My Crazy Life as a Hunter's Wife: Christmas 2011

My Hunter Man with his new WADERS

Christmas 2011—Top 10 List

Not really in any order, just how they all came to me as I was writing:

ONE: Watching my 22 month old grandson open his present on Christmas Eve. His mom made him a fleece blanket with four of his favorite things on it—Mickey Mouse, Elmo, Toy Story, and CARS. He was so excited about that blanket. He put it on the floor, and then rolled around on it laughing and giggling with delight. It was so fun to see! I have never seen a baby as happy about a gift as he was about that one. That is what Christmas should be like for all of us. Joy and delight about everything.

TWO: Feeling delight, myself, when I opened up one of my gifts from Hunter Man. A $50.00 Café Rio gift card! It was neat to know that he really thought about what I would like and remembered that I love Café Rio sweet pork enchiladas. Now I can go there every other month for a year! Yay!

THREE: Silently laughing with my daughter (Kj) and daughter-in-law (Tass) when I opened one of my gifts from Hunter Man. A pink hoodie sweatshirt with a big brown deer head on it! They both have read this blog and they know how funny I think it is that he shops for me at the sporting goods store. Yup! On Black Friday, he got me the pink hoodie AND some really great snow boots that will keep my feet warm to minus 50 degrees! The boots are so padded and insulated that I can hardly get my feet in them! He laughed and said, “You know I had to get you something for hunting!” Well, we just had the driest December in Utah history, so I don’t know when I am going to be able to wear my new snow boots. Next October, I will wear my pink deer head hoodie during the deer hunt.

FOUR: Feeling a big sense of relief when my younger son (Ty) finally opened the present he had been pestering me about for weeks—Rocksmith for the X-Box 360. He seriously wanted me to give it to him weeks before Christmas and every time he began working on me to get me to give-in and let him have his way, he would get so mad at me when I wouldn’t do it. He was making me not even want to give it to him for Christmas, so I was glad when I finally could just get it over with and give it to him. I did not feel very jolly about it at all and if I didn’t know him as well as I do, I would have taken it back and would have gotten him something else instead. But, I knew that doing that would have just caused us to have a bad . He was happy to finally have it and that was good enough I guess.

FIVE: Seeing the big difference in attitude that my older son (Jer) had when he opened the gift that he had been waiting patiently for. It was also a game for the X-Box 360 that he had been wanting very much. He knew that I was probably getting it for him and he was going crazy waiting for it, but he did. And he was grinning from ear to ear when he finally had it in his hands. He was a good example of how to be grateful for a gift.

SIX: Watching my daughter and son-in-law (Mark) open the blue baby afghan that I have been crocheting during every spare second for the last few weeks to give them for Christmas. They just announced that they were expecting a baby right before Thanksgiving and then two weeks later found out that they were having a boy. I immediately went to the craft store to buy yarn so that I could get an afghan made by Christmas. I finished it on the 22^nd. They were so happy and I just love it when people like the baby afghans that I make.

SEVEN: Giving my grandson (Bridger) his presents and watching him meticulously tear every bit of paper off of them as he sat in the middle of the coffee table opening them. When he got one opened, he would play with it for a few minutes, then say what sounded like “Prize? Prize?”—- all ready for another one. It is so wonderful to watch him do every single thing that he does. And, he is such a good boy, that when we told him that the presents were all gone, he accepted it without having any kind of fit and was happy just to play with his new toys. He is so awesome. I just love being his grandma.

EIGHT: Spending almost the whole day with my family at our house. For the first time since we moved to Utah, I didn’t get all dressed and ready to go visiting relatives on Christmas because we visited all of the grandparents on Christmas Eve. I spent the entire Christmas day in my pajamas! I have never done that before. We talked, laughed, played, ate, and just enjoyed being together. As all of the married ones left to go home that night, I was sad. Even though some of them stayed until almost midnight, I didn’t want them to leave. I missed them the minute they were all gone.

NINE: Eating Chinese food! My daughter-in-law and daughter were looking at things online on Pinterest and when they saw a post for crab rangoons”, Jer heard the word rangoons. That was it for him. He suddenly had a craving for Chinese Food. He called his favorite Chinese restaurant and they were actually open. Within an hour, we had a Chinese feast that we hadn’t even planned on. Yum! What a fun new tradition to start! Chinese food on Christmas! We had crock pot breakfast with cinnamon mcmelts in the morning and then ham and party potatoes for lunch, but I must say the Chinese food was a nice change from the traditional Christmas fare.

TEN: Knowing that we were all together for Christmas this year in a way that we couldn’t even imagine was possible last year. It has been quite a year and I was thankful for each and every one of my family and what they have done for me. I am proud of them all for what they have accomplished this year. Jer started his own new division the family electrical contracting business. Tass was able to become a stay-at-home mom. Kj started her first year as a 2^nd grade teacher. Mark is working toward two masters degree. Ty has made big changes in his life and developed a talent for photography. Bridger started walking and talking and can repeat almost anything he hears. He is so smart.

And Hunter Man came through this year for Christmas. Because I will take a pink deer head sweatshirt as long as it comes with a Café Rio gift card and I won’t complain.

I might laugh, but I won’t complain.

More Christmas Pics: