have missed that opportunity for conversation with my sister completely if I'd been gone.

* I got lots of hugs and gratitude from Naomi and Tyler for letting them stay up late to watch a movie in a room lit only by Christmas lights. I loved seeing them all cozy under blankets, hunkered down for a mellow evening.

* I opened my bedroom door this morning and discovered this hanging on my doorknob.

All the women who attend the event are given a wall calendar. I've enjoyed the one from last year, but knew I'd forfeited this year's when I missed the event. Except Devon brought one home for me! These calendars are neat because all the artwork is done by women in our church family and it's designed in such a way that the pictures will fit in an 8x10 frame if you cut the calendar part off when you're done with it.

* Walking into the kitchen, I found they brought home a bag filled with grapes that were leftovers from last night. I love produce!

I'm still bummed that I couldn't go last night, but such is life. I may have missed sweet things to eat, but there was an abundance of other kinds of sweetness!

ONE DECADE

This month marks ten years that Tiffany, Susan, Tim, and I have been working together in the one year old class on Wednesday nights at church. Ten years. A whole decade as a team! It seems like just a few months ago that we passed the six year mark. Time flies when you're having fun!

TYLER'S BIRTHDAY - 2018

Tyler celebrated his birthday in two parts this year. Sunday afternoon he and a few friends spent part of the afternoon swimming and sliding at the Woodburn Aquatic Center. 

Today he had the traditional doughnut date with Tim for breakfast, donned the birthday outfit to strike a few goofy poses, enjoyed his dinner of choice, and opened gifts from family members. 

Right now he and a friend are happily playing with some of his gifts, thankful to be staying up late and pleased with how his birthday celebrations have gone. 

THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for winter sunshine I can soak up while sipping tea and reading a book on the front porch or while going on spontaneous walks through the neighborhood with a friend, other Ws, or by myself. What's one thing that you're thankful for?

2018 - ANNUAL FAMILY & KID PICTURES

As 2018 winds down, here are all the pictures our family had taken over the year. The little Ws each have their picture taken during their birthday month and our family pictures are from this month. 

Devon turned 14 in June and started high school.

Silas turned 16 in June and promptly got his driver's license.

In order to use a coupon for Silas and Devon's pictures, I asked for one unplanned shot of the kids together to bring my total charge up to the amount the coupon required. The way it worked out was that we got three great shots and ended up spending way less money than if we'd only taken pictures of the big boys. Score!

Naomi turned 11 in August and entered junior high.

Devon turns seven this week and is now in grade school.

The last annual photo where our marriage is still a teenager. Twentieth anniversary, here we come!

There may be two kids and two young men in this picture, but these four will always be the little Ws. 

We always come prepared with a pose or two of our own, but hadn't planned anything ahead of time this year. At the last minute, as we were all in front of the camera, Naomi suggested doing a pyramid. Fun idea!

All 6 Ws.

Photo credit for all the pictures goes to JCPenney Portrait Studio on Salem.

BOOKS I FINISHED - NOVEMBER 2018

*****

Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction, written by David Sheff

It wasn't until I was almost through this book and was looking up a totally unrelated blog post from the past that I discovered I'd read this book a decade ago. I rarely read a book more than once, but it appears ten years is enough of a gap for me to completely forget every detail of a story. I'll just copy below what I wrote about it way back in October 2008, as my thoughts are the same now.

The thing that I loved most about this book was that it was just real. There wasn't the doom and gloom that says addicts will never recover. There wasn't false hope given to people by saying "if you just choose the right program, then the addict will live happily ever after". I recommended it to a friend whose son is in rehab right now and she confirmed how great the book was. The author really draws you in and you feel like you're riding the emotional roller coaster with him. Excellent book for those who love someone, particularly a child, who's battling drugs. Also a good read for any parent, as drugs know no boundary. They reach kids in public, private and home school, those raised in families that are devout Christians and those who are atheist, kids who are athletic, artistic, or intellectual, the loners and the popular kids, those who are rich, poor, and middle class, living in inner cities and tiny towns.


*****

The Eleventh Trade, written by Alyssa Hollingsworth

A boy and his grandfather, refugees from Afghanistan living in America, have their most treasured possession stolen. It's found at a pawn shop, but the cost to purchase it back is far more than they have. A wonderful story of loss, courage, determination, and the beauty of friendship.

p. 253, "There are no replacements for the ones we lose. But there are abundant additions."


*****

The Hardest Peace: Expecting Grace in the Midst of Life's Hard, written by Kara Tippetts

A book about finding goodness when life is overwhelmingly difficult, Tippetts writes as a mom of four young kids, a happily married woman, and a cancer patient looking death in the face. Her down-to-earth approach and transparency about her own life combine in a way that makes you want to view your own troubles from a healthier perspective.

p. 48 (speaking of a couple who were their mentors in their first year of marriage), Weekly they met with us and asked us about our most recent fight. They weren't looking to pick sides - they were looking for places they could encourage us us to fight with more love and care the next time around. Fighting with your nearest neighbor is going to happen, but fighting with kindness? That's art. Beautiful art.

p. 52, Marriage never seemed to afford me very much privacy from my own unkind struggles. Marriage is a beautiful unveiling of the real me - no hiding. That is scary, and that is amazing.

p. 86, What God has patiently taught me over the years is the difference between pretty and beautiful. Pretty is what was valued in my childhood home, something that involves primping and painting and covering over so as to be acceptable in society's eyes. Beautiful, on the other hand, is the revelation of what is truly and naturally there, often through suffering.

p. 121, The heart of our meals is to know the hearts around the table.

*****

Homer Price, written and illustrated by Robert McCloskey

Fictional stories set in small town America that are humorous and sometimes thought-provoking. This was a school book for Tyler that I read to all the kids during lunch for a few days.

*****

Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living, written by Shauna Niequist

I read this for the first time last month, then bought my own copy to mark up my second time through after I returned the library's copy. This month I went back to October's post and added some of my favorite quotes.

*****

Where Hope Begins, written by Catherine West

Retreating to her parents' vacation home after her husband's betrayal and abandonment, a woman discovers peace and joy in her surroundings and with the people who enter her life. Eventually she has to deal with the grief and hurt from her past and choose how to move forward.

*****

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SONLIGHT GUEST BLOGGER: NOVEMBER 2018

Here are the posts I wrote on Sonlight's blog during November, all gathered in one place.

4 Benefits Homeschooling Affords Parents
Back to the Basics - An Alphabetical Guide to Homeschooling
Homeschooling with a Toddler in the Mix

Is one of them more encouraging or challenging for you than the others right now? Anything in particular stand out to you? I'd love to hear about the benefits you've personally experienced through homeschooling or how you've balanced homeschooling with toddler life!

Disclosure - I was invited to be a guest blogger with Sonlight for one year in exchange for some free curriculum. All post topics and opinions are my own. If you are a first time Sonlight customer, click this link and use referral code BW20197051 to get $5.00 off your purchase of $50.00 or more. That referral code is totally separate from my role as a guest blogger and will give me credit toward my own purchases. The referral code can also be found on the sidebar of my blog.