Sunday, December 27, 2009

christmas moments

1. The highlight of Christmas Eve? I'll give you a hint. It was NOT the family worship service. I'd love to say it was, but I'd be lying. It WAS... drum roll please... RM going #2 in the big boy potty at Aunt Antsy's house. The entire family gave him a standing ovation.

2. Junebug received a GLOW-WORM for Christmas from our sweet neighbors. I haven't seen one in 20 years. It is so cute. Tonight i turned the lullaby on in her crib and she just STARED at it with fascination. Thanks "Honey" dog!

3. RM upon seeing J'bug in her Christmas dress from Great Aunt Billie and examining the smocking: "Reindeer! Santa! Tall Tree! Junie pretty."

4. Hosting Christmas brunch at our house for the first time. Quiche, Mimosas, Grits and Field Greens with berries & goat cheese. Pops reading A Cup of Christmas Tea. Oma's handmade stockings. Uncle Mombus' calming presence. Divine.

5. The mountains welcoming us with open arms Christmas night. RM actually trembling with delight upon the sight a big boy tricycle! Lamb with KK & Grandad, and a wood burning fire popping and spitting while winds shook the house.

6. Evelyn & Floyd having time for just the two of us. Dinner with friends on the way home. June laughing out loud for maybe the third time in her life. People enjoying it with us.

What is the saying? Life is good?
It is. It really, really is.

Gibbs Gazette 2009

*** spoiler alert ***

if you have not received, and would like to receive a paper copy of the gazette, puh-leeese let me know. i would hate to disappoint anyone with the electronic version if said person had their heart set on pulling the card from the envelope. that being said, i do have two young children, so my heart is not set on making sure that everyone gets exactly what they want... i.e. - said hard copy via snail mail. i assure you no ill-will is meant by the oversight.

*** on to the scheduled year end review, Floyd-style ***



Dearest Friends and Family,

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from the Gibbs Family!

What a year! The economy worsened; Tebow cried – again – and a lot; we lost Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett & Billy Mays in, like, 36 hrs; and Oprah announced she will leave millions of desperate women in a lurch as early as 2011… This one really kept us on our toes.

It was a pretty eventful year not only for our country but also for our little family. It began in an excited headlong pitch: We stepped into the ring with our gloves on, so to speak.

Winter 2009: I tore the kitchen to pieces on a whim and, assisted by my brother-in-law, rebuilt it in a few days, before flying to LA to record. Danielle was working in the office with her chin set and the pragmatic, slightly annoyed work ethic of a no- nonsense expectant mother. Red Marshall reached forward in time and, with a clean jerk, wrested the “terrible twos” out of its appropriate place in childhood to claim them for his own as a 16-month-old.

Spring 2009: We dug our heels in and awaited the birth of our daughter. We showed no fear, no hesitation. But it wasn’t enough…we felt we hadn’t truly been challenged. My wife shook her fist at 2009. “We will renovate the basement! Right...NOW!”

Summer 2009: At the height of the upstate summer, when 7 am feels like the Seventh Circle of Hell and you can’t bring yourself to imagine 2pm, my wife, now great with child; our son, now showcasing the energy of a radioactive hummingbird; and I, dangerously short on dream fuel after the reality of “touring” had kicked me in the chin, moved into my in-laws’ house while the construction crew tore our basement asunder.

We barely had time to unpack when, from the West, I heard the thundering of hooves, and a herd of the wild and unbroken Colorado Clan descended upon the in-laws’ house. Within a week there were nine humans under the same roof, many of them under five…. There was no peace. None. I sought clemency in Canada as a hastily booked tour took me away.

In late July our daughter, June Evelien Gibbs, was born. She was gorgeous and dangerous. She screamed for three months without ceasing. We parted ways with sanity and decency. We saw neither sun nor moon. There was only screaming. Then one day in October, as a ship breaks from a perilous gale into sunlight, she was silent. We reunited with sleep & humanity.

Fall 2009: We moved back to our home to find it dramatically changed. I still drop trash on the floor in a kitchen corner, where I am sure our garbage was once stationed. We transitioned into a steady and peaceful lull. Red Marshall began cultivating an escalating obsession with lawn equipment and tools, and a now serene and observant Junebug watches us all with her impossibly beautiful eyes…they remind me of someone.

blessings to you.

Floyd, for all of us.

Friday, December 18, 2009

Girl at print shop gave me a funny look and asked me some bizarre question. "Oh, you mean from the gazette? Right, well I can explain. Our humor is well, weird"

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Dear RM, the past 2 nights you have climbed out of your crib. Thought it was a fluke - it is not. You are the first of the 10 cousins to do it. I am not ready.

Wednesday, December 09, 2009

gazetting

if you know what The Gazette is, then you might like to know that i commissioned the '09 edition tonight and Floyd worked up a draft that left tears streaming down my cheeks. if i'm the only person who laughs at it, i'm okay with that. because my husband is the funniest man on the planet. and i am a better person because of his perspective on our little slice of the world.

Monday, December 07, 2009

giving thanks... a little late


we spent our Thanksgiving Holiday in the mountains. While two years ago there was the 'sleep-walking incident' and last year there was the 'tree farm mud incident', this year seemed relatively mishap free!


Aunt Amy & Uncle Ole were home from Washington state!


Grandad gave scooter rides multiple times each day.


Our pretty girl got to wear her beautiful day gown from KK.


And we even managed to get a Gibbs' family photo taken! Yahoo.


There was a party for the glowing parents-to-be.


Let me tell you, making sure the two year old kept his grubby paws off of his cousin-to-be's gifts was no easy task.


Fortunately there were distractions for him such as roasting marshmellows!


See all the fun? Note the Evelyn & Floyd family unit sequestered in the corner.



And lastly, proof that the boy is still giving "Thumb Kisses" to his sister. And other babies actually. But mostly to J-bug. I actually don't think he knows how to 'kiss' her without his thumb in his mouth.

Tuesday, December 01, 2009

Floyd brought the Christmas tree in the house; wielding the large, bailed evergreen precariously through the front door and past the stairwell.

RM: "Oh shit."