Christmas Tree Disappointment

Jackson started asking on Thursday when we could put up the tree. We usually put it up right after my birthday (which was Wednesday) so he was right on track. But Thursday we had Steven's last basketball game and Jackson's karate promotion so I said maybe Friday. Friday Steven had a friend over after school, then we got busy doing other things.. so on Saturday when he asked again (we were getting ready to head to my parents for family birthday dinner) his dad told him we would do it on Sunday since the Raiders game wasn't on tv.

Well, Sunday came and Jonathan wasn't feeling well, in fact he was in bed most of the day. So finally about 2:30 I pulled the tree out of the garage and put it up and plugged it in... only 1 string of lights lit up. So we unplugged the lights, replugged the lights, called my neighbor to ask what to do, tried everything he said... just that 1 string of lights. The disappointment on Jack's face about killed me. So I thought about the small tree we used to put in their room (as a night light) and he agreed that would be ok. So we pulled it out and guess what? NO LIGHTS! Could it get any worse? I wanted to make it ok for him, but at the same time I was disappointed and didn't want to think about it any more. He asked if he could decorate the little tree to put in his room (without lights) and I said sure. So that kept him happy for a while and we moved it up to his bedroom after.

During this tree debacle we watched Merry Christmas Drake & Josh.. which was really cute and helped us feel filled with holiday spirit.









Then Jonathan came down and tried to fix the tree (no luck) and we all sat down with tea or hot chocolate to watch Elf. We love this movie and really enjoy watching it together. Jack hung out with River on the laundry pile (not sure why?), Steven was once again wearing his Santa hat and I got 3 loads of laundry finished during the movies. A good time was had by all. You can see Jonathan's chair/blanket in the picture with Steven. I spared him a photo as he wasn't feeling well. That is a blanket his grandma Cline made him when he was about 12 I think... he still uses it almost every day (at least in winter). This is our 3rd year without Grandma Cline here during the holidays and I miss her. She loved everyone being together and baking for the holidays. I was really reminded of her loss on Saturday when we were playing skipbo with the family... I haven't played since I played with her. I can remember the first time I met her -at her house in Hilmar. We had pot roast with carrots and mashed potatoes and gravy with white bread & butter (Jonathan's favorite) and we played Skip Bo. I had never played before and I felt a bit out of it (since they knew how to play) but I caught on and really enjoyed myself. She was so welcoming and really made an effort for everyone to interact (thru games) instead of watching tv. I know she made a huge difference in my life and I loved her very much and I miss her.



Gotta go buy a new tree or lights... maybe we'll be able to post a tree picture later today (I hope)~