Twelve Days of Christmas: Day 1, Missing Him Already

Before nestling all snug in our beds on Christmas Eve, we set our alarms for an early morning wake-up call so we would have time to celebrate Christmas before Nicholas started his 9-hour drive back to Little Rock, Arkansas.

It was wonderful having Nicholas home for 11 days (I love having all my guys home!) but since he was scheduled to work December 26 he needed to drive home on Christmas day.

So bright and early on Christmas morning (so early that we almost discovered Santa scrambling back up the chimney), we gathered in our family room to exchange gifts and have our traditional Christmas breakfast of homemade sticky buns. Then, we helped Nicholas pack his car and we watched him drive away. 

It was 7:30 a.m. 

When we trooped back inside Jonathan and Timothy looked through their stuff, Joe organized his new tools, and I curled up on the couch with a cappuccino. It was different being done so early, and I missed seeing Nicholas and Jonathan bent over one of their strategy board games on Christmas afternoon, but I know we are entering a new stage of our lives in which traditions of old will always be honored, but perhaps in different ways. Maybe we will even create new ones. 

Nine hours later Nicholas called to say he arrived safely. He had already unloaded his car, set up the Fontanini nativity set he received as one of his gifts, and was looking forward to celebrating Christmas with his girlfriend. 

And curled up on the couch (no cappuccino) watching a Star Wars movie with the rest of my guys, I embraced this Christmas day which, while a little different, had been so, so good.  

Nicholas with Nonna and Nonno, Christmas Eve

Christmas Hope

All the boys are home for the holidays, and since there is nothing that makes me happier than a full house ... bring on the figgy pudding! (Or rather, the Panettone!)

Before I sign off for a few days I'd like to say this: While we are looking forward to the next few days, I understand that many of you are not. There is a lot of heartbreak out there and not everyone looks forward to a Hallmark Christmas. But if there is one thing this season offers it's hope, which can be found in the unlikeliest of places ... even in a stable. 

God bless, everyone. 

The Novajosky Family

Fifteen Minutes at the Mall

Today, perfectly nestled between our anniversary and Christmas, is Joe's birthday. To celebrate I'm sharing one of my favorite posts about Joe. He may not be a mall-kind-of-guy, but he's a watch-a-movie-on-a-rainy-afternoon-kind-of-guy ... and that's just fine with me. Happy Merry Birthday Joe! And just so you know, this year your birthday cake does NOT say Merry Christmas! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Last night Joe announced that he needed to go to the mall.

STOP. Joe never wants to go to the mall. Never, ever. He HATES the mall. In his mind the mall should have been one of Dante's circles of Hell. But he had a Dick's Sporting Goods gift card and decided that Friday, his day off, would be the perfect time to use it.

Who was I to argue? I was not letting this golden opportunity slip by.

So after the boys left for school this morning, we got ready to go to the mall. I was ridiculously excited ... which is a little pathetic, I know, but it was a date! And not just any date ... a MALL date. Like we were in high school, or something! For the occasion I even straightened my hair and wore TWO coats of mascara.

We got to the mall shortly after it opened, and after coordinating our cell phones so we could meet later, he headed for Dick's to purchase some golf stuff while I headed to Macy's with a fistful of coupons.

Fifteen minutes later he calls and asks me if I'm done.

"Done with what?" I asked, a little breathlessly because I was trying on jeans. "Aren't you at Dick's?"

"I'm done. I got a golf hat, a golf glove, and a dozen golf balls," he replied. "Do you want me to drive around and pick you up at Macy's?"

Fifteen minutes. He purchased all that in fifteen minutes and he was done. Finito.

Evidently his idea of a mall outing was not my idea of a mall outing. At all. Not even close. And because it was 10:20 in the morning it wasn't like we could go and have lunch, either.

But all was not lost. On the way to meet him I quickly ran into JCPenny with a $10 coupon that was expiring soon (the kind with no minimum purchase required!) and five minutes later I had a brand new pair of earrings that, after the sale, special promotion and my $10 coupon, cost me $1.30.

And I wore them all the way home.

Tiny Christmas Party Favors

Supplies

tiny jars of Nutella

cellophane bags

assortment of Italian chocolates

gift tags (printed from Pinterest)

Instructions

place everything in the cellophane bag

tie with ribbon

A Christmas Formula

Nordstrom package for Joe =

Christmas present for Bia ;-)

Speak to Me Sunday: The Two-Word Commitment

Twenty-nine years ago Joe and I stood before God and said I Do.

And we've been saying I Do ever since ...

to good days, bad days, and in-between days;
to romance and candlelight
and the reality of bills and finances;
to parenthood and uncharted waters-- 
snuggling babies, wayward toddlers,
surly teens, and amazing young men;
to the magic of playing Santa Claus
and the nervousness of being a driving instructor;

to thoughtfulness, respect, I love you,
and I'm sorry and forgive me.

Every day we say I Do to all of it.

And last night, those two simple words were manifested in the laughter and love we felt as we sat around our kitchen table playing board games with our sons.

Christmas Caesura

early morning darkness and blustery weather 

humming refrigerator, glowing tree lights, and steaming mug of coffee

waiting ...

one son on the road

the other son driving across three states

through darkness and blustery weather

to a humming refrigerator, glowing tree lights, and steaming mug of coffee

coming home

home for the holidays

~from the files of very bad poetry by bia