Innocence, Imitation

Jake called on Christmas day to give Mama Kim an account of all the things Santa had brought to him, among which was a gift card that she had sent which was delivered in his stocking. He got several other gift cards, some cash and a check for $50. Needless to say, he was excited about what that amount of money represented to him. “Mama Kim”, he said, “I can, like, buy the whole world!” What a joy!


He also told us he got the complete serried of one of the oldest shows on television; The Muppet Show. Boy does that make me feel old. I thought he might say the Three Stooges or the Little Rascals, maybe even Red Skelton, but no. He was very happy about the whole thing and wanted to talk to everyone in the house; Mama Kim, Papa Tim, Joshua, Brittany, Chase and Victoria pretty much in that order. It took about an hour and ten minutes for him to talk himself out, but it was a great present for Mama.

He is still very confident about coming to Amarillo as soon as possible. His mother and Mama are starting to work out the details which are of no importance to him; he only knows that it will happen. Skype does not work for him. Before we left New Jersey, on the last day they would see each other in 2010, he told Mama Kim that he did not like Skype because he could not touch her on Skype. I thought Mama was going to fall apart. It was a difficult goodbye.

Mama could not contain the tears when she saw the Saravia kids on Skype – especially Victoria. After she composed herself we all had a good visit. It is still staggering to see how much children change when you are not there to see them every day. But the precious smile on our Baby Victoria’s face has not changes one little bit. We really do miss those little ones.

(A couple at our church found out on Christmas day that she is pregnant. Confirmation will come today as they go to see the doctor. They have been trying for several years to get pregnant. God is good even thought we are still a little guarded in our optimism.)

Mykenzie, like Jake, has always been a very attentive child. She focuses to an extreme on the actions of adults and almost immediately puts into practice what she has seen or heard. That in and of itself can be quite frustrating for her parents and we all have to be on guard and at our best behavior around her, but sometimes it’s just plain cute.

Cori said that at lunch one afternoon recently she asked Nate what he would like on his sandwich. He asked for turkey meat with a specific cheese, mayo and a little mustard. When she had made his sandwich she asked Mykenzie what she wanted. Out came some gibberish that almost approximated what her daddy had asked for – but not quite. Her mama asked her to say it again so she could understand better, but didn’t the second time either. “Never mind”, Mykenzie said, “I don’t know what I’m talking about.”

Christmas morning was good to the grandkids giving them a whole new range of toys to fight over. Mykenzie kept trying to fill Grant’s wagon with her things and Grant worked equally hard to empty it of all things belonging to his sister. Grand also got a tool set appropriate for his age which included a hammer and a tape measure among other things. The hammer is being held in reserve by mommy and daddy until they can supervise its use, but the tape measure was an instant hit with both of the older kids.

Mykenzie, in full Mary Poppins mode, began measuring every baby doll in her room. That took some time. Even though the ruler did not use the same indications as the one used by Mary Poppins, she found several were still “practically perfect in every way.” She then began to use the tape measure to weigh things; though that never has worked for me I suppose it worked out well for her. At the very least it kept her happy and busy for a time.

Christmas was delightful this year. Though we could not get all of our family together, we got more together than we did last year. We ate, played, laughed and generally had a good time being together. Later this week we will go to see my Mom and Dad. It will be a short visit after we attend a wedding in San Antonio of one of Joshua’s friends , but we are looking forward to it none-the-less. On the way back we will stop to see Fabian and Sarah for a very brief visit. By Tuesday the fourth of January, all will return to the schedule of work, school and life that we grind through throughout the year. It has been a fun time off.

Our Pastor read a list of questions in Sunday school yesterday. One of the questions to ponder; If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?