Two Much Goodness at Once

Welcome to GladiTuesday/November's Edition of 10 on the 10th. Thank you, Mer, once again for such a great bloggy idea. I thought I would do a 10 on the 10th GladiTuesday mash up because I like Glee, and because I just wanted to.

So here goes: My Top 10 Christmas Songs Which Make Me Glad (in no particular order)

1. Oh Holy Night: A friend of mine sings this at our church almost every year, and he does such an outstanding job. Part of it could be that he's just such a godly, incredible man. But he's got some pipes, too. Goosebumps. The song, itself is just amazing. Heart rending.
2. Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth: Bing Crosby and David Bowie. I first saw this on a Christmas special in 1977, I think, not long before Bing died. Thought it was great in 3rd grade, and lurve it muchly today.
3. Sleighride/Winter Wonderland: Dolly-medley style. (okay, that's 2 songs, but I'm counting them as one because it's my blog and i can. :))
4. I'll Be Home For Christmas: Bing Crosby
5. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas: Judy Garland
6. Hark the Herald Angels Sing: Peanuts Style.
7. Shine on Us: Michael W. Smith. We light our candles to this song each year at church, on Christmas Eve. Gorgeous, gorgeous song.
8. How Many Kings: Downhere. I adore this song, and am fortunate that my local radio station plays it fairly much year round.
9. Santa Baby: Eartha Kitt (because as good as we try to be...don't we all lurve presents??? Especially something from Tiffany?)
10. You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch: Thurl Ravenscroft

Runners up: Merry Christmas Darling (The Carpenters), and The Christmas Song (Nat King Cole)

And because I'm so gladdy about Christmas, I'll give you my top 5 must see specials:

1. A Charlie Brown Christmas
2. How the Grinch Stole Christmas
3. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Burl Ives wins my heart every year)
4. It's a Wonderful Life
5. Love Actually (not really a special, but a great--if naughty--movie)

Favorite song or must-see for you?

Catching Up with Greth

You might be asking yourself, "So, Greth, you've caught us up on all your childhood lore, but what have you been up to lately?". To which I would answer (my dad's recurrent bad joke): "Oh, about 5'6".

Rimshot pls.

I'll be here all week.

I've been up to lots of things...mostly trying to wrap myself around the fact that Christmas will be here before we know it. That Thanksgiving is merely two shakes of a lamb's tail away, and I'm just now putting away my Halloween decorations. As in...just walked down out of the attic about 10 seconds ago. And don't worry. I put the flashlight away...just in case we lose power or have another one of these in our state.

Just an aside: We don't do severe thunderstorms and tornadoes in Seattle. Or in Western Washington. Ever. They just don't happen. Good thing I had my CO training for what to do (a.k.a. watch TV or try to watch the skies--never run for shelter). Earthquakes: check. Rain: double check. But even our rain is typically thunderless. Funnel clouds: nope.

I'm trying to wrap my mind around enjoying each holiday for all that it is, while not attaching baggage to what it "should be". Thanksgiving will be easier, since I'll be exhausted from our Christmas play rehearsal--I won't be able to stress much. And we'll be here...just our 4-pack, with any "orphans" from church who want to come and over-eat and play Wii.

But this will be our first Christmas away from our home in probably 7 or 8 years. We're going back because it's just time. Big and I have always said that Santa comes here. Period. Anyone is welcome to join in the reindeer games and stay, but after bumping along to 3 or 4 different homes on Christmas in our early marriage and feeling like there was no holiday in the holiday, we decided to stop that madness. However, folks do age, and Santa is still celebrated, but less anticipated, if you know what I mean. And travel around the holidays becomes less attractive to folks with mobility issues. Which means that other folks (meaning: our family) need to bend. Gosh, that's hard. I wish it weren't. I'll take easy bending for $200, Alex. I wish I was so involved in being Christ-like at Christmas that I didn't care about having the holiday here. In my house. My way. With our traditions. And on our schedule. Feels like a lot of "me", "my" and "our" there. Ouch. So, bend I will, Yoda. As will my fam. Especially my son, Rigid David, who, in no uncertain terms has let us know that he would prefer to be home for Christmas (again, and again, and again). BTW, if you think I'm mean for name-calling, I am. But we all joke about our collective family rigidity. The apple hasn't fallen far from the tree. But he takes after his father. Nonetheless, we all have to get over ourselves and grow up a bit.

If God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him would have eternal life, I can step up and give a holiday.

But only in His grace. Oh, how i need His grace.

Anyhoo...What've you been up to lately?

OH! I almost forgot. I'm also about 1/4 way thru my first knitting-in-the-round (also known as hell on earth because I don't have 4 hands) project. I know you were worried. I'll post pictures when I'm finished.

OH! I almost also forgot. I'm growing my first avocado from seed, and it's actually in a pot! Woo hoo. And why I care about this, I'll never know. I just do. Giddy, in fact. I feel like Tom Hanks' character in "Castaway" when he made fire.

Okay. That is all.

Betcha Didn't Know!

Well, I need to thank Miss Amber, because I haven't had a good excuse to talk about myself or state my opinion in at least 8 hours. And I needed more of me. Hoping you do, too. :)

We'll call this one the "Gretchen's Wacky Childhood" edition of Betcha Didn't Know (BDK):

BDK: That when I was 3 or 4 (the perfect age for the responsibilities of owning a pet) I had two little, sweet, mini turtles. One was Tommy and the other was Tessie. You probably also didn't know that I was a curious child, and an orally fixated one, as well. I wondered why Tommy's (or Tessie's, it doesn't matter now) head kept going in and out and in and out and in and out. And so I bit his little head off. Fortunately, my mother lived for at least 25 years after seeing his little body in one hand and his head in the other. The shock might've killed those of lesser stamina. Our conversation is emblazoned in my memory:

Mom: What are you doing, Gretchen? What do you have in your hand.

Me: I bit the head off the turtle, Mommy.

Mom: Don't be silly, Sweetie. That's Tommy (or Tessie) right there in your hand.

Me: (opening the other hand) See?

Mom: Horrification crosses her face, and she shouts for my father.

BDK: That when I was 10 or 11, I took an emory board and filed down my teeth. Suddenly I feel like whinnying or something. But I digress. Anyway...I didn't like the ridges on the bottom of my top incisors, nor the top of my bottom incisors, so I stood and filed away. Funny thing. I've now got horribly damaged teeth. They are weak and short, and last week, I was chastened for not wearing my bite guard b/c my teeth "are getting shorter by the minute". When I asked, "Well, do we need to lengthen them?" I was told that for the low, low price of 3 mortgage payments, I could have 4-6 new veneers. Sigh. And I must, must, must be compliant with a night guard with veneers, or I'll pop them off. Swell. So kids, to coin a phrase from a wise friend, today's Ranger Rick Safety Tip: Do Not File Your Teeth (you idiot children). Donations to the Gretchen Was Stupid When She Was 11, But She's Less Dim Now and Wants New Teeth will be accepted in any form. ;)

BDK: That I bit my nails incessantly until I was 19. I have no idea why i stopped. I shouldn't have, really, because they are much less caloric than anything else I could chew, and for the last 21 years, I haven't been able to grow my nails past the edge of my fingers, anyway.

BDK: That I am plugging away at the Bible, trying to finish every last word. Currently, I'm on Ezekiel. I haven't read it entirely in order, cover to cover, but for the most part, I'm trying to; however. Would like to say that I'm glad that God didn't choose me to be a prophet back then. Our God is so big, so mighty, and so sovereign. I'm delighted that I am rediscovering this with every word. And I'm also trying to let go of the guilt for not keeping up with this at an earlier time.

BDK: That if I wasn't an ex-speech therapist and SAHM, I'd be a neurologist or a Broadway stage wannabe. Or...a quilt store owner.

GladiTuesday

Howdy! I always look forward to Tuesdays...seems sometimes they are the only day which has me blogging. Trying to find that balance between saying something meaningful on some level (even if that level is silly and goofy) and just writing to write so I'll receive some comments. I don't believe anyone who says they don't write, at least in some small part, to receive comments. :) With that weird intro, I'll get on to my gladdies of the week.

As I've written today's post, it's gotten so long that I'll just stop at one gladdy. It has to do with my daughter.

I am glad for a pillow talk routine my daughter and I can both live with. I know I ended that sentence incorrectly for writing. But it's okay for the way I talk. And since we're all just chatting here...Oh? The point? The point is, I am not a night owl. And for years, I've lived by the axiom that by 7:30, all children should be put away for the evenings, so that parenting can commence in the morning. However, now that my children are older, I blame well meaning folks, like my church, for having activities beyond that hour of the evening. By 10 pm, I turn into a pumpkin, and my daughter doesn't realize this. She wants to talk and talk and talk and talk at our tuck in time, and I have found myself resentful and doing things like praying fast, kissing her and running out the door because I want to get to bed. Mature, huh? And selfless, too.

The trouble is. I know this is wrong. I know that even though she has numerous opportunities to chat with me during the after school ride home--we are usually 1:1--and the early evening. This simply isn't enough for her right now. She needs more. And I need to meet those needs, but also have some boundaries (Oh, just as a parenthetical aside, boundaries are relatively new to me--I've just learned about them in the last 5 years, so I'm not an expert--thank God for Cloud and Townsend) for myself so that I don't feel resentful.

I know you're dying to know what we did to resolve this situation. And so far, it IS working beautifully, if I say so myself.

I finally asked my dtr to help me help her. We prayed. And then, I asked her to forgive me for my bolting behaviors, and to help me come up with something that we could both live with at bed time. I told her that I loved her so much, but that by 9:00 I had a hard time wanting to be a patient listener, simply because my day was so close to being over, and my ears and body were tired. I also told her that I wanted to hear all that was on her heart because I remember what it felt like to be a middle schooler. Thankfully, she's a forgiving daughter (in between being 11 and all), and quite smart, so this plan is mainly hers. I agreed to it, and bedtimes are still a longer process than I'd prefer, but much more "reasonable". She gets heard, and I get to go to bed.

Our plan is simple: I to come into her room, and rather than starting to pray and tuck right away, I'm to ask if there's anything on her mind and give adequate pause time for her response. No toe tapping or clock watching allowed. Then, after she has shared, and I have listened, we can tuck in and pray. If she says, "Hey Mom..." as I leave the room, I have the freedom to say, "Unless it's an emergency, you'll have to wait until the morning, Sweetie.".

So that's what I'm glad about today. In case you were wondering. ;)

Cliche: "It goes so fast". Truth: "It goes so fast".

David 1st grade. Jenny Pre-K.I've been looking through a lot of old memorabilia lately, as I try to clean and organize all our pictures and junk that needs to be scrapped (in a book), or s.c.r.a.p.p.e.d (into the trash). I know I have many parenting years ahead of me. Possibly the hardest? Who knows? Those sleepless infant nights were no picnic. And I'm sure the sleepless "he's got the car tonight" nights will also be hard. But the in-between times. Those times between correcting, rebuking, and all the "chore" parts--priceless. Times like:

• pumpkin carving
• watching TV shows together in our big blue bed (yes, at 11 and 13, we still call it this)
• listening to stories as mom reads aloud
• listening as a disappointed 11 year old girl pours out her heart about the trials of middle school
• listening to an elated 11 year old girl's stories of faith and fun as we drive home from camp
• listening (in the van, again) and discussing bass line rhythms in music with my teenage son
• watching my husband speak ever so gently to my kids when I can't seem to find my nice words
• praying over each kid as they head out of the van and into school--that they be salt and light and Jesus in skin. That they be safe and bless others and what He would have them learn
• eating our Friday night pizza together (and anything else--especially brownies, cookies, donuts, etc).
• going to the gym and working out with my son--who does his best, even though it's hard to make his body go exactly how and where he wants it to go.
• appreciating my daughter's most excellent effort at math--a subject that really should not be included in heaven. Just sayin.
• wondering...just where in the world all the time has gone.

And I'm finding...even those hard times. The correcting and rebuking and dealing with eye-rolling times? They go fast, too. Note to self: Praise loudly, and blame softly.

GladiTuesday

Howdy! I hope this week has started off well for you, and if it has been a bumpy one, I pray that you'll be given some peace and grace. Here are some gladdies that came to mind this week:

1. Ten years ago this month, my husband and I embarked on an stupid amazing adventure. We decided to do a home exchange with another couple between our home in Castle Rock, CO and their home in Oisterwijk, The Netherlands. However, we seemed to forget that we were married with 2 little kids. Be that as it may, we headed for Holland, and spent about 2 weeks, living in someone else's home, driving their car, and riding their bikes. I will not lie: there were times when I was so homesick, I wanted to fly home that day--mostly because of the comforts and familiarity for the babies. And, it got a little old always looking for the kid side of these charming European towns. My mindset hadn't fully changed from that of young married traveler to young married traveler with 2 children, 2 large suitcases, 2 car seats, 1 stroller, and carry-on baggage. You understand. When all was said and done though...it was worth it, and I'd do it again. The fond memories of these babies so small makes me glad. And a wee bit sad. If you're wondering why I'm lying down...Well, the camera's timer only had so much time--10 sec?--and I had to fly back to the brick wall and hurl myself into position. That is as far as I got.

2. Glad that Christmas is less than 2 months away! Woo hoo. I'm a counter downer, and the count down is officially ON! :) What better time to get ye to amazon.com or cbd.com and order ye yer newest work from our friend John, c/o The Dirty Shame. Also...please always remember and don't ever forget--he's having weekly drawings over at his site. Go! And tell all your friends. Please.

3. Glad for our play rehearsal for our Christmas Dessert Theater. We're at that time when none of us can believe it will actually materialize into a play, but it will.

4. Glad that the rain stopped today--after downpouring on and off for a couple of days--and I could walk the hounds. Further glad that I saw my most excellent friend whilst walking the dogs and caught up with her for a few minutes.

5. Glad no one got anything of real value when pilfering through Big's car last night. We have a house alarm, but it's always scary to know that someone is outside your house, messing around. We do lock our cars fairly religiously--I think perhaps one of the kids or one of us went back into the car to get something and forgot to lock it. Here's an object lesson in taking care of what we have and in forgiving others.

6. Glad for a nice Sunday night. Big and I took the kids to a jewelry store to find a gift for his mom. We found a piece which celebrates all 3 of her grandchildren, and I think she'll be pleased. Then we all went to the Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner, and browsing at Barnes and Noble and Old Navy after dinner. Well, the girls walked over to ON. The boys stuck to the books. Actually let David skip his church service for the first time in a while. Since he observed the morning service (learning about running the media), I didn't feel too guilty. ;) Sometimes, it's just nice to relax together.

7. Glad for a new DVD player for our bedroom. Yes, we watch TV and DVDs in bed. Haters to the left and judgers to the right, please. For the grand total of $40.00, we have movies again! Our portable DVD player was serving as our 2ndary DVD player, and it finally bit the dust.

8. Oh, so gladdy for my Friday morning Bible study time with my wonderful friend, V.

9. Even tho I'm a bit saddy about not being here for Christmas, I'm gladdy about Thanksgiving here at home. Trying to think of some fun ideas and new traditions for our family for both holidays. This is such a great time of year to craft, plan, and scheme. Even if nothing comes of the planning. It's just fun to look at pictures and ideas and...and...

10. Glad I am finished with 1 of 3 gym work outs this week. It's a start, anyway. David and i are signed up for an appt with a personal trainer on Wednesday a.m. We'll covet your prayers. She's half price this week. Wonder how we'll do. I count it as joy that her name isn't Nadia.

Let the Wild Rumpus Start

I got that title from my friend, Cheryl. Her 5 year old daughter, Sydney (a.k.a. Scout) is randomly saying that about the house these days. And I know this information because I happened to read Cheryl's Random Tuesday Questions. On a Thursday evening.

Don't we need a little light and fluffy right now? I thought so, too, so I'm stealing her meme, changing the Random Tuesday to Random Thursday, and going with it.

I'm not normally this laid-back about things. But this is how I'm rolling today. Please feel free to join in on your blog or in my comments. Or not. It's really your call. See? Flexible again.

Random Tuesday Thursday Questions:

1. What's the last state you visited other than your own? I'll go ahead and write this one in a super small font, so as not to "lollybrag" (thank you Tiff). Maui, HI (last February).

2. What's your middle name? Jane, after my mom. Incidentally, my Grum is Phyllis Jane and my grandpa was Guy Christopher. Doing the middle name mash, they came up with Jane Christine. A pretty name, I think. And she (my mom) went by Janie when she was really young. And since I'm on this tangent, I'll say that I have a Jenny, and I always thought it was cool that her Grandmas were Ginny and Jan(ie), respectively.

3. What is something you don't like...even though everyone else seems to? Hmm...(first, I'll tell Cheryl that we can still be friends, even though she doesn't like Grey's Anatomy) I don't care for much of anything in the way of homecaring tasks. I read some blogs and really feel like folks get into making a home. I like the fun part of this (e.g. candles and decorating), but if I could give up meal planning, grocery shopping, cooking, and making dinners, I would. I dearly love making breakfast, but dinner is not my thing. I also TRY to be a good sport about it, but I really don't care too much about our local college football teams. Holler if I have any friends left.

4. What's the first costume you remember dressing up in for Halloween? I remember dressing as a ghost with a witch's mask. I was sick, and I vaguely remember my Grum coming over to my house to cheer me up. Apparently I was quite the crabby 3 year old. Very much remember the gypsy I dressed as for Halloween of 3rd grade. Fun getting all my mom's makeup put on and getting to wear big hoop earrings.

5. Have you ever played a sport? My nickname is Grace, because I tend to have none. But I had enough to play goalie on a soccer team for several seasons. And I did try basketball in t5th and 6th grades. Nothing in HS, though. I think I.just.knew.

6. What is a talent you have that people might not know about? I have no hidden talents, are you kidding me?! I tell everyone what I can do, for I need words of affirmation. One talent that I have that might surprise CPQ Meredith folks is that I'm a pretty organized administrator. Ahem. Well, I am. It's a splinter skill. One semi-talent is that I like to do accents and dialects.

7. What's the last thing that made you laugh out loud? Seeing a Youtube spot with a comedienne talking about her nail salon.

8. Are you an oldest, middle, or youngest child? I'm the oldest living child (raised as an only) of my mom and dad's, but the oldest of 3 living children of my dad's. I fit the only stereotype, as well as the oldest stereotype. Basically, I'm bossy and insecure. ;)

9. What's the best thing you've had someone say to you lately? Trite as it may sound, hearing my husband and kids tell me they love me--even in a quick g'bye is precious to my ears. One of the nicest things I've heard in the last week is when a friend gave me a hug and told me how I was the perfect mother for my kids. I paid her well, but it was worth it.

10. What are you wearing right now? Blue jeans which somehow have s.h.r.u.n.k. despite my working out...a grey sweater, beige bra and panties (boring! but NO holes!!!), glasses, wedding ring, R hand ring, 18" necklace, grey (fake) pearl earrings, and a winning smile.