It's a party I look forward to all year, the DeBry Christmas party. I have 50 1st cousins on the DeBry side, including spouses, and Emily and Josh's baby will be the 60th great-grandchild for Nana Ruby. My cousins are spread out from D. C. to the Bay area, so it's great to see them at Christmas. I love all of them. There are so many little kids, yet nobody is stressed or overwhelmed. So many of my cousins and aunts and uncles are the examples I look to as a parent. They are so nurturing and joyful. Nana Ruby sets the bar pretty high with her patience and loving manner. I think we all try to live up to her standards. It's hard, though, since she's practically perfect! She had 5 kids in 5 years, the last two being my mom and Uncle Mark, the twins. When things get tough for me, I think of what Nana did, before disposable diapers, and without ever raising her voice, according to her kids.
I am lucky to have a million great memories of growing up in a big family. Just last summer, in Montana, the kids and I and Trajan went to the river with Uncle Jim and Danny to canoe. It started POURING rain and thundering, so we all huddled under the big pine trees next to the river. It was way too wet to try to walk back to the cabin. Jim decided to catch a fish to entertain the kids. He caught a little trout, and, for some reason, was waving it around on the end of the line, showing the kids. The kids were scattering into the brush, screaming, drenched with rain, trying to escape the little fish. Jim said afterward, "This is a Saturday we'll remember. This beats sitting at home watching TV." He was so right. Soaked to the bone in the woods a 20-minute walk away from the cabin with 6 kids in life jackets and cowboy boots after a failed canoe trip is one that goes down in history. That's a Saturday I'll always treasure, and it's a reminder to me to make more of my days memorable and to spend my time with family and friends. That's one of the reasons blogging is so fun. I probably never would have known that Izzy had a party in her crib the other night! :) I might not have seen pictures of Neeley's dance recital. I would have missed Brittany's whole first Nutcracker experience. (After she was my most creative and wonderful dancer for a whole year!)
I love sharing all these experiences. I can't wait for the King/Bazail party tomorrow and the Dopp Christmas Eve the next day.
3 comments:
Caught you! We are blogging together again! What is it about a quiet house that makes me want to sit down and visit my friends?! That is one reason I am so glad you have joined the blogging party! You are queen of the parties! Hope they are all super fun! And thanks for your kind words about my Brittany!
Those words were all true! I love that girl...she's way more creative than your average kid. I just remember the time I asked them to describe their imaginary valentine card. I was getting answers like "It's pink." Or "It's this big." Brittany said something along the lines of, "Well, it's blue, sort of turquoise, on one side and a pretty bright yellow on the other side and it has polka dots and there is a picture of a little duck and it says "You quack me up..." in balloon letters in a little bubble over the duck's head..." I can't imagine where she gets her creativity!
It's funny how different memories leave "footprints" on our hearts! Jer and I were talking about how Neeley and Kayla probably wont remember a lot of the things we work so hard for them to experience. Then we discovered from our own childhood memories that it was just such occasions as your canoe trip that make those footprints that stay for a lifetime.
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