Christmas List

December 1, 2007

Thanks to everyone who made such an effort to join us at G-pa and G-ma's for Thanksgiving. What a wonderful way to start the holiday season! It was good to hear that Alex also had a turkey dinner (aren't his letters great?) Dawn and Tyler enjoyed their trip to Arizona. They shared Thanksgiving dinner with Dawn's folks in Flagstaff on Wednesday then drove back on Thursday (it's about family and flexibility, don't you think?) We can't let this holiday completely pass by without thanking Agata for putting up with us all and being so gracious. We've had years to get used to each other. We loved having Agata with us. My favorite memories include the Guesstures game, the hot tub in the cold air, the weiner roast and the farkel game and who could ever forget the Christmas musical program? Let's keep that going. I loved it. Going to Joannes and experiencing the happy crowd was fun, too. You never know when you will meet someone unique and unforgettable. Today I went to the game store at the mall, early. It's my favorite store and only shows up at Christmas. There was a young girl there with the widest face I have ever seen. She was only about four feet tall. She was bright and pleasant and funny. But she couldn't work the cash register or her cell phone (apparently she knew how to do it in the other store). Her dad managed the store and had stepped out to get something to eat. She was supposed to call him. So I stayed with her and talked. I didn't want to put my merchandise back and I thought she probably shouldn't be alone. I guess she is the poster child for disabilities in Utah. She represented Utah in the White House recently and opened the Festival of Trees. Her name is Samantha Spacil. She pronounces her last name "special". She had a brain tumor that destroyed her pituitary gland and other things and left her with a disorder that makes her ravenously hungry all of the time. They had to move the store to the upper level. In one mall it was by the pretzel store. She couldn't handle that. Her dad came and told me that she shouldn't have lived this long. Every day is a miracle. Of course I had time there to buy more than I had planned. Anyway, meeting her made my day.

If you don't write a Christmas list soon, you might receive some regrettable surprises. (but I keep receipts).

Here's mine:

vcr for the front room (ours died. We'll probably have this solved soon.)
dvd's of the Office for me to watch
a family movie night with popcorn
a family game night
world peace
photos of family, especially of Tyler and Tyler and Dawn
copies of Tommy's photos that are in the basement, especially the wood framed tree trunks.
a copy of the cactus flower photo matted just like it is.
Grandma's pozole recipe and genealogy line back to Judith that she read at Thanksgiving
malted milk balls from Trader Joes
computer lessons
movies that make me laugh
I'm kind of a minimalist: I like little things.

We watched Elf last night with friends. I laughed all the way through "Blades of Glory." Could it be I'm on a Will Ferrell kick? Elf was funny. He's so guiless and stupid through the whole entire thing. We tried to watch "Mooseport". That was not funny. Here's some movies I want to see: Dan in Real Life, Enchanted, and Beowulf in 3-D. I think there will be a new National Treasure out on Christmas Eve. We need to see a Christmas (eve?) movie. We're thinking about Enchanted. In fact, I think that's what we will see.

I will try to add some realistic things to that Christmas list. Most of all, let's just get together and not be in a hurry, like we were at Grandma's.

Love, Mom