All right, I'm sorry. Probably Jesus wasn't screaming. According to the song, "The little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes." However, I think there may be a lot of parents out there rolling their eyes at this peaceful picture. Most of us had the crying kind of babies, and the mere thought of a quiet kid is either the greatest of all miracles, or some kind of Godly joke. I have personally spent some years earning my master's degree in crying babies, the amount that babies cry, the volume at which they cry, and the amount that children and parents cry and whine in general. And it all reminds us of Christmas, apparently, which is why when we are awakened by beautiful whining children at 6 o'clock on a Sunday morning, the first thing out of our mouths is, "Jesus Christ!"
Whoops. That was probably a bad way to start a Christmas letter. Why write a Christmas letter? I was just thinking of how we always enjoy getting Christmas letters from other people. It's fun to hear about what your friends have been up to while you were busy not visiting them. And often you find that the people you thought you knew are actually much more busy/exciting/thoughtful/funny/spiritual/stressed out/ than you ever realized. Jessi and I like to read the Christmas letters out loud. It is a good way to torture the kids, and also makes us feel at least a tiny bit closer to far-away friends and to each other. (audience sighs.) So I began to think, "Gee.. could I, TOO, write a Christmas letter? And then I thought, "No!" And then I thought "Maybe!" And then Jessi said "Why are you making those weird "thinking" faces? Would you stop?" So anyway, here goes NOTHIN'! ... Oh, by the way, we're only gonna put the letter online, so only people with computers can read it! HA ha ha ha ha! Well you luckies, if you're reading this, you made the cut. Good job. And you obviously have nothing better to do.
Ok, what to write, what to write.... Ok, how about some fun stuff that we did? Let's see. We started off the year trying to get along without our beloved Trucky, which I had accidentally driven into a bridge while listening to the song "I drove my car into the bridge - I don't care!" Except I cared. Actually, our friends Erin and Casey cared, because they let us borrow their extra car for the rest of the winter. I'm still amazed at that one - thanks, guys. From then on I was glad that all our car troubles were over. Except for when Jessi had to get a tow truck for our car in Portland, and when a logging company truck decided to back into me at a stop sign, and later, after we got the car fixed, when Jessi decided to drive over the mountain to see what she could see. (And all that she could see, and all that she could see, was her wonderful shortcut turning into a hiking trail.) Hey, we needed new tires, anyway! We'll get it repainted next year...
Jessi and I both got to visit Portland this year, on separate trips. Her, to visit good friends and have fun. Me, to get medical treatment for a painful condition, the nature of which I would be happy to discuss with anyone over a beer! But I also got to visit friends, and feel much better.
Let's see, what else. The girls enjoyed turning an old, falling-apart playhouse someone gave us into a newer looking falling-apart playhouse. They did a pretty good job painting, but honestly, Lyra can't pound a nail to save her life.
Holy shoot, it's ncold in this kiatchen? The heat inst on yet, and my fungers are just about frozen1! I have to go make asome tea or somethingh.
Ok, that's a little beetter. Got tea. However, when I turned on the light, I noticed a mini-muffin pan on the stove, all filled with swirly, colored wax (melted crayons?) Jessi, what have you been up to? You and your crazy crafts. (Actually, jessi makes a lot of cool things. Sometimes weird, But cool. Like knitting wire, or or making Sammi's favorite bag out of a dress.)
Speaking of crayons, little Sammi started kindergarten this year. We had been worrying and worrying about
whether she was ready for school, whether the school would be ready for her, etc. But she's doing great and loves it. I hear it's perfectly normal for kids to listen to their teachers way more than they listen to their parents. In that sense, Sammi has turned out to be more normal than we ever thought. Side note- to all the good teachers out there: T H A N K Y O U .
Since Sammi is in school, I get to spend a lot of time with Lyra, who just entered the Throw-a-fit Threes. She can litarally throw a fit farther than I can kick a football, and we know because we measured. And yet she is also, somehow, simultaneously the cutest and sweetest kid on Earth. How? I am told that the scientists gave up on this mystery long ago; they said to just try and relax about it.
There were many other fabulous and fantastic events that happened this year - to other families, I assume, but we are thankful for the good things that we were able to experience. Thank you to new friends who don't think we're too weird. For Nick and Erica letting us come to your farm to pick pumpkins. For Rachel and Chris for letting me stay at your house, and not getting too mad when I tried to "fix" your refrigerator. For Grampa Boom-pah and Grammie Susan for all the babysitting. For all other friends who are out there in the world and are still friends, even though we don't talk much or see each other as much as we would like. For great-grandparents who might possibly not be with us too much longer, we hope somehow they know how much they mean to us. For all the things we forget about, and should be thankful for, and all the things we're thankful to have forgotten about! For these, we are thankful indeed.
Well I guess that's about it. Cheeses of Nazareth, it's almost seven o'clock and my kids aren't up yet! It is a Christmas miracle. And this letter got pretty long, too. If you made it this far, congratulations. You just read the first Marcinek Christmas letter. Tomorrow I go back to my job, helping Santa stack, cram, and smash those presents into the UPS trucks. But right now, it is peaceful. Peace to you, and we hope you have a fine Christmas and happy new year. Oh joy, the kids are waking up!
