The first winter we lived here in Franklin, it snowed. And I was sick. I had a fever and had to stay in my bed. We were living at the Inn and my third floor bedroom overlooked the hill. I loved the view from my frosty window. Then the other children started sledding. Their joyous rides left my pristine hill scarred. I was partly jealous of the fun they were having while I was stuck in bed, but I was even more upset that their fun ruined my real life Christmas card view. I was selfish, an adolescent trait I like to think I've outgrown.

Today I took my kids and my sister out in the snow. We had about 10 inches of powdery fluff covering our backyard. It was untouched and beautiful. And they left it scarred and pock-marked. I forewent the sledding and instead watched them pile in and tumble out, squealing and giggling. And I realized I was grinning. Like an idiot. (Despite the lack of feeling in my extremities.)

I just started writing this, hoping that the theme would come to me while I typed. It didn't. Maybe it's about the joy in life's messes. Maybe it's about finding fulfillment in the happiness of others. Maybe it's just about snow.

This is a story dictated to me by Cora:

Princess Twinklebear

There once was a panda princess named Twinklebear. She got married and lived in a castle. She put her new crown on. It was a gold crown, with pink jewels. She looked out the window and she saw birds. They flew in the castle and out the other window. They stole the jewels off of her crown. So Twinklebear said “You give those back!” and she put her paws on her hips. She was not happy. And the birds put them back on the crown. The birds flew out the window and said “Mom! Mom! There was a princess in the castle!” So the Mom bird and the Dad bird flew to the castle as fast as they could and took the whole entire crown. Twinklebear said “Give that back right this very minute!” with her paws on her hips. The birds put it back on her head and flew back to their nest, but it was gone. The squirrels took their nest and put it in their hole and put acorns and nuts in it. The birds had to sleep in the castle for a quick nap. Twinklebear had wings on her elbows and she flew to the squirrels hole. She got the nest and dumped the acorns and nuts out. Then she flew back to her castle and put it on her bed. She said, “Birds! Birds! I found your nest.” They came to her bed and took the nest and put it back on their tree.

The End

This was Levi's:

Navigator

One day there was a boy named Levi. He loved space adventure. He built his own spacecraft. It looked like a giant metal octopus. It was very shiny. He took his pet chihuahua, Puck, with him on adventures.

He liked to visit Pluto, even though it's not a planet anymore. They always went in tunnels on Pluto. In the tunnels, they found ice crystals, because Pluto is very cold. There were also ice aliens. They shot ice out of their hands, and tried to freeze Levi and Puck and keep them on Pluto forever. But Levi and Puck had suits that repel the ice. And they were very quick.

After they were done on Pluto they go to Venus. On Venus they checked out the volcanoes and the lava. There were also aliens that threw fireballs at Levi and Puck. But they had fireproof suits too.

After they were done on Venus, they went to Neptune and looked at water. There were lots of kinds of creatures on Neptune. They took a creature called a germfish home in a special tank. It had a fish head with a green body that you could see through.

After Neptune, they went to a planet called Bug. There were lots of bugs. There were weird looking bugs, bugs that ate fish, bugs that ate plants and bugs that crawl all over the planet.

Levi and Puck were ready to go home. They had a good time for the rest of their lives.

The End

Cora: (singing a song about various animals, the noises they make, and what they eat)

Me: Is that a real song? Or did you just make it up?

Cora: I didn't make it up. I learned it from myself.

Wow. That is all.

Levi and Cora: Hooray the snow! It snowed! Snow!

Cora: Seriously, Mom, look outside. It snowed.

Me: ugh.

Levi: Are we going to get to play in it?

Me: Yes (a little confused, they always get to play in it)

Levi: But you hate it.

Me: I love you much more than I hate snow.

I don't really hate snow. It is very pretty. I love how it mutes the outside sounds and covers everything up with beautiful glistening white. But snow melts. And gets into my socks. And it is so cold! I will bundle up my amazing children, put on my brave face and stay out in it as long as I can, with their smiles and the promise of warm beverages to keep me going.

These are some of the reasons I think Levi is great:

He gives me a legitimate reason to play with Legos. And we have a ton of fun creating things together.

His first response when someone is hurting is to pray.

He has some crazy amazing dance moves.

He separates his m&m's by colors before eating them.

He is persistent and tenacious.

He looks out for his sister, especially when it comes to boys.

He eats everything I make and tells me that I'm the best cook ever.

He does the rubber arm run.

He likes to snuggle, and thinks he still fits in my lap. (He doesn't)

He has great taste in music.

He wanted a faux-hawk. And he rocked it.

He always "evens me out."

He loves.

I wish that I had the time to get this written by Tuesday, but I didn't. So...

Seven years (and two days) ago, my life changed in ways I couldn't even have imagined. At 2:16 in the afternoon, my life instantly became more amazing, challenging and rewarding. The most handsome baby boy ever born was placed in my arms and suddenly I had more gravity; what had held me to the earth before was nothing in comparison to the 8 pounds and 13 ounces that I was then holding. My Leaves, my Buppa, my Boy, my Handsome Pants, my son is one of the two biggest blessings of my life, and I am incredibly proud of him. I am always amazed by the way he can be both wild and protective, silly and strong, inquisitive and considerate. I am so blessed to be a part of his journey, and I can't wait to see him fulfill God's destiny.

I am absolutely in love with my kids. I realize that is basically the theme of this blog, but for some reason I felt it needed to be said. Due to my recent injury (it's a really cool story involving rock climbing, falcons, men on horses, and chasing blue sky, but this isn't the place for it) I am supposed to stay off my feet this weekend. Without my two monchichis to help me out and entertain me I would have gone completely crazy. They somehow manage to both challenge and encourage me. They provide constant insights into how I am viewed by my heavenly parent, and amaze me with their unending faith. They can ALWAYS make me laugh. In fact, that skill has gotten them out of a lot of trouble. I love my partners in silliness and I am so grateful that I get to be their mom.

In order to wake up my sweet girl, I have to snuggle and tickle and kiss her. I pull the blanket off of her and she pulls it back on (all without opening her eyes because I'm apparently very easily fooled). This process usually takes several minutes and she always insists she is way too tired for waking up.

This morning:

Me: Coooorrrraaa...

Cora: (bolts upright) It's December!!!

Me: Yup

Cora: We get to open a door today!

She was so excited about opening a door on her chocolate advent calendar. It was an incredibly simple thing: a scripture and a piece of candy. But she was thrilled. And, once again, I was challenged by my children. I tend to go through the holidays as if checking things off my to-do list. But this year, I am committed to living more like Cora, savoring each experience and getting excited about celebrating the birth of Jesus. Is there anything more worthy of my enthusiasm?