Surreal New Year's Eve to Say the Least

Maliana ~

It was TOUGH to go back to work and school after so many days off. And to make it harder, we had left your Spiderman blanket at the cabin and so you did not have one of your favorite comfort items on that first day at school. To say you were emotional is an understatement...poor thing. However, by Thursday I was happy to report this on Facebook:

~ after leaving Mali's beloved Spiderman blanket at the cabin we stayed in this weekend, it's been an emotional few days. However, today it arrived in the mail and Mali was over the moon with joy...and I could have sworn I heard this song playing faintly in the distance...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glC9_8Ijt9k

After we rejoiced with Spidey, we hit the slopes and had a little moonlit sledding fun. Daddy even got home a little early and joined us in his work clothes and all. To hear you squeal as we slid down the hill was music to our ears.

Friday you were so excited to be embarking on another four day weekend! That, and also that Lao Lao was coming over to spend the night so Daddy and I could go on a double date with Aunt Tina and Uncle Joe. While we went to a movie and dinner, you convinced Lao Lao to go to one of your favorite places, Easton. You had fun having dinner of your own and shopping at the Lego store, then you came home and cracked open some geodes that Lao Lao had brought over. I think you really liked using the hammer and safety goggles, asking to do another one as soon as the first one was open. I love your varying interests! As Uncle Joe said when we told him you were cracking geodes with Lao Lao, "She just might be a rock hound!"

Saturday we woke up, made coffee and cinnamon rolls, played a game of Cootie, and then headed outside to play in the over 4 new inches of snow that had fallen overnight. The day was still with no wind and just around freezing, not too cold or warm, and the snow was powdery and just moist enough to pack excellently for building a snowman. When we hit the slope near our house, you were the first one to grab your sled and go swooshing down the hill...we were all surprised since you were a little hesitant just the other day. Someone had built a mogul out of snow and so we all tried to get some air. You cracked us up as you went down on your own and as you sailed along (missing the mogul altogether) we heard your little voice say, "Shit!" Of course we reminded you (while stifling giggles) that that was not appropriate language when you got back to the top of the hill. We had an absolute blast! It was so much fun to worry about nothing but PLAYING!! When we got back in the car you exclaimed, "That was so fun!"

rolling the head

getting him stable and shaped

who are you going to hit with that snow ball?

decorating

all done...nice job everyone!

if the arms go missing, I think we know who to find

eeek!!

 

snowman's hat wouldn't stay on so Daddy got a
drill...yep, I said drill...we use powertools
on the snowmen at our house!

 

snowman with an alien popping out of his tummy...
like I always tell you, "if everyone was the
same, (or God forbid "normal"), the
world would be very boring!"

ready to sled!

snow angel

mmmm

whatcha got in your mouth?

first solo ride of the season!

this dog is a snow beast!

crazy Daddy

Abby had a ball chasing us down the hill

hey ladies! you're supposed to stay on the sled!

ready to go and try to jump that mogul...
however with all that weight, we
actually flattened it. ha!

After nap, Memaw and Papaw arrived and we celebrated Christmas Wilkinson style. With the snow outside, the lights on inside, Christmas music playing on the stereo...it all felt very cozy and Christmas-y. Once again, I loved that you were very gracious about your gifts, and totally psyched to give them their Secret Santa presents. I think your favorite gifts tonight were your harmonica, origami, and drum set. Super cool. And now that Uncle Joe also got a drum set for Christmas, perhaps the two of you can jam together?

good grief! it looks like Santa
came back!

about to give the grandparents
their Secret Santa gifts

The Who tickets? Memaw, you done good!

grandparent kisses are the best

drum set!!

And, as a side bar so you can always remember how crazy your Daddy is...he took a dare from me today to go fix our Mickey who was buried in snow in the yard...here was the result...

undies and nothing else...I'm sure our neighbors
love us...but this (and many more) is
one reason I married your Daddy

On Sunday, Daddy took you to Gena's for breakfast while I went to the grocery. On the way there, he asked what you wanted and you replied, "Hot potatoes", upon further questioning it was determined these are actually home fries. When he guessed correctly, you said, "Yeah, hot potatoes!" Ha ha.

That night we went to our friends' Ziying and Zuchao's (You You and William) house for a feast of warm and spicy foods (perfect for a cold winter day), all homemade and all delicious!! We happened to meet these two at a festival two years ago, but feel so lucky to still be able to call such a wonderful couple our friends.

this photo does not do it justice...only about
half of the meal is shown here and it
all was absolutely fabulous!

we got to try zongzi for the first time...sweetened
sticky rice wrapped in a bamboo leaf

it was delicious! and we discovered that it is also
good with honey (as well as sugar), yum!

you (Mali) refused to be in any pictures, but agreed
to take some of us...pretty good job!

Had to run out and pick up some last minute New Year's Eve items on Monday and while riding through Target in the cart, you were belting out a tune all your own of, "I love my mom!"...definitely made up at least a little bit for all of those other more common times I've had to carry you out of stores kicking and screaming and under my arm like a football, making me feel like much less than "Mother of the Year". Ha.

Monday night we celebrated New Year's Eve at Uncle Joe and Aunt Tina's house. It was a bit of a melancholy celebration as the entire day was extremely emotional (for the grownups especially and for reasons I'll go into below the pictures), but first I will show you some pictures of the fun you kids had.

making New Year's Eve sundaes

good Lord look at all that candy!

pots and pans all ready to bang in the new year!

warming up by the fire before bed

going sledding on New Year's Day

As for the disheartening part, I have no idea where to begin. Earlier in the morning, we got the devastating news that a 10 year old girl who lives in Virginia (and whose family is very close to our dear friends) lost her nearly two year long battle with osteosarcoma at around 6:30am, with her mother sleeping by her side. I cried quite a bit upon hearing the news, trying to make sense of it all. I have no idea why the world can seem so cruel and unfair. I just don't understand the injustice of it all. Then, to make this New Year's Eve all the more heartbreaking, when we got to Joe and Tina's we found out that Tina's mom, Catherine, had been taken to the hospital with another aneurysm near her liver (she was still trying to recover from her cerebral aneurysm this autumn). As we ate dinner, Tina's sister called and reported that things had gone from bad to worse, so Tina jumped into her car and raced to Cleveland to be with her mother. Sadly, she did not make it in time and Mama C went to Heaven to be with her Sal (Tina's father, who had just left us in July) only minutes before Tina arrived at the hospital. Even writing it here now, it doesn't seem real, like we could all wake up tomorrow and it would be a dream. How can this have happened all in one day, and to so many people who are the most kind and loving people that I know? I just don't get it. As I lay next to you on the first morning of 2013, thinking of all the people who will begin this year so irrevocably different than the last, I shuddered at the fragility of life and felt so helpless and insignificant in the midst of it all. On the one hand, I get a panicky feeling like there must be so much more I can do to protect you and all those that I love. On the other hand, I looked at these events as a sign that one of my new year's resolutions should be to forgive more, love more, choose to be happy more, spend time with those that I love and tell them I love them more often, and always try to stop and breathe and truly be present, remembering that every single day is a gift. None of us knows what is in store for our future, none of us. But we all can make the most of our present moments and our time with each other, to love each other and make the world a better place for having been here. As I sat there with you nestled into my arm, I smelled the sweet scent of your head, listened to your breath and thanked God, whoever and wherever he/she may be, that I had that moment, that instant with you. In 2013, I promise to be all that much more aware of those moments with you and all those that I love. Time and memories are the most priceless of our possessions. We may not be able to take anything with us when we leave this Earth, but the one thing I'm convinced that we can take is our love. And I, for one, plan on making and sharing so much love this year that when it's my time to go (hopefully a long, long time from now), I'll need some help carrying it all to Heaven.

Love,
Mama