Why yes, hell did freeze over...

It's true! Over Christmas break, hell did freeze over. I live amongst a family of skiers and snow boarders. I've skied....Been there, done that...It's cold, it hurts, I suck...Hell would have to freeze over to get me up on a mountain to ski again. But, for Christmas I received a nice ski coat, pants and gloves. My excuse for being cold and unstylish, I am that vain, was gone. I would be totally warm in my new gear. Caught up in the excitement of my family, I reluctantly agreed to go up to Bogus Basin.

I remember the last time I skied thirteen years ago. I spent more time on my back sliding backwards down the hill than I did on my feet. I'm sure I was pretty comical to look at giving more than one person a reason to laugh. I was determined not to make a fool of myself this time, and I definitely didn't want to get hurt. You know I am 40! I warned my peeps to snap a picture as this may have been the first and last time they would see me on the slopes. Alas, they did not heed my warning and no pictures were snapped. Really, who wants to take a picture of their mom when they are teenagers. They were more than likely snapping photos of the cute girl sitting next to them on the lift.

I have perfected sliding down the hill on my butt, and backwards on my back. Chanting "I'm not going to fall, I'm not going to fall..." really doesn't work. I tried...On the plus side, I am very proficient on the bunny hill. I can do that without falling. I do fall getting off of the ski lift, though. What a loser!

And to prove I went up, here is the one picture I snapped from Bogus with my phone.  It is called "The top side of fog." 

 

A Christmas from Hell

Photo Source

YES, you read that right, I said the word HELL as in h-e-double hockey sticks. There are so many heartwarming Christmas stories, I myself have shared a few, but everything is not always perfect.  We had a really sucky year once right at Christmas time. It seemed if something bad was going to happen, then it was going to happen to us that Christmas. I mean, what the crap? Instead of turning to Christ as I should have, laying my burdens at His feet, I just got pissed. It took several years before I felt the same about Christmas again.

I was four months pregnant with two little boys already in tow. We were a one car family and decided to clean out our savings to buy a used car for me to go back and forth to appointments and such. A week after acquiring our new, old car, my baby died. I had to have a D and C and needed to find a babysitter for my two snot nosed boys who were nursing a cold. Without family nearby, I called the people who are supposed to help you in said circumstances. Much to my discouragement, I got "No's" all over the place. I finally found a girlfriend willing to take my little bugs. Two days later a sister at church called me to babysit her kids because her husband was in the hospital. I said yes, of course, not wanting her to feel as forlorn as I had. She then proceeded to call me everyday to watch her kids. I was still nursing my own health issues and had family coming in for the holidays.

A week later car number one died on my dh right at work. On the bright side, it died in the parking lot at work and waited until we had two cars, but at that point there were no bright sides. He wanted me to drive out in a foot of snow 20 miles to his work to meet the tow truck driver. As a dutiful wife, I drove out with my babies. The roads were tricky and my jeep was all over the place. When I met the tow truck driver, he pointed to a flat tire on my jeep. Are you kidding? He noticed my exasperation and in the Christmas spirit, changed my tire for free.

Taking car number one to the GM dealer I listened as they calmly told me the diagnosis for my vehicle. A cracked head gasket something so foreign to my vehically inept mind, I didn't realize the seriousness of the situation until they told me they need $2,000 to get it running again. Standing there staring at the service reps and mechanics I crumbled. I had held in my frustrations and heartbreak too long, I was grieving and stressed and the financial burdens were too heavy, right there I bawled my eyes out hyperventillating and wondering what else could go wrong. The plus side, is that they felt so helpless at my crying they took 10% off and strongly suggested I go home.

I have never dealt with cars since. I still feel mortification over the thought of my melt down in front of a bunch of guys I didn't even know.  One important lesson I've learned besides the fact that I should have relied on the Lord more is now when something crappy happens I always tell myself it could be worse.

And that is why overly sappy Christmas letters can push me over the edge.  It started that dreadful year long ago...