NOT THERE

Today my sister Merrit got married, and I was not there*. Physically.

But, thankfully, due to modern technology, and the heroic actions of sister Super Dana,
I got to watch the whole thing via web-cam and the Internet (thanks for inspiring the idea, Kim!).

(And when I say whole thing, I mean whole thing...from the picture taking in the background to the nose itching in the foreground...whole thing! Lesson learned: when on web cam, wear a high neck shirt, remember strangers are watching, and don't touch nose...)

It was awesome. Or 4w350m3, as my computer-savvy brothers might say :+)=!
Here is a recap of some of those awesome moments from Merrit and Matt's wedding:

• The first 45 minutes of online chatting with my brothers, who were also watching 45 minutes of...nothing...with me. I'm being serious; it was fun!
  

• The miracle of technology: I watched people talk on their cell phones as I talked to others on the computer while it streamed live video of a wedding taking place clear across the country from me. Amazing. Thank you, super smart people of the world.
  

• People turning their back to us during photo ops mise-en-scene.
  

• Dave welcoming the guests, and his beleaguered, "Um, I'm having a hard time hearing..." because Matt's sister (?)--who was amazing, by the way--was still singing her soulful, soundful rendition of "At Last."
  

• Dave re-welcoming the guests, with his "compliments" to the songstress: "Uh, I thought that was real music, and I was just waiting for someone to push the pause button..."
  

• My dad forgetting the words to the song he wrote. Typical.
  

• My dad getting all emotional as he sang the song he wrote. Touching.
  

• The flower girls--my two nieces and their cousin--coming to Grandpa's rescue and singing the song for him. Tremendously touching.
  

• Merrit's song for Matt. Great lyrics to a great song, Merrit...especially the part about the proof of your shopping prowess, use of the phrase "brain stem," and the part about choosing Matt even though he was poor... So sentimental!

• Merrit's succinct summation of her presentation with, "So...(pause, pause, pause,) yeah!"
  

• Matt and Merrit singing "The Prayer" together. Man, that boy can sing! Merrit, you were pretty good, too!
  

• Matt's one-upmanship of Merrit's temple picture. He blew that one out of the water with his one thousand million forty seven pictures/memories in one! All Merrit had was a postcard... All joking aside, seeing them both share the same surprise gift with one another was really one of the most endearing, special moments of all. It was truly lovely. See you guys in a year!
  

• Matt wiping away some of Merrit's happy tears. That was tender.
  

• Matt caressing Merrit's hand.
  

• Merrit's hair. I mean, Merrit's Hair.
  

• Rob scanning the room with the web cam during the musical numbers.
  

• Lighting the candles. (Lindsay-Dave-Colin-Amy-Dana, do you remember ever seeing one of the Eastern European wedding waltzes done with candles? Oh, my beautiful.) It reminded me of an Eastern European wedding waltz done with lit candles...
  

• Merrit leaning down towards the computer to say she loved us.
  

• And, finally, the closing song: an electric guitar/rock star version of the wedding processional. Who knew?!

And who knows what wonderful things are yet to come? I'm excited to be a part of them all, one way or another. Thank you to all who made it possible.






*And why was I not there? you may ask.
Because tomorrow morning, *sob*sob*, we are taking Evan to college in Idaho.
Because tomorrow morning, *sob*sob*, life as my little family knows it, is going to change.
Because tomorrow morning, *sob*sob*, I will feel older, Evan will feel bolder, and the temperature will be much colder. At least until summer.

HUNGRY

A song for you...

Each day after Christmas, this is what I ate:
a bowl full of Swedish meatballs.

Each day after Christmas, this is what I ate:
two cups of cocoa,
and a bowl full of Swedish meatballs.

Each day after Christmas, this is what I ate:
three cheese balls,
two cups of cocoa,
and a bowl full of Swedish meatballs.

Each day after Christmas, this is what I ate:
four frosty floats,
three cheese balls,
two cups of cocoa,
and a bowl full of Swedish meatballs.

Each day after Christmas, this is what I ate:
five chocolate ginger snaps (maybe seven?)!
Four frosty floats,
three cheese balls,
two cups of cocoa,
and a bowl full of Swedish meatballs.

Each day after Christmas, this is what I ate:
six coconut candies,
five chocolate ginger snaps (maybe 12?)!
Four frosty floats,
three cheese balls,
two cups of cocoa,
and a bowl full of Swedish meatballs.

(fast forward to the last verse, shall we...)

Each day after Christmas, this is what I ate:
twelve strawb'ry twizzlers,
eleven cinnamon santas,
ten sweet gherkins,
nine cubes of cheddar,
eight bowls of chili,
seven cups of chowder,
six coconut candies,
five chocolate ginger snaps (at least)!
Four frosty floats,
three cheese balls,
two cups of cocoa,
and a bowl full of Swedish meatballs.

Hope your holidays have been as full as mine!



p.s. Does this song make me look fat?

IRREVERENT

Greetings to those of you still doggedly hopeful enough to check in here...

I just got home from church, giggling all the way, because of several things:

One, church is over and a nap is imminent.
Two, a friend gave me both a ride home and a green Christmas cookie.
Three, Joshua was wearing his tie on his head.

I giggled through the last 20 minutes of church, as well, all due to the antics of an 11 year old boy in my Primary class. Usually this child does nothing but make me pull my hair out, but every now and then I may admit to the few sporadic moments of enjoyment he provides. Young Master M is one of those frustratingly interesting people who know just the right buttons to push...on everyone. He annoys the grown ups, he annoys the kids. He annoys his parents, he annoys the dogs.

But today he made me laugh.

In our Primary room there are some wooden blocks with cute paper letters pasted to them, displayed each week to read the word:

F A M I L Y

but when I came in the room just after Master M today, the blocks instead read:

IM A FLY.

The leader in charge, not paying any attention, simply moved the blocks closer together; but not before Claire, one of my favorite youngsters, looked at the crafty wordsmith and said, "Fine. Shoo, fly, don't bother me."

Awesome.

Also pretty entertaining was when Master M correctly answered a questioned directed to him, but then, when the leader of the discussion tried to elaborate, he interrupted her with, "Yeah, yeah. We got it. Can we move on now?"

I confess, I adore it when people say what I am thinking.

So, it's been a pretty good day so far. And now, my friends, I nap.

Rather than sugar plums, this just might be what I envision instead. It makes me giggle, too.