Tuesday's Best: ReindeerS, America, and Most Bestest Perfectest

this morning's tuesday's best was the best so far.  if i could call it the most bestest without the grammar police attacking me i sure would.  because it was.  most bestest perfectest.

next tuesday is christmas, and the week after that is new years, so we won't be skyping for 3 full weeks.   normally this would make me all sorts of sad, but not after this morning's call.  this morning, we really felt like a family.

the kids sang us christmas carols and asked us to sing them a few as well.  after realizing that we didn't know any of the verses to 'we wish you a merry christmas' josh suggested that we teach them 'rudolph the red nosed reindeer' and it should be noted that josh seems to think the plural of reindeer is reindeerS.  really.  he sang it both times.  i have video proof.  we will obviously not be homeschooling...

i played guitar for them and taught them a portion of a song for them to sing with me (can one collect skype royalties? hypothetically of course), geraldine got up on the chair and did her standard booty dance (oh boy), mohamed asked us to bring him socks when we come visit in january and a photo album full of pictures of himself (hilarious and sweet), then the best thing ever...

gerald leaned in close to the camera and said, "go there!"

we asked him where and he shouted, "america!"

be still my adopting heart.  the kids don't know that we are trying to adopt them.  in case something terrible were to happen and adoption was no longer a possibility they only know that if it was ever an option for us to bring them home we would love to do so.  i couldn't bear for them to be as devastated as we would be if that didn't happen.  to protect their high hopes and their trust in us that we will follow through with what we say, they have less than limited information on what we are fighting for this side of the pacific.

america.  soon enough, sweet boy.  i promise you.  soon enough.

merry christmas to my favorite four.  may you know that you are loved.  may you know that you are wanted.  may you know that you are fought for.  25 days until i pick you up and don't put you down for a solid week.

merry christmas to all and to all a good skype.

america

singing christmas carols

the booty dance that will be the death of me in her teenage years

guitar time.  this is pretty much what every audience i've ever had looks like... ;)

Tuesday's Best, A Christmas Story, and Gung Ho Giving

me: "guess what time it is!!"

you: "tool time?"

me:  "no, but omg jonathan taylor thomas was such a babe!  i miss that show.  what was with the creepy neighbor who never showed his face?  and how pamela anderson was 'heidi' and then all of a sudden she was just gone and they put somebody in her place like people weren't gonna notice that..."

you: (scrolling your mouse toward the 'unsubscribe' button) "yeah, right?!  what was up with that? ha" (nervous laughter).

me: "no wait!  don't go!  it's tuesday's best!!!!"

(yes.  i'm aware that it's wednesday.  yesterday got busy, ok?  just go with it.)

 i mean, that smile!  that single coolio braid!
(also, note how mohamed is so happy because he's looking at a picture of himself)

story time.  everyone turned toward mohamed as he read to us.

what book did he read?  the christmas story.  duh.  it's only the best story ever.
and if anything warrants a little early october celebration preparation it's jesus's birth.
it's beginning to look a lot like christmas.

this one's just to prove that mamie has a face.  poor girl always gets covered up by coolio braids.

man i love those kids.  3 of our 4 kids have birthdays in the next two weeks and it's going to rip my heart out not to be there.  there will be candles on cupcakes and balloons and streamers on our end of our skype call, that's for sure.

in other news... remember when i (politely) told you to go bling or go home????  well you still have a couple more days to get your orders in through our link with your proceeds going directly to the raining season.  the trunk show closes THIS FRIDAY so get your orders in now!

shop here:  http://www.stelladot.com/ts/raui5

and remember... it's beginning to look a lot like christmas (shopping).

xo,

m

Merry Christmas

 christmas with my family has always been exactly, completely, entirely...  

this:

and even though my parents traded snow for surf and moved...

here:

and instead of having aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, priests (yes, priests) and friends over for dinner we started passing out gift baskets at my dad's hospital in... 

these:

and candlelit midnight mass on christmas eve has become us one by one trickling into the living room to watch my crosspoint family on...

this:

and us "kids" no longer wait at the top of the steps for our parents to get the coffee and camera ready before we get to see what santa brought us like...

this:

not all that much has changed like...

this:

merry this and happy that to everyone and everything.

'tis the season.

ps - i got the most bestest biggest outstandingest terrific amazingest supercalifragilisticexpialidocious gift ever this year.  more on that as soon as i can share details...

Christmas Courage

i come from a family where funny is king.  sarcasm is our first language.  the sole purpose of gift giving among us is for the giver to purchase something that the recipient will be mortified to return.  this clan will go to great lengths for a laugh.  

but this?  this took some special kind of christmas courage.  my 21 year old brother flew from wisconsin to texas, that's one thousand one hundred and eighty miles... in this:

i have never been more proud of him.