The First 48 Hours

Because there was a scary snowstorm coming, I left for home as soon as I could after my last final on Thursday. I went to Carrollton first to pick up Peter and got there about 8:30; Peter wasn’t done at work yet so I went and had coffee for about 30 minutes with one of my dear friends, which was really fun because I came out of nowhere and surprised her. And there was coffee involved.

We got home in North Carolina at around 1am and Dad showed us the new Xbox 360, so Peter and Dad and I prompty played Halo for an hour. I went to bed around 2:30.

I woke up around 11am to about an inch of show outside and huge fluffy snowflakes coming down. It was lovely and I relaxed around the house with the family for a while. Mom, Dad, and Peter left around 2 to get groceries, and maybe an hour after they left the power went out for good. I picked up a new book, “Infidel,” and read until it got too dark, then Vincent and I lit candles. When the parents got home we set up a heater and played Monopoly — Dad totally killed all of us. Seriously, he had hotels on the whole first half of the board.

The next morning we still had no power, so we made coffee the old-fashioned way and I settled back into my book. In the early afternoon the power finally came back on; Peter and I turned up the heat and played, I dunno, 5 hours of Halo. I feel like I need to find some high heels and a dress or something so I can prove I’m not a boy, but Peter appreciates it.

We set up the Christmas tree today, covered it in all sorts of lights and ornaments. The angel has a half inch between her head and the ceiling. I feel like we did a pretty good job of decorating.

Now we’re all settled in the living room watching football. Still not particularly girly, but I like my family anyway.

The holidays

There are a lot of reasons for loving the holidays. Let me list a few for you:

As fall descends the cold weather turns the trees the most beautiful colors of red, orange, yellow, and brown. The leaves are beautiful on the trees and even better on the ground, when Clara and I go more than slightly out of our way to step on particularly crunch-looking leaves. I love when it’s cold enough to see your breath and wear sweaters and, while I don’t actually wear scarves, I still think it’s awesome when they come out.  I love hot drinks of all kinds: coffee, tea, hot chocolate, hot apple cider.

Thanksgiving gives me the opportunity to stuff myself with delicious food after slaving over a hot oven or grill for four or five hours. More imporantly, it gives me the opportunity to hang out with family, talk to people, watch football, play video games — whatever I want, the day is mine for the enjoying. After months of hard work, it’s a day to truly rest.

As frustrating as finals are, I love when I can finally write all those theology papers I’ve been putting off. I love the research, the time spent in the library, the liberating feeling of stapling and turning in the finished product.

And after finals are over, I love the three weeks of Christmas break: long enough to enjoy my family, get some rest, and be ready for another semester. I love picking out the tree and I love how enthusiastic Peter is about decorating it. I love when Dad puts out the string of elves that ring their bells in Christmas tunes. I love the Coca Cola and M&Ms Christmas commericals that are the same every year. I love finally having to wear long johns, gloves, and hats. I absolutely adore the rare snowfall Georgia gets, and I loved it even more in Oregon when the snow would stay for forever.

I think Christmas is the best. Peter is always absolutely stoked about opening presents and it keeps us  all moving. The parades are the best ever. By that I mean, they’re really fun to keep on in the background and glance at occassionally.  The decorations for both Thanksgiving and Christmas rock: the best color combinations, of course, but my particular favorite is Mom’s habit of putting Santa Claus hats on anything and everything (the cowboy statue, the 20-year-dead deer on the wall, the plant in the corner…).

One of my current joys is delicious Starbucks coffee, brewed with cinnamon and nutmeg in with the grounds. Spec-freaking-tacular. It’s why I get up in the morning.

Finally, I love the reminder that God chose to become flesh in order to save sinners who cannot possibly save themselvse. What great love the Father gives us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are. Amen!

Ahhhhhh…

This morning, after a long and restful night’s sleep, I woke up to sun shining in my window. I took approximately 20 steps and found myself in the kitchen, where Mom was baking crumb cake muffins. I got myself some real, delicious coffee and stretched out on the couch to watch mindless TV and eat breakfast. After breakfast I settled on a channel and watched a few hours of baby and adoption stories. Eventually I got up, got ready for the day, and spent a little time in 2 Chronicles and Matthew 6.

Around lunchtime Mom and I jumped in the car, got Dad some lunch and brought it to work for him, and went to pick some stuff up at the store. Mom paid. At home she made me a sandwich and I facebooked while the sports channel played surfing and soccer. About mid-afternoon Mom went to take a nap and I went for a bike ride — only 20 minutes, but the hills in my neighborhood proved how incredibly out of shape I am.

Shortly after I finished my bike ride, Peter showed up and we played guitar and ukulele together until dinner, which my whole family (minus Vincent — no one actually knows where he is) enjoyed together, and we discussed the possibility of me actually being able to drive a car this summer (yay!). After dinner Peter and I went outside and played a little Badminton until the bugs came out and started biting, and then we went inside and watched Jeopardy while we enjoyed dessert: pudding cups.

I. Love. Summer.