Oh, What I've Forgotten!

I think we go through a number of "stages of life," depending upon our age and what's going on in our circles of family and friends. Some years ago, when our sons were growing up, I used to bake and decorate cakes for their birthdays. While I still bake cakes (or their choice of desserts) for their birthdays, any "decorating" skill has lain dormant for a while. I've decorated at least one or two birthday cakes for Ky and Reed (Britt loves cheesecake) but, again, it's been a while.

A young friend from church is having her first baby soon. Carrie (the one in the middle) is not from this area and I wanted to make sure someone held a baby shower for her. Carrie has been serving in Primary (in fact, she was one of Kyra's favorite teachers!) and I learned the former Primary president was planning to host a shower. I contacted Leah and offered to make the cakes, and she was happy to have the help. (I attended a birthday party last week for a friend who turned 98(!), and took along with me two friends, including my friend Bonnie who recently turned 90. When I told Bonnie I was making the cake and cupcakes for the shower, she said, "You can just go to Price Cutter's Bakery and buy one like I did; they do a good job and it's so easy." I told Bonnie that if I started to stress over it, I would do just that but I was rather looking forward to doing it myself.)
I had to laugh (grimace?) at myself during this process. It has been so long since I'd decorated a cake that I had to retrain myself! I didn't use a "bear" cake pan but, rather, made him from two round cakes and seven brownie cupcakes (they hold their shape well), 4 for the paws, 2 for the ears, and one for the nose (which would have photographed better had I tilted the cake board up a little to show the three-dimensionality). Because we invited all the women in our Ward, and had little idea just how many would show up (we had about 30), I made Red Velvet and yellow cupcakes, as well, so we'd be sure to have enough. Finally, I made "little brown bear" chocolate suckers and had forgotten just how much fun they are!
I laughed at myself because when I was finished (which took me twice as long as I had anticipated and I finished just in time to get to the shower 30 minutes early and set up), every horizontal surface in both my kitchen and dining room were covered with "stuff." And much of that was covered with powdered sugar. My hubby suggested we could eat dinner at the downstairs (game) table, by the warm fire. What a sweetheart; there were a number of other things he could have said about the mess I'd made that he refrained from expressing. I think he could tell I was having fun despite the mess. And if there was ever anyone who loved a creative project, it's Steve.
Carrie and the others loved the cake and the suckers (including the grandchildren) so it was well worth any effort on my part.


Miss Ky was allowed to use some of the leftover icing to frost some extra cupcakes. I was not as puzzled when she asked if I had any "sprinkles," as when she asked for a pair of tweezers. But I was instructed, "DO NOT PEEK!" and I obliged. She said she would like to learn to decorate cakes so I'm thinking after the first of the year, I'll call Hobby Lobby or Michael's and check into a class the two of us can take together. Doesn't that sound like fun?
I was touched when Ky finished her first masterpiece and presented it to me. It read, "I love you Nana." I love you, too, Princess!

Early and Loving It

Steve played golf in Branson a couple of days ago on a beautiful November day. He said a couple of his partners were making fun of the "crazies" who were already decorating for Christmas. He said, "And my wife would be one of those." In my defense, I'm "at it" earlier than usual this year because I am heading to WY soon and won't be back until late on December 15th. If I'm ready for the holidays before I leave, I shall enjoy my trip; if I'm not, I'll be mentally stressing over it the whole time I'm gone. Besides, which is crazier, putting the lights on the trees and hanging the wreaths in 60 degree weather, or waiting until it's freezing cold and having to scrape ice to do it?!! 'Nuf sed.








I love this nativity. It was sculpted by Florence P. Hansen (http://www.hansenclassics.com/artist.html) and given to me several years ago by my mother-in-law. Florence Hansen is an LDS sculptress and design artist and, for that reason, mom thought I would be interesting in having this nativity. She was right! (Some of you may be familiar with Florence Hansen's life-size sculptures, such as the ones in the gardens at Nauvoo.) Mom had taken a sculpting class from Florence and had purchased these pieces from her. The thing I love most about this particular nativity is that Mary is holding Baby Jesus and Joseph has his arm around her. Don't you think that if one gave birth to a child that special that the babe would be in her arms?!! I do. That's where I would want Him.

Another reason for decorating early was that our book club decided to move our November meeting up a week (due to Thanksgiving) and have a potluck dinner and share Christmas stories to "ring in the holiday season." The stories truly were delightful and really helped to set the tone for celebrating the birth of our Savior. Among my favorites was the following story:

CHRISTMAS ORANGE
Jake was nine years old with tousled brown hair with blue eyes as bright as a heavenly angel. For as long as Jake could remember he had lived within the walls of a poor orphanage. He was just one of ten children supported by what meager contributions the orphan home could obtain in a continuous struggle seeking donations from townsfolk.
There was very little to eat, but at Christmas time there always seemed to be a little more than usual to eat, the orphanage seemed a little warmer, and it was time for a little holiday enjoyment. But more than this, there was the Christmas orange!
Christmas was the only time of year that such a rare treat was provided and it was treasured by each child like no other food admiring it, feeling it, prizing it and slowly enjoying each juicy section. Truly, it was the light of each orphan's Christmas and their best gift of the season. How joyful would be the moment when Jake received his orange!
Unknown to him, Jake had somehow managed to track a small amount of mud on his shoes through the front door of the orphanage, muddying the new carpet. He hadn't even noticed. Now it was too late and there was nothing he could do to avoid punishment. The punishment was swift and unrelenting. Jake would not be allowed his Christmas orange! It was the only gift he would receive from the harsh world he lived in, yet after a year of waiting for his Christmas orange, is was to be denied him.
Tearfully, Jake pleaded that he be forgiven and promised never to track mud into the orphanage again, but to no avail. He felt hopeless and totally rejected. Jake cried into his pillow all that night and spent Christmas Day feeling empty and alone. He felt that the other children didn't want to be with a boy who had been punished with such a cruel punishment. Perhaps they feared he would ruin their only day of happiness. Maybe, he reasoned, the gulf between him and his friends existed because they feared he would ask for a little of their oranges. Jake spent the day upstairs, alone, in the unheated dormitory. Huddled under his only blanket, he read about a family marooned on an island. Jake wouldn't mind spending the rest of his life on an isolated island, if he could only have a real family that cared about him.
Bedtime came, and worst of all, Jake couldn't sleep. How could he say his prayers? How could there be a God in Heaven that would allow a little soul such as his, to suffer so much all by himself? Silently, he sobbed for the future of mankind that God might end the suffering in the world, both for himself and all others like him.
As he climbed back into bed from the cold, hard floor, a soft hand touched Jake's shoulder, startling him momentarily and an object was silently placed in his hands. The giver disappeared into the darkness, leaving Jake with what, he did not immediately know!
Looking closely at it in the dim light, he saw that it looked like an orange! Not a regular orange, smooth and shiny, but a special orange, very special. Inside a patched together peal were the segments of nine other oranges, making one whole orange for Jake! The nine other children in the orphanage had each donated one segment of their own precious oranges to make a whole orange as a gift for Jake.
Sharing what we truly value is the true spirit of Christmas. Our Heavenly Father gave us His beloved Son. May we, like the children in the orphanage, find ways to share His love with others less blessed.
Rewritten from an anonymous source by Laura Martin-Buhler

One of the things I shared was the tale of the Christmas Spider Ornament. Oh how I wish I could remember who gave me this ornament several years ago, but I'm having a "senior moment" on that subject. Regardless, despite my usual distaste for arachnids, I really do like this golden spider and its accompanying story.




A long time ago , a mother prepared for Christmas Eve. She cleaned and scrubbed her home, chasing the spiders from the living room with her broom. The spiders fled to the attic and listened to the excitement below as the Christmas tree was put up and decorated. When all was quiet again, the little spiders crept back downstairs to see the beautiful tree. They were filled with happiness as they crawled along every branch, admiring the glittering beauty of each ornament. But alas, by the time they had finished climbing through the tree, it was completely draped with their dusty, gray cobwebs.

When the Christ child came, He smiled as He looked upon the happy little spiders, however, He knew the mother would be heartbroken when she saw the shrouded tree. So He reached out and touched the webs and, blessing them, turned them into silver and gold. Now the Christmas tree sparkled and shimmered and was even more beautiful than before. Thus the custom to have tinsel of silver and gold and a spider ornament amongst the other decorations on the Christmas tree was born.

I have yet to decorate the main/big tree but, aside from that, the decorating is pretty much finished. And, while I admit that we usually have Thanksgiving dinner with the fall decorations instead of the Christmas ones, it feels good to be one of the "crazies" who is ahead of the game this year.

"Girlie Get-Away"

I started a blog the evening I returned from Mexico (Nov. 7), got interrupted before finishing it, and here it is two weeks later and I haven't had a chance to finish it. I'll bet some of you reading this have had similar experiences. I want to go ahead and write about it, anyway, since it was such a great time, and then record a couple more entries that have occurred since then and try to get caught up a little on what's been going on in my corner of the world.
On Nov. 5, I drove to Mexico (MO) to spend a couple of days with my dear friend Linda (she used to live here and now lives about 4 hours away), her mom Maxine, and her daughter Sabra and her family.
I had such fun at Linda's. She said we needed to do all the "girl things," and that included hair and a manicure. I'm not sure what was in it for her but I sure enjoyed it. She had seen this hairdo on a blog and wanted to tell me about it so I could try it on my granddaughter. When Linda saw how long my hair was, she just "had" to try it on me. We did it just before bed and didn't try to make it exceptionally neat; she primarily wanted me to see how it was done. The hairdo on the blog Linda had seen had been done on a little girl, for a wedding. It is made of 25 pony tails, beginning with one main one and then split and reconnected to form a web. Finally, the pony tails are folded "inside out" to form a webbed bun. Linda said they had used little ribbons (or you could use pearls, etc.) at each connection to make it really fancy. I slept on it because we wanted to show her mom, and it held up surprisingly well.
Maxine had a wonderful dinner ready for us when I arrived. She always outdoes herself and makes me feel so welcome. Linda and I went to St. Louis on Friday and joined friends from my Ward for their Youth Temple Trip. We hadn't been together since our trip to Hawaii a year ago last January, so it was fun getting caught up.
A couple of years ago, Kyra and I tied two fleece blankets, one for her and one for Reed. For some unknown reason, I had picked up a yard and a half of the two fleece pieces for Reed's blanket, but only a yard each for Kyra's, making hers quite a bit smaller than his. That worked okay for a while but she has really outgrown hers. I decided I would buy more fleece and take it with me and maybe Linda and I would work on it while we visited. We did just that and were able to finish it. Even though the reverse (pink) side of the blanket has a "breast cancer" theme, it was by far the prettiest pink fleece available, and besides, I really liked the "Live Simply, Laugh Often, Love Deeply" theme, and thought Kyra would like it, too. I was right. I used two yards this time, for an adult-sized blanket, and she loves wrapping up in it. Making it with my (and Ky's) dear friend Linda will also be a special memory.

We spent Friday evening visiting Sabra and her family, and thoroughly enjoyed meeting the Hyrum, the newest member of the family. Sabra is such a wonderful mother (!), and I'm so impressed with her efforts to home school the children. They are obviously thriving.

This trip was a wonderful trip down memory lane (to a time when Linda and I used to talk daily, if not get together!). She's planning a trip to Springfield to spend a couple of days with me in December and I can hardly wait to share our new home with her.