Portrait of a Family

We got to celebrate part of our anniversary with the whole Dopp family, accomplishing something which has been years in the making:  family pictures.  With the grandchild count officially complete at 25, it was time to capture the moment.  Marlene has been wanting to do this for a long, long time.  The photographer started with the two people who began the journey that would take them through six children and 25 grandchildren, with no end to the adventure in sight.  It was fitting that the photos were taken at a train station, in that it reminded me of a quote from Gordon B. Hinkley:  

"Life is just like an old time rail journey ... delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride."

I don't want to speak for Bruce and Marlene, but when Marlene got all choked up as all her kids and grandkids were arranged around her, I knew that what she and Bruce have accomplished along their "railway journey" has brought them a lot of joy and satisfaction.  It's been worth all the dust and cinders.

And the pictures were worth it too, after all the work and preparation.  (Huge thanks to Jennie Gus for arranging all this.  It took hours of research and coordinating.)  I think the last "parents and children" picture taken was literally the one that hung over the piano for so long, where Nikki is about six years old.  So...a lot of pressure to look good for this one if the replacement picture is slated for 2035!  Marlene wanted a color scheme of purple, dark green, cream, tan and mustard, to match the decor in her house.  Don't they all look sharp?  I love the colors!  That's a good-lookin' family!

Tziporah and Jersey weren't huge fans of holding still for a long time.  At one point, Scott let Tziporah down while we were arranging.  The next thing we knew, she was telegraphing from the back of the room, "I pooping, Daddy, Mommy!"  Great.  But look how cute she is!  We made sure the kids got something for Christmas that they could wear in the pictures, like this darling dress, but we were still running over to Coco's to borrow accessories the day before pictures.  No amount of planning can guarantee that seven kids will all look good at the same time!  But with the boys in their shiny new penny loafers and the girls in their carefully chosen mustard and eggplant, I was tempted to get as choked up as Marlene.

Twenty-five kids, and all of them perfect.

Scott took the four Bigs to 25th Street after pictures where they discovered great pizza by the slice and a new bubble tea place.  I love how fun it is to hang out with these kids.  Later, we WERE the kids, hanging out with Bruce and Marlene and the siblings for dinner at Dragon Hill and late-night Christmas cookies at their place.

My friend Catherine sent me a quote, "May all who come behind us find us faithful."  I loved it and found out it came from a song by Steve Green.  We just want Bruce and Marlene to know that we have come behind them and found them faithful, and we feel really lucky to have a spot in their family portrait.

A Long, Long Way to Rome

When people ask me if Scott and I were high school sweethearts, I say,  "I was.  He wasn't."  In fact, Scott didn't notice that he was in love with me until after our senior year when I left for Europe.  I'm sure I've told you the story before, about how he started sobbing at his job and had to be sent home, about how he wore sunglasses in the house to hide his leaky eyes, but his mom knew something was up.  (Well, duh, sunglasses in the house, Scott.  Not inconspicuous at all!)

Fortunately for me, I've domesticated Scott to the point where I don't have to take off for Rome every time I want Scott to notice me, although...hmmm.....

A re-creation of that fateful trip where it all started ain't a bad idea....

More About Don Carlos

 "The first day of forever was a day that Fate selected...The moment of our meeting was so very unexpected...But our first hello made it oh so clear...That the first day of forever was here. - Harry Belafonte

By now, everyone knows that Freestone got a dog for Christmas.  But how?  Why?  These are questions that only Santa Claus can answer.  Fortunately, I spoke to him and found out some of the back story.

You see, Santa Claus knew that our dog, Star, had died a year and a half ago.  He also knew that, before Star died, we had been forced to give a way our little dog Prestie.  Freestone was brokenhearted when we said good-bye to Prestie, but Prestie was an energetic little puppy who was hard on the ever-patient Star.  And it was hard for us to train Prestie.  He needed a better fit, and even though I knew it was better for Prestie, I still felt terribly guilty when we gave him away, and forever after.

One of the reasons it was right to give Prestie away was that Star was so elderly and tired.  A year later, while we were on vacation, Star died.   We were sad, but once we were dog-free, Scott and I kept saying how nice it was, and how we would never get another dog.  Freestone, on the other hand, still had his room decorated with dog posters, dog paintings, dog blankets and a whole army of stuffed dogs.  I tried to put it all away, but he got it all back out again.  If you even mentioned Star or Prestie, or any dog for that matter, Freestone's eyes would cloud over.  The boy was in pain, and it wasn't going away.  I came across a quote that said:

"In his grief over the loss of a dog, a little boy stands for the first time on tiptoe, peering into the rueful morrow of manhood.  After this most inconsolable of sorrows there is nothing life can do to him that he will not be able somehow to bear." - James Thurber

Well, if that isn't the most heartbreaking sentiment I've ever heard.  I had no idea there was a wound so deep in my boy's heart, and I certainly didn't want him to have to "peer into the rueful morrow of manhood" a moment too soon.  No wonder the loss of Star and Prestie made Freestone's face stony and miserable, even years later.  For a little boy, those were primal losses.

I said a prayer a few days before Christmas, when Freestone had shown his tender side again, that he would be happy.

 Enter Don Carlos.  It was a crazy thing Santa Claus did to bring a dog, but when I held that little dog, I had this feeling that Heavenly Father said, "I know Freestone.  I will take care of him."  Crazy, huh?  It's something powerful to contemplate, that my children - all children - are children of God, and that He watches over them as individuals, not just as an answer to the many prayers as of their parents, but because He knows their hearts.

 Don Carlos is a four-year-old Chihuahua who has been through some hard times.  He is sweet and cuddly, terrified and hyper-vigilant.  He hesitates to even lie down, always on guard, his eyes bulging at every sound.  But once he feels safe, he relaxes.  He hasn't made a peep, not a whimper.  He is housebroken, which is a huge relief (no pun intended) to me.

Santa Claus named him Don Carlos because was Scott's great-grandfather's name, and as a Spanish name, it just fits a Mexican dog breed.  It's very regal, no?

And it's not just Freestone who is smitten.  Everyone wants their chance to wrap him up in his blanket and pet him behind the ears.

I have never seen Scott hold a dog before.  He deflects the teasing by pointing out how much I like Don Carlos.  He came home yesterday to find me outside with the dog.  He said, "Somebody is in love!"  Yeah, YOU, Scott! :)

His buggy eyes start to close and then he hears a sound and they fly open again.

When Bill first saw him, I could almost see his heart melting.

Tziporah says, "He's DOH cute, Mommy!  He's DOH cute!"

Trajan was not impressed.  Nobody has been attacked by more dogs than Trajan.  (See:  the Smiths' dog, that dog in Switzerland and probably dozens of Brazilian dogs.)

He's DOH cute!  Ptolemy claims, "I love Dumb Carlos."  Yes, he thinks his name is Dumb Carlos, but he loves him anyway.  He is skinny, his ittle ribs poking out, so we've tried to offer him treats.  I even gave him a little morsel of ham, but he wouldn't take it.  Funny, because if you offered Star a piece of ham, he'd bite your hand off in his excitement.  Last night, Scott, Freestone, Ruby, Golda and I were hanging out with DC, laughing at his bug eyes and the way he freezes after he takes a couple of steps, when we heard a lapping sound.  Don Carlos had made his way across the room and was licking the ice cream bowl Scott had set on the ground.  We found the way to his heart!  And he's certainly found the way to ours.

Christmas Day, The Best Yet

 Golda was the first one up on Christmas Day.  Can you believe it?  She sneaked downstairs in the middle of the night and "slept" on a beanbag in Ruby's room until neither of them could take it anymore and woke up all the kids.  It was 6:00 when they all filed into our room, which was a relief because Scott and I couldn't sleep either!

 Looks like Ptolemy wanted to get a jump on the presents!

 Xanthe did get the "shiny new bike" she asked for, but she kept saying, "Cheese-Its!  Cheese-Its!  Santa really did bring me Cheese-Its!"  Santa Claus is always listening to our kids.  He knows them, and he always comes through for them.  I am amazed at what he is able to accomplish.  Every year, I say it's the best Christmas ever, but this year, it's really true.  Santa Claus, thank you!

 Ari was thrilled about her cello case!

 And Ruby finally got a good phone!  Other than that, I sure did a pitiful job of taking pictures.  Just imagine a bunch of very happy kids in brand-new pajamas.  Amid all the excitement, Ari and Golda found a present for them.  They opened it and discovered a screwdriver.  We postulated that it might be to open a door, so we all went downstairs...and tried the door on the unfinished bathroom.

 Santa and his elves had finished it!!

 Santa must not be an electrician, because he couldn't get the light fixture to work.  He said we would have to have some additional work done.  But Ari and Golda loved all the French details of the bathroom.  They moved in and organized their things right away.

And there was another surprise waiting just steps away from us.  Somehow, while the kids were opening their presents upstairs, unbeknownst to us, Santa dropped off a little dog in Freestone's room.  For some reason, Ptolemy suggested we go in Freestone's room and "see if there are any presents in there."  Seriously, he must be psychic.  We went in and there, in the doggiest dog-themed room in the world, there was a big basket.  And inside the basket was A REAL LIVE DOG!!!  You should have seen everyone's faces blanch, then light up.  Freestone's eyes got all big, them he burst into tears and ran away.  And you all know the rest of the story.  

 Don Carlos was there for the rest of the day, watching us play with our toys...

 Ptolemy and Freestone both got new violins, which were understandably completely overshadowed by all the other exciting things going on.  But Ptolemy is excited because, when Ruby is teaching, he isn't allowed in her studio.  She told him that if Santa brought him a violin, she would be his teacher and nobody else would be allowed to come in.  She said, "I'll tell everyone, 'I'm sorry, you can't come in, I'm teaching Ptolemy right now.'"  You should have seen his whole face just light up!

 Golda wrote Scott a long letter of gratitude and remembrance.  He was bawling before he even opened the envelope!  It was a keepsake that Scott will always treasure.  It's crazy to think how many years of Christmas memories Golda has under her belt.  This in her second-to-last as a true kid living truly under our roof, even if she doesn't go away to college.  Scott and I are savoring every minute.

 Freestone in shock as much as Don Carlos

 All the King cousins on the steps at Coco and Bill's, waiting for Bill to blow the Christmas whistle.  Coco had piles of presents ready for the onslaught, and Bill waited peacefully with his stack of Christmas cash, tucked in envelopes labeled with the names of all his favorite people.  Thanks, Mom and Dad.  You are amazing!  Every year, it seems like we have a conversation that goes something like:  "So, are the siblings giving gifts to each other, or..."

And that's the extent of the conversation.  So it's always interesting!  This year, Trajan pulled out all the stops and got all of us emergency preparedness backpacks, stocked with all the supplies a family of four needs to survive outside for four days.  So, in case of emergency, we'll either have to only survive two days, or eat some of our kids.  Just kiddin'.  I'm sure the home teachers would step in before that became necessary. :)  They'd be meatier, anyway.

But I seriously digress...

 BCF's

 "Can I open it?"

 Josh and Emily

 Trajan

 When we got back from Coco and Bill's, Golda did makeovers on all the girls.  I knew Araceli was beautiful, but look at her!!  She is growing up into such a beautiful young woman.  I am proud of her.

 Even Xanthe looks old, and so beautiful!  Look at those eyes!
Grandma and Grandpa and Ryan and Jennie came to visit us, then we crunched our way through the snow again to have dinner at Coco and Bill's.  By this time, we were definitely winding down, but none of us wanted this magical Christmas to end.