We might do it late, but we do it merry!

 

I usually have a week between Christmas and New Year's to think up an idea for the Christmas blog post; draft it; revise, edit, and proofread; then publish. Not this year. For various reasons, we wound up celebrating Christmas Eve the night of Dec. 28th, followed by our Christmas Day celebration on the 29th. So I had only two days to write this. I want the Christmas 2024 post to publish in 2024 and be included in the 2024 blog book. Obviously.

So here I am, on Tuesday, Dec. 31st at 7:21 p.m. without an idea for a post. It's fine. 

Our Christmas celebration this year was very late, but it was just as merry as ever. We had Seth's girlfriend Kylee join us, and she is a delightful addition. The picture above is from our "Christmas Eve," after opening our matching t-shirts and just before playing a rousing game of "Left, Center, Right" (gambling, anyone?). It was neck and neck for a while, but ultimately Isaiah won all the money! After that, we began inflating air mattresses and settling in for our Christmas slumber party.

The next day was typical: presents, followed by food, followed by more more presents and more food. Rinse and repeat. Oh, what fun!

Since this is a makeshift post, without any real planning, it's gonna be brief. But I wanted to be sure the poem I wrote for our annual Christmas letter found its way into the blog, so I'm gonna paste it here:

An Erichsen-Webster Christmas Carol

2024

Oh the year has been crazy with this and with that,

But we all still love Christmas, well all except Matt.

What Matt likes instead is to ride on his bike

Over big, scary mountains, to Shulamith’s fright!

She tries to stay calm as she drives in her car

To dance and jujutsu and soccer afar!

When she’s not in her car, you might find her at school 

Teaching cute kindergartners to follow the rules.

At six every morning she lifts heavy weights,

Which I do as well, but just closer to eight.

I also walk miles and miles each day

And read books and write blog posts with so much to say.

I teach college students to write with strong voice,

But they’d rather use AI, a horrible choice!

There is little to do that will combat this fraud,

So I dream about airplanes and traveling abroad.

I didn’t get out of the country this year,

Gerald went to Cuba without any fear.

But passports in hand, we will get out in May,

Destination uncertain, somewhere far away!

Isaiah still travels as much as he can.

He loves all the countries, especially Japan.

He’s there right now, as a matter of fact.

With the tragic U.S. election, we pray he comes back!

Seth finished college, commencement last May,

Magna cum laude for high GPA. 

Planning for law school, perhaps this next fall,

Hanging out with his girlfriend and playing disc golf. 

Eli works hard at his job at D.I. 

Helping people learn skills to improve in their lives. 

But when he’s not working, movies are his vibe,

Blood, gore-filled slasher films, dead or alive!

He and Amanda are oft entertained,

Watching Bluey on repeat with three-year-old Jane.

Or sitting with her round the dining room table,

Playing “Pass the Parcel” as long as they’re able. 

.

Amanda works remotely, her job to review

Student applications for the U. of U.

Swen does jujutsu; gray belt he defends!

He loves middle school and his many new friends.

Theodore treasures his Pokémon cards,

And trading with other kids in the schoolyard.

Kennedy lives to be on stage and dance!

This year she is “Ann” in The Little Princess. 

Luke enjoys trivia, competing with knowledge.

Evelyn’s a senior, applying to college. 

And right there you have it: the Erichsen-Webster revue,

Our own Christmas carol, created for you.

Love came down! 

May you feel His transforming love this Christmas season and always,

Terrianne, Gerald, and family

***Christmas, 2024 Photo Dump***

There's no place like home for the holidays!

"I met a girl who lived in Utah; she was headed for

Portland, Oregon and some Costco pecan pie! (She wanted pie!)"

IT'S ME! I'M THAT GIRL!

Five o'clock a.m. doesn't even feel early when you're headed home for the holidays. It's been years since I've been with my original family at this time of year, so when I landed at PDX early Saturday morning and realized my wish had been granted, I was thrilled. I had ordered four days of rain for the four days I would be there, and just look at the window from my seat on the airplane:

Raindrops. Those are raindrops right there. It rained the better part of all four days, and hardly anything could have made me happier. Except maybe the pecan pie. It is my favorite pie ever (Diana Smith Bennett, are you reading this????), but most people in my Utah family don't like it that much, and the one who does like it can't eat it anymore because of his recent Celiac diagnosis (Sorry, Matt). When I found out they got me a pecan pie, I was seriously stoked; that, combined with beautiful rain---does life get any better?

Tom picked me up at the airport, and we drove to my hotel, where we quickly dropped off my stuff before going to his house. That night was the family Christmas celebration, a giant bash with amaaaaazing food, fun, and festivities. My favorite part was spending time with two of my nieces and their families and meeting Leslie's dog. He is such a nice dog that I had to take his picture:

My hotel had a great gym, so the next morning I was able to work out, which felt amazing after eating way too much food the night before:

Then I picked up my mom, and we met my niece Carley and her cute son for lunch at Olive Garden. So fun to visit and catch up with her. The rest of the day I spent with my mom, first pedicures, then the mall to grab a few final Christmas presents. My friend Lorrie came all the way from Vancouver to meet up with us, and as always, so good to spend time with her. I am lucky to have friends from all four of the "friendship levels": acquaintances, casual friends, close friends, and lifelong friends. Of the five people I would call "lifelong friends," Lorrie is the one I've known the longest. Since I was 13. What a blessing she is in my life!

We went home that night to delicious leftovers from dinner the night before: turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing and gravy, mac & cheese, garlic-buttered green beans, and of course...more pecan pie! Up till that point, things had gone according to plan. But the next morning, a twist of mortality occurred. 

Both my brother and my mom woke up with the flu!

Eeeeek! I always say that I have a steel immune system because I so rarely get sick, and I'm praying it's true. I have much to do for both tomorrow and our family's Christmas celebration Dec. 28-29. It wouldn't be at all convenient for me to be sick.

At the moment, I feel great! I'm sitting in the Portland airport, eating Chex mix and drinking Diet Coke, early for my 6:30 p.m. flight home. I decided I may as well limit my exposure to the "sickos" and come hang out here. Now if only I could walk; my abysmal daily step count is registering a measly 2,824 steps. But with a suitcase packed with presents and my mom's famous Chex mix, along with a carry-on, purse, and heavy coat, I really can't. Instead, I'll just listen to my latest audio book - my first Stephen King novel: 11/22/63. It's SO good!

Even though it didn't end quite the way we hoped, it was a good trip, and I'm glad I came. It will be July before I return and see everyone again. 

"Oh, there's no place like home for the holidays

'Cause no matter how far away you roam

If you want to be happy in a million ways

For the holidays, you can't beat home, sweet home."

Love Languages and Sacred Days

"Mine's Acts of Service"

"Mine's Quality Time."

"Mine's Physical Touch."

Most of us need only to hear such declarations to know the reference: Gary Chapman's iconic book The 5 Love Languages, published over 20 years ago. I've always sorta felt left out, like the author failed to include mine. If I had to choose from his five, I suppose I'd say "Words of Affirmation." With performance anxiety, it's helpful to hear that I'm doing okay. However, without question my genuine love language is loyalty, and that one didn't even make his list. To feel truly loved, I need to know that my friends are on my side, ready to stand up for me in any situation, against any criticism or opposing force. They are never neutral; they always have my back. And that one doesn't fit into any of Chapman's five.

It's fine. He obviously didn't write the book for me. That said, he was close on another one: Receiving Gifts. Except it's the opposite for me. While I enjoy receiving gifts as much as the next person, I wouldn't call it my love language. But the opposite? Giving gifts? Yes. That is it. Which is why Black Friday is a sacred day for me. Right up there with Christmas and the last day of every semester. Sacred, I tell you.

Last year, when I posted about Black Friday, I titled the post "It's okay. It will come again and again." And it did! So much quicker than we expected. 

I set my alarm for 6:45 a.m., though there was no need; I was wide awake at 5:00, too excited to sleep longer. I lay in bed for an hour dreaming of all the great sales we would find and how we would delight in every perfect gift. Dressed in warm, comfy clothes and shoes, with "Winter Wonderland" playing loud and proud, I drove around the corner and picked up Shulamith at 6:59 a.m. We drove through Starbucks for our annual hot chocolate, followed by Chick-fil-a to fill up our Stanleys with fresh Diet Coke, and headed to Sandy Target. We were ready. We were set. It was go time!

We were in Target around three hours and found so much good stuff! Of course, I can't tell you what any of that stuff is, because it's highly classified Christmas information, but trust me; it's crazy good stuff. Oh I can tell you one thing, so you don't feel totally left out. We found super cute maxi dresses for ourselves, mine in black and Shulamith's in black/white stripes. About an hour in, we wandered upon our Black Friday Target friends, the Combe Family! Sandy, Jen, Whitney, and Kelsey were there as they always are, a constant in our Black Friday lives. Yes, we see all of them once a month at Bunco, but this is different. Thank you, Combes, for showing up for us. We left Target around 10:30 with our haul and drove to Fashion Place mall.

Fashion Place brings all the feels, with memories dating back to 2004-2008, when Shulamith was in college, and I'd fly down from Billings to visit her. Hangin' at the mall while she worked across the street at Macaroni Grill. Shopping for my dress for her wedding and finding it at the Black & White store. To this day that dress hangs in my closet, and I love it. But guess what??? My book group just announced that the dress standard for our annual Christmas party will be "formalwear." Yes! I'm totally wearing that dress! 

We took a break for lunch at Cheesecake Factory, and then went right back to our shopping frenzy. So many stores at Fashion Place and so many great presents!  Again, I can't tell you about them, but not to worry. I'll fill in all the blanks eventually in my Christmas post! 

We did just two more stops to round out our Black Friday 2024: Hobby Lobby and Walmart. We found a few things, but that will be the last time I shop at either of these stores in the foreseeable future. I recently learned that both donated considerable funds to the Trump campaign, and I understand the assignment. In the next four years I will seek out as many ways as possible to resist; I will not stay silent. And my first step is boycotting businesses that donated to that man's campaign.

With my minivan filled to the brim, we headed home. Hardly anything brings me more joy than finding just the right Christmas gifts for my five kids. And this may have been the most productive Black Friday in our Black Friday history!

But the sacred day ended. As they all do. I'm already excited for next year.