My Time Warp
Friday, December 31, 2010
I haven’t looked at my blog stats in months, and frankly, I’m scared to look. How long has it been since I’ve posted? If writing regularly is a major factor that keeps blog readers, well, then I expect to have only a handful of readers remaining. Alas, I have been sucked into the time warp that is the end of November to the end of January for me. It begins with Thanksgiving and tapers off with Matt’s birthday, which is the middle of January. Sandwiched in between is our anniversary--we just celebrated our eighth; Christmas, and we all know what that entails; Brennan’s birthday—my boy will be two!; and Matt’s birthday. Time warp indeed. Despite the to-dos which accompany each of those special events, there are additional projects that I’m trying to finish up before too much time escapes me (like getting Brennan’s big boy room ready). But I need a serious jolt of extra motivation. Extra energy. I do not have either right now. The irony of desperately needing those two things is cruel. Creative juices are at a standstill; it’s taken everything I’ve got to start this blog post which will be filled with special moments I want to remember, albeit somewhat mundane. So in as concise a form as possible, here are a few remembrances:
- On December 7th, my handsome boy and I ventured to the Austin Zoo for the first time. It was a really cold day; in fact, my precious one needed a heavier coat than the one he was wearing. We were pretty much the only ones there it was so cold. The Austin Zoo isn’t much to speak of; it’s more an animal sanctuary. I now know why my friend Marla didn’t make Austin a stop on her zoo trip <grin>. But we had a great time. The lions we saw were eager to get back into their inside cages that were being cleaned, and they stood up on their hind haunches pawing (a.k.a. knocking) on the door. Since then, Brennan not only thinks lions roar, but he says “knock” every time we talk about lions. He loved the random kitty walking around and avoided the roosters. He was a brave boy and fed food to a deer. Every time we talk about deer, he holds out his hand. Chick-fil-A was our afterward treat.
- This is Evan, our neighbor friend. Brennan LOVES playing with Evan and our other neighbor buddy, Alex. This photo is commemorative because it marks the first time (after a couple of weeks) that Evan drove his Jeep and the first time Brennan wasn’t scared to ride as a passenger.
- The week of December 15th, Brennan and I took a road trip to north Texas to visit our beloveds, Chris, Jill, Harrison and Haddie. Upon our arrival, Jill took the kiddos to the doctor and discovered both of them had strep throat. Sadly, very sadly, we had to forego our visit and missed Harrison playing Joseph in his school pageant. Brennan and I made the best out of a sad situation and found a hotel in Frisco to crash for the night. (I know a handful of you up in Dallas are probably going, “Why didn’t you call us!”, but it was so much easier at the time of day we were dealing with this to do what we did.) We enjoyed a cozy date eating Mexican food at La Hacienda enjoying the festive Christmas decorations. The next day we were able at the last minute to set something up and meet our friends Lindsey, Gibson and Ainsley at the Dallas Arboretum. That place is SOOOO cool! I didn’t have opportunity to explore most of the grounds because Brennan was enthralled with the Texas Pioneer settlements. And our visit with Lindsey and the kiddos was a most special visit. God knew we needed to see each other that day.
Look closely at this picture. Brennan did not want to leave it.
Making “cookies” and “cakes”—one of our favorite things to do at parks with rocks and mulch.
“Mommy, come.”
- The Friday after we returned from Dallas, I had tons to do to get ready for our early Christmas celebration with Pops and Meems that weekend. By the way, Meems’ name has progressed to “Mees”, which is how Brennan says it. It’s likely gonna stick. In between the to-dos, Brennan and I enjoyed a full day in our PJs and played off and on. For a solid hour, he and Molly crawled up into bed with me and Brennan would bring me book after book to read to him. This was the aftermath:
- Our early Christmas celebration weekend with Pops and Mees was awesome! They arrived in time for lunch on Saturday and then we all rested. After we woke up, we went through our stockings and opened presents. It was so good to spread out Christmas and opening packages; it would have been really overwhelming otherwise. Brennan is enthralled with his new train set and the miniature Cars characters that came with a book Pops and Mees gave him. Since we spent Christmas in Virginia this year with Matt’s family, we have yet to really play with anything else. Brennan’s “Thomas the Train” engine is a fixed appendage to him. My parents had my special necklace of Gaga’s fixed since the chain broke and parts of it needed to be rebuilt. I also received Gaga’s tea set that we used for our tea parties when I was a little girl. The set was her mother’s and grandmother’s—my great, great grandmother’s! It’s lovely and oh so delicate. We grabbed an early dinner from Chuy’s. Have I told y'all yet that Brennan eats a whole bowl of creamy jalapeno with chips by himself, and then he’ll eat a bean burrito with enchilada sauce?! He also loves the pico de gallo. What a Texan! After dinner, we drove around looking at Christmas lights.
Playing Christmas carols.
- The three of us spontaneously went to see Toy Story 3 at the dollar theater. Brennan sat mesmerized through the whole thing again and loved the popcorn. Since seeing the movie, he’s been more open to wearing and playing with his cowboy hat like Woody.
- To celebrate our eighth anniversary, we postponed our night out because Brennan was running a high fever, and we opted for a quiet, restful night at home with pizza and a movie. Being the old folks that we are, that happened to be the much better option.
- On their way up to Dallas, Pops and Mees stopped by to give Brennan his Christmas gift that arrived in the nick of time: a pickup truck! True Texan indeed!
He really was a lot happier than this picture indicates.
Here, this one is better:
We left for Virginia on the 23rd and I’ll save a Christmas post run-down for another time. But I leave you with a glimpse:
I still have another few weeks of being stuck in the time warp, but until next time, I wish you a Happy New Year! As we all face both the peaks and valleys of 2011, my prayer is that we would have an ever-growing love and trust for the One who knows us intimately, loves us deeply, provides for all of our needs, and suffered just as we suffer, offering us hope, victory, and the blessing of new beginnings. May we see Jesus this coming year and behold Him in the depth and richness of who He is fully. Love to each of you, dear ones.
Simply trusting,
I'm so glad to see you, my bloggy friend! The pictures of Brennan are precious! How can he be almost two?! Happy New Year!
Posted by: Tater Mama | Saturday, January 01, 2011 at 09:37 AM
I am so glad to see you back!
Posted by: Sara Allen | Saturday, January 01, 2011 at 10:14 AM
Meg, I totally understand! I've completely ignored the whole blog world since August even though I have things mulling around in my head I want to write about! Maybe I'll make it a goal this year! I love the pics and the recap! Happy New Year sweet friend!
Posted by: heather b | Saturday, January 01, 2011 at 10:36 AM
great pictures. Oh and that blue heeler makes me miss my old Sadie so much. I have a red one now.
glad your holiday was good to you.
Posted by: Sharon O | Saturday, January 01, 2011 at 04:27 PM
Thanks for posting...I can't imagine what it is like to run a blog...you do a GREAT job! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Posted by: Katie | Saturday, January 01, 2011 at 07:39 PM
I know what you mean about it being a crazy time of year! How cute is that pickup truck!!?!? Happy New Year!
Posted by: Christina | Monday, January 03, 2011 at 10:40 AM