This season the
Thompsons WON’T be dreaming of a white Christmas (last year’s was rough). Instead
we’ll be praying to take none of these moments for granted:
Leia is 9
now, & she spent the year absolutely in awe of her First Eucharist, when
she turned to me & said, “This truly is a happy day!” It amazed us that
Leia would often come to us and say, “Mamma, I really need to go to Confession.
Can we find a priest?” We can thank goodness that Leia has this affinity,
because Leia’s still working on her tact (as she is very outspoken) &
getting along with her sister at the end of the summer. This year our Leia wowed
us by dancing ballet to “Music Box Dancer,” & I cried when I gave her the
very same music box (playing that song) that my Dad had given to me. This year,
Leia’s looking forward to dancing in a production based on the biblical story
of Abigail. Leia’s summer, after tackling a bout with insomnia (thank you
melatonin!), was spent excited about all things Harry Potter, culminating in
her really fun Harry Potter birthday party that included a real game of
Quidditch! (Annie caught the golden snitch!) Leia has also been truly enjoying
her 3rd grade experience at Immaculata Catholic School due to a teacher
who truly knows how to make traditional learning fun: pasta day, Peter Pan,
pizza-making, … & spring will hold the infamous “Chocolate Day” after
reading Charlie & the Chocolate
Factory!
Annie is 5 years old & wants you to
know that “it’s not just bunnies anymore!” Yep, bunnies are out & birdies
are in! In fact, our little creature-lover has decided to be an “animal
breeder” when she grows up. The inspiration for this was probably our newest
addition: a pet cockatiel named “Teddy,” but whom Daddy almost immediately
deemed, “Sir Tedward Grunion.” Much of Annie’s year was spent laughing at
“Grunion eating onions & Funions” before she topped it off with a special
“Birdie & Bunny” party for her 5th birthday. Annie absolutely
adores her Montessori experience at Mountain Sun Community School where she is
surrounded by lots of animals (as well as wonderful people)! Right up Annie’s
alley! We all remain in awe of the truly Christ-like love with which Annie’s
teachers live & teach, helping Annie actively look forward to an Immaculata
kindergarten next year. (“School with sister!?!”) Annie has also added an
activity to her week: gymnastics or “bouncing” (i.e. “balancing”) which she
loves. In reality this morphed from wanting to try martial arts to be more like
Kung Fu Panda, but seeing her love of animals, perhaps next year we need to
consider 4-H. Annie’s still working on stopping her thumb sucking at night &
not having tantrums when she’s tired (“I will just sit here & do
NUFFING!!!”). Still, it has been a true blessing watching Annie transform from
a loner to a truly social being!
Further, both Brian and I are happy &
thriving both in our primary vocation of parenting & our secondary vocation
of work: Brian still in love with Chemistry & me still in love with editing
(& both of us in love with Leia & Annie above all). Our whole family
was blessed to see a piece of the True Cross (& many other relics) &
experience the Holy Spirit as a result. Brian was wonderful support due to some
of my minor health issues: carpel tunnel surgery on both hands, sprained
wrists, & worn cartilage in my knees. All fixed now (except the latter,
that I’m stuck with), & happy in living close to both Grandma & Grandpa
as well as Oma & Papa. We even got to attend Great Grandma Betty’s 90th
birthday party with the entire family in Buffalo this past winter (a VERY special
occasion)! Summer held visits from
Annie’s godparents, the McNeils , Auntie April & Uncle Ben, and our good
friends the Worrels, as well as constant communication from Leia’s godparents,
the Cannatas, actively serving our country and stationed in Australia! Lake-Murray,
Otter Creek Water Park, Dollywood, even me teaching some beginning Latin to the
girls filled our summer, … as well as scarring our kids with a little bit of
tubing during thunderstorms. (Leia is still afraid of clouds.) Still, no summer
would be complete with our almost daily trip to the Davidson River with all of
its joys & adventures. Fall began with the Mountain State Fair where both
girls received cash awards for their recycled art projects. (Annie made a bunny
out of a beer can & an old balloon while Leia made a little girl out of a
shampoo bottle & a toothpaste box.)
We had a nice jump-start on the season this
year by riding the real Polar Express via the Smokey Mountain Railroad even
before Thanksgiving! We followed that up with a turkey feast with the
Thompsons, visiting the Riverbanks Zoo Holiday Lights & the Roper Mtn.
Christmas Lights, finishing our Christmas shopping in its entirety, adopting an
“Elf on the Shelf” named Peppermint, finishing a beautiful Christmas craft,
visiting Santa [twice!], & even experiencing our first November snowfall(!)
… all before Thanksgiving weekend was over! Could it be that we will actually
be able to enjoy the peace of our Savior’s Birth this year instead of the
hustle & bustle that often accompanies the holidays? I hope so!
… and that peace is our wish
for you, our dearest family & friends, this Christmas!
With Love from the Thompsons: Noelle, Brian, Leia Rose &
Annie
P.S. And as is our tradition, … some
holiday laughs:
·
First, a little memory of some special
words our children say. Annie says
“bemember” for remember, “bounce” for balance, “chickmunk” for chipmunk,
“chlorox-reen” for chlorine, “tormado” for tornado, “pee-pee chicks” for
peeping chicks, “pie-pet” for pipette (like a littlest petshop figure that
likes to eat pies), “bof” for both, “wif” for with, … and even Leia insists
that it’s “extracise” instead of exercise and a “corder” instead of a quarter.
· Now for the true quotes:
Annie upon writing
"letters” to Santa: “How about ‘A,’
‘Z,’ ‘P,’ ‘N,’ and ‘D’"?
· Annie on Lent: "Jesus died on the cross for give us our sins." "Jesus said to his recycles, 'Do this in bemembrance of me.'"
·
Upon Annie saying, “Mamma, boring this
is”: I laughed & added, “Are you
Yoda, Annie?” Annie replied, “No, … I’m BORED!”
·
Annie upon pondering love and family:
“I still love you, Mamma. I just love
Daddy a little bit more than I love you.”
·
Annie upon reflecting on her homemade
snow globe: “I just love my snow
glow! See? You shake it up and the glitter and beads
swirl around! Maybe at night, with a
light behind it, the snow will finally glow!”
·
Annie upon naming her animal friends
(mostly bunnies and birdies): “How about Caramel Apple, Muffin, Mushroom,
Brownie, and Onion?” Do you think she
likes food? Ha!
·
Leia Rose upon receiving the Body of
Christ for the first time: “Wow! Jesus
tastes exactly like popcorn!”
·
Annie, upon pondering our wonderful
home: “Mamma, I love this house. Can we
stay in this house forever?” (I
mentioned that someday she might find a nice young man to marry and that they
might want to move into their own house.)
Annie thought a minute and said, “Hmmm, yeah. Maybe when I’m an older kid.”
·
Leia on friendship: “Mamma, God made
one of the girls in my class very special!
All of her fingers are different sizes! . . . just like how some snakes
have two heads!
·
Annie (or is it Tommy Bailey from It’s a Wonderful Life?): “Scuse me.
Scuse me! Scuse me! SCUSE ME! … I burped.”
·
Annie on snow: “What is it called
again when it snows really hard?
Staples?” “Do you mean a
blizzard, Annie?” “Yes, not staples, … a
blizzard.”
·
Annie upon needing a nap: "Mamma, this day was badder than any
other day!" And after learning that
the word she needed was "worse," it was, "Then this day was
WORSER than any other day, MAMMA!!!"
·
Leia upon me asking what color the
mark on my face was, “Why do you want to know what COLOR it is on your face,
Mamma? What do you think it is, …
termites?!?”
·
Annie upon hearing Daddy blow his
nose: “Daddy, when you blow your nose,
you sound just like Chewbacca!” Ha!
·
Annie upon hearing my explanation of
septic tanks: “Wow, Mamma! You know a LOT of things!!! I bet you know EVERYTHING!”
·
Leia, upon riding in a golf cart after
a Furman Lakeside Concert: “Oma, I’m
gonna get a car that flies! They’re
gonna start makin’ those in a couple weeks!”
·
Annie on catching fireflies: “Mamma,
this is my very favorite bug in the whole world!”
·
Leia’s definition of the Smart
Car: “Two people and a bag of
groceries.”
·
Leia, upon climbing in the rock caves
at Jump Off Rock: “You don’t have to be
big to be strong.”
·
Annie, upon hearing Leia describer her
sister as “muscle-ey”: “I am NOT a mussy
ski!!!”
·
Annie:
“Nothing is good enough for me!”
·
Annie on pets: “How about if we live with birdie until he
dies!?!”
·
Annie on Leia’s love of Japan: “You’ve gotta buy me lots of chopsticks
someday, … because I really like that kind of town.”
·
Leia, upon explaining the name of her
imaginary pizza place: “Yes, Mom,
Ruffie’s Pizza, … Ruffies, … ‘Ruf’ like the sound a dog makes. What did you think the dog’s name was,
Eat-the-Poop?”
·
Leia on bubbles: “What’re you talkin’ bout, Mamma? Bubbles are for ALL ages!”
·
Leia, upon swimming in the lake: “Ahhhh.
This water feels so good, I could eat the mangroves!”
Annie on reproduction: “Oh Mamma, someday I want to get a girl
bunny. And maybe, if we put her in a
cage, … and just leave her alone, … just maybe, … she’ll have babies!!! [clasps
her hands together] oh, how I would LOVE to have baby bunnies!”
·
Annie upon snuggling with her special
blanket she calls “seep” (sleep): “Oh, I
just LOVE my Grandma! Mamma, I love my
Grandma! You know why? You know WHY I love my Grandma? My Grandma made me my special seep! Oh, how I love my seep and I love my
Grandma!”
·
Leia, upon hearing me say “Oh wow, Leia! That picture of Harry Potter is really
good! You’re so good at art and music
and school and making friends and learning about God. Leia, I can’t think of anything you’re not
good at! Can YOU think of anything
you’re not good at?”: [silence] “Yeah, …
I’m not good at going to sleep!”
·
Leia
on wealth: "Mamma says that money isn't everything, ... but it sure does
HELP."
·
Leia, upon running with me to get to
yet another Dollywood rollercoaster:
“Well, Mamma, you’ll sure lose weight today!”
·
Leia upon printing two separate t’s
and me saying, “Did you know you can cross two t’s as one?”: “Is that even allowed in the spelling world?”
·
Leia, upon waiting for Daddy to get
his late-night chicken from KFC: “This
place is very manly, … because everyone who comes out is a man!”
·
Annie, upon eating at Iannuccis: “There’s nothin’ gooder than a patch o’
buttered noodles!”
·
Leia, upon watching Anastasia: “Oh, I
just love that part in kid-romantic movies.
When they’re about to say I love you and they’re too scared to.”
·
Annie, upon considering what movie to
watch: “I want to watch this jungle movie that Leia saw when she was three, …
it was called ‘Hell.’”
·
Leia, upon seeing a picture of the
inside of a cockpit at the Runway Café, “Wow!
That plane has too many gidgety-gadgets!”
·
Leia, upon hearing me imitate Daddy
smacking his ravioli, “Mamma, you sound like a messy animal eating a small
fruit.” Ha!
·
Annie, upon hearing lots of Dolly
Parton on the Parkway, “I think that Dolly Parton is the goodest singer I’ve
ever seen!”
·
Leia upon answering this test question
“True or False, our founding fathers didn’t want a democracy, they wanted a
dictatorship.”: … “A POTATO CHIP!?!
Hahaha!”
·
Leia, upon seeing the electric eel
tank at Riverbanks: “Wow, if we actually
see an electric eel, that would be … SHOCKING!”
Ha!
·
Annie, upon seeing Santa on the Polar
Express: “Santa, I want two kinds of
barrettes for my dolls: the kind that go
“boop, boop” and the kind that go “snap, snap.”
·
Leia, upon seeing Grandpa take
pictures with his two brothers on Thanksgiving:
“What is this, elderly person picture day?!?” Ha!
No comments:
Post a Comment