Christmas Morning

Lila has yet to learn that on Christmas morning, it is the job of children everywhere, to wake up their parents entirely too early.  Actually, that’s not true, she woke up plenty early, but then was fed a bottle and went happily back to sleep.  I was torn between waking her up and letting her sleep through the present opening festivities.  Halfway through stockings, I couldn’t take it any more and went in where she was happily sleeping to get her.  She didn’t appear too bothered by being disturbed.

First Christmas with all three of my babies

Best gift ever – Puffs

Opening presents with sis

 

By the looks of things, our Christmas was made possible by Lowe’s and the number 48.  I guess you could say it was a very Jimmie Christmas.  (Only 2 more months until the season starts again and we are so excited here!!!!!!)

Die-Cast replica of this year’s main car. He was so excited that he insisted it go right back in the box so it wouldn’t get messed up

Assembling the Lowe’s 48 “put together” car with Poppy

 

Mumsey had great plans to make us a holiday breakfast feast, but with all the food we had been eating since our arrival, no one was really hungry until later that evening.  Instead, we spent most of the day like this:

Putting together her new “girl” legos

Cuddles with Mums again

Cuddles with Mums

On a slightly different note, the other night while out celebrating my favorite dentist lady and Lila’s BFF’s mama’s birthday (that would be Christal Hall DDS, Wolfchase Family Dentistry), we ladies were talking about how its important to be comfy when you are at home. That when you are in your own home, it is not important to dress up and look nice, but rather to be cozy.  One girl who spends her days dressed fancy and lawyer like (since that is her job) joked that if you have a problem with seeing her in her sweats or pajamas, then you aren’t really welcome to her home.  My bestie, Steph used to say that being in your own home means you aren’t required to wear pants.  It always meant a lot to me when we lived in the same town, that she wouldn’t always wear pants in my home either. Just kidding…..not really.

But, as our conversation continued, we talked of how when we are at home and in our comfy places, you would have no idea of what jobs certain people have.  If I saw what my Ob/Gyn wears when he’s at home relaxing, I may  not have felt very sound in trusting the delivery of my baby to him.  So when I took this picture of my own husband, I just had to laugh.

I’m sure if this photo was up on the clinic’s website for patients and referring neurologists to see – the practice wouldn’t be going very well.  But that’s the Brandon that we know and love as well as the professional one.  Unfortunately, I do not have a lab-coated, official looking picture of my hubby, but trust me, he looks very trustworthy and smart and professional when he goes to work.

I Almost Forgot

Mattie doesn’t believe in Santa Claus.  We never really pushed the whole Santa thing on her and since this was her first reaction to the man back on her first Christmas holiday….

It just seemed like maybe we wouldn’t ever go there.

She has also asked some really deep questions regarding the whole Santa thing, like why do the kids in the hospital that really need the presents because they can’t go out and play and don’t feel good – why are we the ones buying their Christmas presents if Santa is supposed to be bringing them.  This is a quote from the Mattie, “If a little kid is sick in the hospital, they can’t possibly be naughty so they would have to be on the nice list.  But every year, our school collects tons of toys because they say if we don’t, those kids won’t have Christmas.” Yes, I have my fears that even if we had tried to go the Santa route, Mattie would have killed it a while ago.

But she wants to believe in him and the magic that seems to come along with all things Santa.  So as soon as we got back to Mumsey’s and she had opened her annual Christmas Eve present (pajamas, of course!), Mattie set to work preparing for Santa.

I came out to the kitchen to get myself a drink and discovered this:

It’s 3 cookies, a glass of orange juice and a precious hand-written note explaining that we were out of milk so she left o.j. instead.  Also, he probably doesn’t get orange juice very often so this might be nice.

When I was up getting Lila’s early morning bottle, I put the cookies back and poured out the cup.  I think she knows exactly what happened to her little snack, but appreciated my effort to play along.

And I appreciated the little indulgence she allowed us, even though she knows Santa is just pretend.

Christmas Eve

Our little holiday vacation is over.  We drove back home yesterday, a drive that once took 5 1/2 hours and now averages around 8 hours.  I think we would have made pretty good time yesterday had it not been for Arkansas’s continual game of let’s redo I-40.  Every few weeks, (or so it seems) the powers that be pick a random 2-15 mile long stretch of road and just shut it down for about 10 weeks.  It’s kind of like a game when traveling to Mumsey and Poppy’s house, not a game we really like playing, but a game of chance just the same.  How far will we get into the state before traffic stops completely?  Will we make it to Little Rock?  Or maybe, just maybe, the road work will only be going on one side of the road and we won’t actually have to go through it at all? It seems that the traffic was a little bit enjoyable for at least one traveler, we saw two count them two, snowmen erected in the center median as we were creeping along last night.  And these weren’t teeny, tiny little snowmen either.  Someone was there for quite some time.  And had it not been about 7:30 at night and very dark and my children being extremely unaware of dangers like cars, I think me might have considered getting out and playing in the snow, too.

And after the fun and relaxation of a vacation at the Bed & Breakfast that is my parents house, it was time for the great “Put away” that everyone who goes on a trip at Christmas time must endure.  Brandon claims he had a patient today, but I’m pretty sure he just didn’t want to have to deal with putting away all the clothes and the new treasures that came home with us.  It was very tempting to just leave it all in the annex and shut the door.

But before we get completely back to our old, before Christmas life, let’s get caught up on the fun that went down between last Saturday and today.

On Christmas Eve, we all piled into the Acadia (by all I mean, really all of us – Mom, Jerry, Brandon, Me, Mattie, Reese and Lila.) and headed to Tulsa to celebrate with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Tom, Aunt Heidi, my cousin John, his wife Kumiko and their little girlie.  The kids did great, waiting so patiently while we ate dinner, wanting nothing more than to be opening their presents.  I really don’t know why we don’t just go ahead and do presents first.  The kids don’t really eat a whole lot with their minds on whats all wrapped up and under the tree and we as adults are probably going to eat just fine before or after presents.  But finally it was time…….

All the Cuzies

Getting caught up with Grandma

Its kind of funny, Grandpa started unwrapping this gift at about the same time that the kids discovered they had been gifted with silly string.

They had time to go outside and use up all the silly string on each other and Uncle Tom, in the time it took Grandpa to actually get into the present.

Better get it while you can Mattie, he won’t be smaller than you much longer

Little Brother getting some revenge for the first few years of life

Right in the face

It’s possible that I may have overdone it with the tape.

Still not quite there

Lila seemed very excited by the whole gift opening experience.  She just sat and squealed, never actually removing any paper or even attempting to get toys out of the boxes, but she was just really happy to be there.

Lila’s loot

Then the fun really started.  On Grandma’s suggestion, Mattie put Lila in the doll stroller.  That was funny enough.  Then MoMo was encouraged to push the stroller with Lila still in it.  She took her job very seriously and would even stop and give her big, live dolly a kiss every little bit.  Lila sat and smiled, enjoying her ride from her cuzie.  I think she knew they were bonding and who doesn’t love bonding with their cousins.

A tiny, yet mighty pair

Cutie Pie MoMo

Grandma kisses

Grandpa’s boy

We finished off our time in Tulsa with a little visit to Rhema Bible Church.  Ever since I was a little girl, Christmas has involved a visit to Rhema to drive through their incredible light display.  And with Reese being so taken with Christmas and lights being so magical to him (he pointed out all of the houses decorated on our drive from Memphis, even some gas stations that weren’t really decorated, just had excessive lighting), it seemed only right to take the kids.  It was probably about 28 degrees outside and Mattie rode through with her head hanging out the window, sitting on Poppy’s lap saying over and over, “Are you guys seeing this?”

I think they liked it.

A Christmas Reunion and Festive Clothes

We made our Christmas journey to Mumsey and Poppy’s house on Friday.  This year’s trek went much smoother than last year, when we had a tire decide to blow up just outside of the middle of nowhere at about 10:30 at night.  We had a lovely highway patrolman come and hang out with us on the side of the road as Brandon unpacked the back of the Acadia.  Meanwhile, Crosby sat there in the back growling at this stranger who was obviously attacking his family, Mattie was sound asleep snoring, Reese was having the most incredible adventure to date and I was just sitting there 9 months pregnant hoping a birth wasn’t part of this adventure as well.  Everything ended up turning out okay.  The highway patrolman just happened to know of the only towing service for miles and he just happened to be available and then just happened to only charge us around $50 for the emergency, way after hours job as well as the tire repair.  It must have been our vicious dog…..that or the 2 kids and the very pregnant wife and it being Christmas.  Either way, it was an adventure that makes for a great story, but I am extremely glad it didn’t happen again.

Upon arrival, Mattie immeidately asked about the whereabouts of the beloved Elizabeth.  She had been asking about her for days and as of lately, the questions had been accomp[anied by tears.  Her gymnastics coach had asked her this past week what she wanted for Christmas, then when Mattie replied, “For Elizabeth to come back safely and with fixed hair from the doll hospital”, she laughed at her.  That just about crushed Little Miss and I had to explain to her that not everyone knows there is such a thing as a doll hospital and maybe her coach just didn’t know what to say.  The mere mention of Elizabeth would cause Mattie’s little eyes to well up with tears and she had taken to just referring to her as, “E” because it didn’t seem she could get the entire word out.  So I wasn’t surprised at all when the first thing she asked about after giving a hello hug and kiss, was her precious doll.  And I was not surprised at all either when Mumsey went ahead and pulled a package out from under the tree, and let Mattie go ahead and open it.

Have you ever seen that video of the lion named Christian who was raised by the two men and then released into the wild, then a few years later, the two men come back to the animal preserve and have a reunion with their now very grown up adult lion?  It’s a rather emotional reunion and even those with a stone cold heart couldn’t watch it without feeling something stir.  That reunion had nothing on Mattie and Elizabeth.  Mattie almost reverently pulled her out of the box she had been delivered in.  She was scared to death to touch her hair-netted head and when Elizabeth and her new raven locks were finally placed in Mattie’s waiting arms, she had to exam every little inch of her, confirming that this was indeed the same doll that she had sent off and that she was now 100% better.  Then she just held her.  A tired little girl, weary from a long journey and an even longer wait for her beloved.  She just curled herself up around her doll, who was wearing a lovely hospital gown, and closed her eyes.  All was now well in their little world.

The next day, I had the kids pose for their annual Sabbath before Christmas pictures, wearing their festive clothing in front of the mantle. Here they are from last year:

As you can see, they hated this idea.

I finally got the older 2 to at least pretend that they were enjoying the experience and when I asked if they could make room for Lila, Mattie actually asked me why she needed to be in the picture.  I suppose it does seem a strange concept to a 7-year-old to have all of ones children in a photo.  These didn’t turn out much better, but at least there is proof that they were all here and dressed festively, and that’s all that really matters right?

My First Real, No Doubt About It, Celebrity Sighting

I will be honest, I am interested in the lives of the rich and famous.  I am a subscriber to Us Weekly and often check the People.com blog to see what exciting and ridiculous things are going on with the celebrities of the world.  I’m not particularly proud of this, but at the same time, I’m not going to deny it either.

When I was 16, my parents and I took a family vacation that led us to WAshington, D.C.  One day as we were hanging out right by the capital, a motorcade passed by.  There were several blacked out vehicles with little American flags on the front of the cars and to this day, mom and I swear that we had seen President Clinton.

While in Nashville for our friend Kristie’s graduation from law school,we were parking downtown and about to hoof it to the ceremony when we saw someone who looked vaguely familiar walk by.  Brandon and our friend Chris swear that it was John C. Reilly  and there was a tiny moment when Chris started to run down the street after him, but that didn’t last long.  Chris and Brandon will swear that it was him, but I’m still a little skeptical as to what he was doing just wondering down the sidewalk in downtown Nashville in December.

Of course, we all remember that great day this past summer when the family went to Daytona to watch the NASCAR practice and I spotted Jimmie Johnson going into him trailer. But, even though I truly saw him, that one still doesn’t feel a legit as I would like.

Anyway, all this to say that I have always wanted to see someone famous and Memphis being a famous city, that often gets famous visitors……well, it just seemed bound to happen eventually.

And this past week it did.  I made a vow to myself about 2 weeks ago that I was going to  go on a TArget diet.  There for a time, it seemed as though I was going on a daily basis….sometimes even twice daily.  People were beginning to recognize us.  A friend of a friend of mine works at one of the 3 TArgets in our rotation and I was beginning to get paranoid that he thought we lived there or something so I vowed to not visit any Target stores until the 16th.  It was hard, but I made it and even managed to stay away until last Thursday.  We were headed to Reese’s little buddy Ben’s house to decorate cookies for his birthday.  We needed to stop and pick up a can of frosting and Target was on the way.  So Brandon parked on the side and in I ran, heading throw the little girls clothes, past the toys and to the holiday section when I noticed that something was very off.  For one thing, the racks were pushed back in the little girls section creating a large clearing and it looked like there were speakers or cameras or something set up.  I also noticed a very lovely woman standing next to the sheets and towels with an ABC24 microphone in her hand.  For a minute there, I thought maybe I was making news because I had finally returned to their store.  That after an almost 2 week absence, it was newsworthy that I was finally returned.  That thought was pretty short-lived, however.

I also noticed that the place seemed extremely busy.  There just seemed to be this buzz of activity, but it was different from typical getting-close-to-christmas shopping.  Also, something that I have never seen before in any store, ever, was all the registers open and even more Target employees standing by to be of assistance.  Something was definitely up.  And on my way back from the holiday area, as I passed by the sporting goods and saw about a dozen people with their phones out taking pictures, my suspicions were confirmed.  Standing there signing a basketball was the Memphis Grizzlies own Rudy Gay.  Mr. Rudy isn’t exactly who I would have picked for my first honest to goodness celebrity sighting, being from a Lakers family and all.  And he not being someone who my mother who know, I mean, you’re going to brag about seeing someone important, you at least want your mom to know who you’re talking about.  But in Memphis, he’s a pretty big deal.  And being 7 feet tall or whatever he is, he looks every bit the part of someone important.  I immediately went to take a picture of him myself with my phone and then remembered that all I had with me was a credit card and a spray can of green frosting.

When I finally made it out to the car, I informed Brandon that I would have been done a lot sooner if Rudy Gay hadn’t chosen tonight and my Target to do some of his holiday shopping.  I don’t think I even finished speaking before Brandon was out of the car and headed in to hunt him down for himself.

Turns out, Rudy Gay is very involved in a non-profit organization called Memphis Athletic Ministries and had donated $225 gift cards to 100 kids to do some shopping for whatever they needed this holiday season.  And it wasn’t just enough to hand over the money, he wanted to be there with them as they spent it and to ride bikes through the store.

I still wish it had been maybe Justin Timberlake, he’s from Memphis you know, or even a Presley….but seeing an athlete giving back to the children of his community who really need it, well, that worked too.  And this was obviously a lesson that I shouldn’t stay away from Target for so long because who know who else I could be missing!

We Wish You a Merry Christmas – 2012 Holiday Newsletter

With only a few days left in 2012, I think its safe to say that this has been one of my favorite years so far.  It started off with quite a bang and hasn’t really settled down since.  In January, we had just enough time to get the Christmas decorations put away before it was time to celebrate this little girl’s 7th birthday.

And then, just a week after Mattie turned 7, we welcomed Baughman number 5 into the family.  Lila Elizabeth Baughman was born on January 28th.  Just a month into the new year and already life as we knew it changed completely.

Mattie was instantly in love with Lila and took to her right away.  Immediately it was clear that Lila was to be Mattie’s baby and the rest of us could just wait our turn.

Reese, on the other hand, took a good month and a half before he would really touch Lila with more than just a finger tip.  When asked if he wanted to give her a kiss, he would usually respond with, “That’s okay, you go ahead.  Maybe tomorrow.” Tomorrow came around May/June and we haven’t been able to get him to leave her alone since.

Now a family of 5, we decided that it was time to take that Great American Family RoadTrip.  Traveling with two little kids and an infant in an SUV from Memphis to California for a week would be way better than attempting to fly, right?  It seemed like it at a time.  So as soon as Mattie finished up her last day of First Grade, we were off on an adventure that would eventually lead us to Nana and Grandad (Brandon’s parents).

Though there were a few misadventures, a few little hiccups along the way, overall I think we would all say it was probably one of the highlights of our little family so far.  It may sound a little corny, but it was truly magical watching the kids experience new places for the first time.  Doing all these “grown-up” family things and Brandon and I being the grown-ups.  Mattie got to hold a baby alligator, we drove down the strip in Vegas at night (which the kids thought was crazy and couldn’t understand for the life of them what in the world it was all about), Reese saw more Corvettes then he could count and we got to show our children some of the incredible natural wonders that this little country of ours has.  I have to say, it brought a little tear to my eye to take that photo of my babies perched on the edge of a rock at the Grand Canyon.  And then to get to spend a week with Nana, Grandad and Uncle Kris, well that was just wonderful.

 

 

 

We were home just long enough to do some laundry and buy a house, and then we were off to Florida for another little vacation with my parents.

Visiting Daytona – Reese, Poppy and I were thrilled, absolutely giddy!

We celebrated Reese’s 4th birthday at our new house before we even moved in.

Racers start your engines

In August, Mattie started up in 2nd grade.  She is still at her beloved Memphis Junior Academy and we are thrilled that she has the same teacher that she had last year.  She is loving everything about school and has become quite the little book-worm and author.  She still dreams of going off to visit Africa one day and study the lions.  At the moment, when she grows up she wants to be a missionary, a car hop at Sonic, a mom and “a person who goes to zoos and Sea World and tells them they should let the animals go”.  It appears we have an animal rights activist on our hands.  Brandon and I have told her that we will pay for either a wedding or 2 rounds of bail, but not both.

Reese is our spirited handful.  He loves all things cars and engines, including NASCAR and Monster Trucks.  He is ornery as the day is long and funny and charming.  He tells me that when he grows up, he wants to live right next door to me, that way, I won’t miss him too much.  His favorite animal these days is the bat and we ended up getting a zoo pass this year because he enjoys going to the bat house so much.  We even have bats on our Christmas tree this year.

And Lila is just precious.  Its funny to think that this time last year, she wasn’t really even here and now it feels like there was never a time before her.  She is happy and gentle and a mix of both her brother and sister.  She is the missing link between the two of them.  Her older sister’s doll and her big brother’s buddy.  She is crawling all over the place, has 5 teeth and at almost 11 months old, is still only wearing 3-6 month clothes.  She is tiny, but mighty.

Brandon is happy as a clam, loving life as he just started year number 3 at Semmes-Murphy Neurological and Spine Clinic.  Those years of hard work to become Dr. Baughman were definitely worth it, as he loves his job.  We are still really enjoying life here in Memphis.  We have a fantastic little family of friends here that help us out so much, and we need all the help we can get.  It’s great living right here only a few hours from both sets of my parents.  We enjoy our little weekend getaways to the grandparent bed and breakfast.

Visiting the pumpkin patch with Papa and Nene

And me, I can’t complain at all.  Life is good.  Chaotic and I often feel like I’m two steps behind, but overall, my cup runneth over.  We have had our share of frustrations, close calls and tears.  But overall, at the end of the year, what I am remembering is the happy.  The memories we have made, the bonds that have strengthened, we are very blessed.  We wish for you a wonderful holiday and beautiful new year to come.

Love,

The Baughmans

Brandon, Kaylee, Mattie, Reese and Lila

Christmas Letter…..Not Really

I sent out my Christmas cards yesterday.  Instead of a hard copy Christmas letter, I put this little blog’s address inside with promises of a little end of year letter that they could read here.  I haven’t finished said letter quite yet and with pick up from school time fast approaching, I probably won’t get it finished until later tonight.  So if you are here visiting with hopes of a little Baughman year in review….please feel free to look around and read posts from the past…..and check back later this evening.

Thanks and Merry Christmas to All!

A Reminder

I have intended to write for a while now.  Things just kept popping up or Brandon needed to actually use his computer for work-related, paying tasks.  So the blog took a back seat for a bit.  Then Friday rolled around, usually a good evening for blogging and quiet just seemed a better response than me trying to fumble together words.  Sometimes just sitting back and being quiet it better than trying to find words to eloquently express our emotions or sympathies.  I, for one have no idea how those families must be feeling today or 3 days ago when their lives changed forever.  I know how I felt, and still feel, when I think back to August 10th of last year.  That day when we received a phone call from our daughter’s school stating only that there had been an emergency and we needed to come as quickly as we could.  No explanation, no assurance that she was alright or any sort of clue as to what would be waiting for us when we arrived at school.  I know how I felt seeing not one, but what seemed like a sea of emergency vehicles and the police men walking around the school as though they were searching for something.  They were.  I know how I felt when the yellow crime tape started being wrapped around our little elementary school encircling us and we were told by the police that we couldn’t leave.  And I will never forget how it felt when I learned of what sort of horror had happened just two classrooms down from my own little one.  It is scarred in my mind, the drive home, with her sitting quietly in the back seat and me fighting with every ounce on my being to keep the tears at bay until I got home.  And then she said those words that still play back all too frequently and bring with them nightmares, “Mommy, Satan was at my school today.” I asked her how she knew that and immediately pulled the car over as there was no way I could drive now.  She started sobbing, a heart wrenching and terrified sob and she clung to me like she was scared to death of being snatched away.  After she calmed down, I asked again how she knew that, why would she say that Satan was at her school? And she replied, “I could feel him and something very bad happened.” I held her as close as I could without hurting her and told her that yes, something very bad had happened at school that day, but Jesus and His angels were there, too.  And they are stronger and bigger than Satan and his angels, and though bad things happen, right now she was safe.  I couldn’t tell her she would always be safe or that nothing bad would ever happen to her.  And I couldn’t tell her that everyone was safe now, but for the time being, the fact that she was seemed good enough.

I can’t begin to understand the pain and terror and grief, the despair and absolute heartache that the community of Newtown is feeling, because I know that the experience that I had, that only compares to a blink of their experience, was just about too much to bear.

I was going to write about how last Sabbath, the day of Mattie’s big Christmas program, went down as probably one of our roughest parenting days to date.  That it started off with Reese and his pants revolting against one another and him throwing a full-out tantrum because they were touching his skin funny and he refused to put them on.  How Lila couldn’t fit into any of the Christmasy church dresses that I had bought for her.  Well, she fit but she was swimming in them and before even dress number 1 went over her head, she was over the whole clothes thing.  My camera battery was dead on arrival, though I got one shot of a very out-of-place looking Mary Mattie, but at least it was something.  Then before the program even started, Lila got the wiggles and we had to leave the sanctuary.  I went to the Mother’s Room thinking at least we could sit in there and I could see, though probably not hear very well, what was going on.  But when I opened the door, there were toddlers standing on couches and the other mother in the room greeted me with a very jovial, “Come on in, we’re having a party!” Something should really be done about the policies for use of the “quiet room” at church, but we will save that rant for another day.

So it was out to the main lobby for Lila and I.  And my daughters proud moment, my proud moment was missed entirely.

I could go on and tell you about the events that followed, but we will just leave it that there were entirely too many people trying to enjoy a potluck dinner with children who were extremely excited about being with all their little friends during the weekend.  We didn’t end up staying to eat because lines were too long and oh what furious children we had to drag kicking and screaming out to the car.

It was not a day that I care to ever revisit again.

But when I sit down to write about it now, in light of what happened this past Friday morning, it doesn’t seem that bad.  Because come Sunday morning, I got to wake up from my trying day and start all over again with my 3 babies.  That was one of my most challenging days, a real failure as a parent sort of day, but I think God that I had it at all if it meant I had all 3 of my children.

I have been reminded that not only is childhood itself just a blink in time, gone entirely too soon and way before we are ready – but for some, over before it was even finished.  We look at our little ones and imagine what they will be like a few years from now, as teenagers and then adults and parents themselves. But we never look at them and imagine them gone.

I know I’m not the only one out there, but for the past few days and nights, I have held tightly to m y children.  I’ve touched them as much as possible, tracing their little faces as they fall asleep and holding their hands as we walk.  I’ve tried to look directly into their little eyes when they tell me stories, to let them know that they have my full attention and I am listening.  I’ve pulled them close just to memorize their smell and kissed them probably  more than they would prefer.

But as Reese and I were working on some wise men for a nativity set that we have been making, as he was singing “Hark Harold the Angel” (apparently to him, its only the one angel named Harold that gave the tidings of great joy), I was reminded again of the beautiful gift that Christmas is really all about.  No Santa Claus could bring any comfort to mourning parents.  No present or Lexus with a big red bow sitting in the driveway matters at all when your heart is broken.  But a promise that this world is not our home and that death isn’t forever can help a little.  Christmas celebrates the birth of the baby that would grow up to be the man who would take our place.

Light and Life to all He brings

Ris’n with healing in His wings

Mild He lays His glory by

Born that man no more may die

Born to raise the sons of earth

Born to give them second birth

Hark! The herald angels sing

Glory to the newborn King

 

Having Ourselves a Merry Little Christmas

I have lots of things I would like to tell you all about our weekend.  It was jam-packed with Christmas goodness and holiday fun….there were also a few heaping handfuls of thoughts of putting the kids up for sale on Craigslist, but mostly…..it was that cheery goodness.

Thursday, while driving to pick up Mattie from school, Reese and I heard a commercial on the radio for a Living Nativity being presented at one of our local mega Baptist churches.  They are a pretty popular thing here where we live, mega churches, not Living Nativities.  Anyway, since Reese is on fire for anything Christmas, he insisted that we check it out on the “cocomputer” as soon as we got home.  Let me just stop for a minute here and say that ever since I have had kid, I have scoured my community for festive and if possible free activities for us to do as a family to get in the Christmas spirit.  Many of these attempts have failed miserably.  Last year, I heard about an animal safari drive thru park thing about an hour from us that was supposed to be the next best thing to actually being at the stable in Bethlehem.  They bragged about their menagerie of animals and the light displays.  A little slice of heaven on earth.  We were so in.

We loaded up the kids, got all bundled up for our thrilling yule-tide adventure and made the journey down I-40.  What seemed like 5 hours later, we pulled into a town that seemed to have been forgotten a few years ago.  Far off in the distance you could see a jagged row of Christmas lights that abruptly started in what seemed like a sea of darkness and just as quickly ended.  There were 3 buildings traced with lights and one or two mystery forms, also covered in lights.  I hung my head in shame even before we pulled in.  I could tell they had  exaggerated just a touch on their website.  The actual animal park was closed because it was already sundown.  This made total sense, but at the same time, why would you advertise being open until 9 if 3/4 of the attractions weren’t going to be available after dark?  So we paid the man, drove the gate, parked pretty much by ourselves and walked into the darkness.  Turns out they were totally telling the truth about having all the animals that may have been in the stable with Jesus when He was born.  But I think my family would have enjoyed them a whole lot more if we hadn’t had to guess what animal they were by touch.  There were hardly any lights on in their petting zoo area, which added a slightly terrifying element to the whole thing.  Are the goats coming towards me?  I really don’t know.  They seem to be able to see me, but I can’t see me.  What in the world just touched my hair? Something is eating my hair and pulling my into its lair.  That turned out to be a camel that was especially taken with me.  After we caught Reese being preyed upon by sheep and Mattie asking if this was a bad dream, we decided it might be time to go check things out in the farm barn.  And that’s when the whole thing went to a little odd to down right horrifying.

First, we know how I feel about roving reptiles back from the birth of this blog, when I documented that day at the alligator farm in Colorado back in May.  So, it obviously did nothing to ease my already shaky psyche to walk into the barn and there was a huge turtle pit.  Luckily, there was also a little gift shop areas right off to the right and if I kept my eyes on the dusty t-shirts and parrot head whistles, I didn’t notice it so bad.  Once past the pit of horror, we saw aquariums boasting other reptilian creatures and off in the corner near me was a cute little santa display with what looked like an animated Santa.  This made sense seeing as since we had arrived we had encountered about 3 other people, so to have an actual person dressed as Santa waiting for kids to come and see him just seemed like a waste of time.  Brandon took the kids to check out the snakes and lizards and such and I continued to peruse the treasures at the little gift shop.  It was about that time that the santa statue spoke to me.   It was very quiet in the barn, my back was to him and then I heard a thin voice say, “Not much of a reptile fan, huh?” I was very tempted to say, “Well, you’re Santa, shouldn’t you know the answer to that?” But it didn’t seem appropriate……probably because as I turned around and really took a good look at Santa, I discovered that he was actually not a robot but instead, was a paraplegic man propped up in a Santa throne. He’s body very poorly arranged so that it looked incredibly unnatural and his legs were at an angle that made them look like they were growing out of his belly.  I don’t mean to be in any way disrespectful to this man, but I can’t imagine having kids crawl all over someone who can’t feel them or help lift them up and down or anything.  And there wasn’t anyone else around to help him or the kids, no one dressed as a friendly elf to assist the poor defenseless Santa.  I’m sure I stood there and stared and I am so ashamed for that, but at the same time….can you imagine?  It was at that moment that I truly felt I was on some sort of practical joke tv special.  I mean, here I was trapped between a turtle pit and a paralyzed santa asking me questions about reptiles.

We haven’t spoken of that day since.  I have wondered though if it will become one of those memories that years from now, maybe the night before Mattie gets married or something when she and Reese are lying down outside in their playhouse one last time, they will say to one another, “Do you remember that one Christmas when we went to that scary farm and mom almost got beheaded by the camel.  And there were no lights, really just enough to see the fear in the air?” At least I shaped another bond for the two of them to share, you can never have enough of those.

So anyway, as I was saying, my track record is a little marred.

But this event ended up being incredible.

We arrived to a happy crew of church folk that whisked us away to their lovely church lobby where they showered us with cookies.  Not really but close.  After our little treat, they led us to an area that was all set up for a complimentary family portrait.  This was not exactly our finest family photo, but we are all in it and that is saying something.  And then it was off to the bustling village of Bethlehem.  Online, it was described as a stroll through Bethlehem’s crafters and vendors, which I was sort of imagining to mean they would be selling modern down Christmas flair while wearing bible-time outfits.  I was very wrong.  There were shepherds roaming with sheep and goats (on leashes) that the kids could pet and see, which is always a nice plus when interacting with animals. There was a whole little village set up in the parking lot with different craft booths where the kids could practice their weaving, candle making and greek writing skills.  Cider, hot chocolate, and water were freely available and the kids loved the huge fire pits were more “shepherds” were popping giant vats of popcorn.  I think they could have been perfectly happy to hang out there all evening.  Oh, and we also went and signed the census and paid our taxes using chocolate money.  I wish all taxes could be paid with chocolate.  And while all this fun was going on, every 30 minutes there would be a showing of the Live Nativity in this fabulous circus tent.

It wasn’t a particularly showy production.  There were live camels, which is a bit more than I can say for what our church will be using as props in our Christmas service, but still…..Very simple.  Just a narrator, an angel that visits Mary, same angel visits Joseph and next scene they are in a stable.  A large crowd of townspeople walks by, a tied up donkey gets extremely vocal for about 3 minutes and Mary gets so tickled she starts to cry a little bit.  Then the angel comes and speaks to the shepherds, little boy shepherd’s sheep on a leash ties him up with the leash while the boy is trying to look scared of the angel and a friend has to detangle him.  And then the best part, little kiddies dressed as angels come out and hold hands and dance in a circle around the new little family.  I’ve mentioned before that I have a high swinging pendulum, so you can only imagine how sweet babies dressed like the angels we wish they always were skip in a circle singing about this precious baby born to save us.  Gets me every time and I love every minute of it.

And with that, we were on our way home.  Probably one of my favorite Christmas memories of my little family thus far.  It was simple and precious and a reminder of what we are really celebrating this year.  Why in the world do I need to be rushing all over the place, buying all these things and getting all stressed out – when the most precious gift has already been given to me and my family.  It’s a simple story, but a beautiful one and driving home, I felt like for the first time in a long time, I really had the Christmas spirit.  It’s not about the gifts I’m giving but about the gift I have been given.  It’s not about whether I’ve been naughty or nice, because He gives the same gift to everyone, repeatedly, regardless of our actions.

My kids were best friends that night and they snuggled with each other.  It was our own little silent night, holy night and all was calm and all was bright.  And I am so grateful that we had that experience because the next day, well, the grinch stole our christmas……….

Some Times I Feel Like a Parent

Well, she’s been gone now since Saturday and I am hoping that Elizabeth has made it to the American Girl Doll Hospital.  It’s very tempting to call there and casually ask if she has been admitted.  I don’t know if I would get the giggles or feel somewhat shameful calling a pretend hospital to check on the status on my daughter’s doll. I’m not really sure what I would say, “Hello my name is Kaylee Baughman.  I’m calling about a doll that should have arrived on Tuesday named Elizabeth.  She has terrible hair and was naked, do you know who I’m talking about?  I just wanted to make sure she made it there okay and that you have her correct head in stock.” So because I feel like that would be a really odd conversation to have, I am refraining from contacting them.  Instead, I am secretly putting Eliabeth in my daily prayers.  That sort of makes me feel even sillier, that I am praying that a doll returns to us okay. But hey, I believe in a God who cares about whatever is on our hearts and  right now, a gnarly-haired doll is on my girl’s heart so I believe He cares about that, too.

In other news, I had a moment Thursday that really made me feel like a parent.  I have had a few of those now in my life, being a mother of 3 and all.  But this one, just seeing it written down on my calendar kind of made me want to roll my eyes a little at how stereotypical it sounded…..but at the same time, it made me cringe because of how old it made my child sound.

I don’t recall feeling much like a parent when they let us take Mattie home from the hospital.  Oh we were plenty excited about her and all that good stuff, but did I feel like her mom…not really.  I remember feeling extremely out-of-place the first time we took her to her pediatrician, like they were going to know that we didn’t belong there or something.  Funny thing, when the nurse called her name on that first visit, Brandon and I both just sat there.  I knew I was Kaylee Baughman and he knew he was Brandon Baughman, but we didn’t know a Mattison Baughman.  After she stood right next to us, put her hand on my shoulder and said the baby’s name again, it all kind of clicked.

I felt like a parent when I had to drop her off that first day when I went back to work, not because I felt really responsible or anything like that, but because a part of me felt naked and vulnerable with her away from me.  I guess after wearing her inside of me for 9 months and then being at home with her in hibernation mode, it just felt unnatural for her not to be with me.

I felt like a parent when I was scouting out daycare centers to put her in when Grandma and Grandpa weren’t watching her anymore.  And especially after we selected one and I had a special code to enter to get in the door every day to pick her up and drop her off.

I felt like a parent when I first took her to Sabbath School and sat with her in my lap singing all the little songs and going up to put felts on the board or take her turn riding in the mission boat.  That’s the type of thing that a good parent does, right?  Takes their kid to church and reads to them about Jesus.  I have been in that same Sabbath School class for almost 8 years now.  Every time one of my children graduates out of it, I birth another one.

I felt like a parent when I went to Mattie’s first dance recital.  That seemed very much like a parenty thing to do.  “Sorry, we won’t make it to your graduation, Mattie has her dance recital.” Very something you hear people with children say.

I felt like a parent when I dropped the girl off at Kindergarten the first time and when I sat in my first Parent-Teacher conference.

I felt very much like a parent this summer when I stood outside the joyous gates of Disney World and Purchased 2 children’s tickets.

And I felt very much like a parent Thursday when I took Mattie to her very first orthodontic appointment.  That’s the type of appointment that seems a million miles away when you first bring that little person into the world.  Right up there with learning to drive and dating.  Things that you know will be coming and are a sort of rite of passage, but still very far off in the distance.  But there it was written on my day planner for yesterday “Mattie ortho consult”.  And so we went.  The office people were especially kind and lovely to us.  And my tiny girl climbed up there and opened her even tinier little mouth, showing off her crazy teeth.  I grinned at her and told her how exciting this all was, the whole time thinking I’m not ready for this.

And thankfully, the good Dr. Wilkinson (voted Memphis’s number 1 pediatric dentist and orthodontist) patted my tiny girl on the shoulder and said she wasn’t ready either.  Give it a little more time and let her mouth continue to grow a little bit more and those teeth were going to do a lot of their correcting themselves.

This got me thinking about #2….that Reese.

He is very crooked and crazy right now.  Cute as a button and the best little snuggler, but as far as obedience and self-control and just general behavior go….he’s just as schnaggly as Mattie’s teeth.

But with a little more time and a little more growth….I imagine that the same will be true for him.  A lot of that correcting will happen on its own.

I was reminded of just how young and small and immature he still is as I was snuggling him while waiting for his tub to fill up tonight. I can still hold him easily and there just really isn’t much to him once you have him stripped down.  The hair and chubby cheeks are deceptive, but really he’s no bigger than a minute.

He’s still just a pocket sized person

And again, I was reminded that I am a parent.

Also, before you say it to yourselves, I realized about halfway through my day that the sleeves on my shirt look a lot of Cam from Modern Family.  And I am okay with that.