HP Predictions, Part I
In this week preceding the final book release, I am going to be posting some of my predictions for year 7. I have purposely kept myself away from "rumors" and "leaks" of the book, so these predictions are 100% original to me. That is not to say that other people have not come up with them, but I thought them through myself, and have not seen them anywhere else. Before I begin with my predictions, I want to warn you. My first prediction that I am going to share is so good, I'm 99% sure it's actually going to happen. So if you don't want to practically KNOW what's going to happen in the book, do not continue reading! OK, so now that you all are assured of my brilliance (or maybe my prophetic power?), I will elaborate.
I do not think that Harry will die, and here's why. Dumbledore has left Harry with one last protection that Harry doesn't even know about. Keep in mind the magical transfer scenario that we have seen through the books (this is a term I use to help illustrate my point). One example is when Harry's mom died for Harry, her sacrifice runs through him, which saved his life seconds later. But once Voldemort gets Harry's blood to bring him back to life, Harry no longer has that protection, because now they have the same blood.
In book 3, Harry saves Pettigrew's life by having mercy on him instead of allowing Lupin and Sirius to kill him, therefore allowing Pettigrew to escape. Dumbledore points out to Harry that Pettigrew now owes him and in his debt. Harry says he can never imagine a time when he will want to have any sort of favor from Pettigrew. Then, in book 4, yes, Voldemort gets Harry's blood, but he also receives Pettigrews FLESH. The flesh that is only alive because of Harry's mercy. Voldemort doesn't know that his faithful servant is in the debt of Harry Potter. Pettigrew probably doesn't even realize it, but Dumbledore does. Remember when he has a look of "triumph" when Harry is relating the events at the graveyard in book 4? That always puzzled me, but I think it relates to this. He saw the "magical transfer" that went from Harry's mom's blood sacrifice into Voldemort, so he must have realized that there would be another magical transfer: the debt that Pettigrew owes to Harry, Voldemort owes it now too.
So, all this to say that I think that Harry will live. I think that once again he'll be face to face with Voldemort, having destroyed the other horcruxes. Once again Voldemort will use the adavra kadvra curse, and once again it will reflect off Harry and onto him. Only this time he will die because there are no more horcruxes. I think JKR might let us believe Harry to be dead a couple chapters, but he won't be.
Crazy has kids
Since my work often does not require my mind, sometimes I let it wander off wherever it wants to go. Well today it got me thinking about sperm banks. This is not as random as it sounds. I just recently learned that a co-worker had visited such a place and now had two sweet little girls as a result. The mom, however, is better known as "Crazy" around the office. So today, while I was mindlessly working and hearing her screaming, I started wondering about these banks. I mean, is there any kind of screening process? Can any crazy woman go in there and request a withdrawl and hence receive one? These women are going to be mothers, so shouldn't they have to pass some sort of physical and psychological exam? What about a criminal record? Shouldn't all of these factors be checked beforehand? For all I know, they are, but I got to thinking this would make an interesting undercover investigative story. So for any would-be reporters out there, feel free to use this idea and find out for me how easy it is to get a baby this way. And to my family: this is not a hint of anything that is going on in my life, so get that out of your head right now! I just want to know how Crazy managed to get some kids!
Things I'm excited about this summer
So, news flash! It's summer! OK, I realize I'm a little late in realizing this, but better late than never, right? And, because summer is my least favorite season, instead of listing my least favorite things about it, I've decided to be positive and list the best things about it.
I love how it stays light later. This is a new one for me, since I used to prefer earlier nights, but since I have to drive home on very narrow and winding roads, I prefer the daylight.
Vacation! We have a big family vacation planned in August and I can't wait! Plus, anytime I get time off work is good for me.
This weekend I get to see my bestest friend and she's getting married! I'm so happy for her!
HARRY POTTER!!! (Come on, you knew this was coming!) This is a big season for Harry! A movie and a book! And not just any book, it is THE book! (More on this later...)
Visiting friends in DC over the weekend. Fun!
That's all I can think of... my mind kept wandering to the humidity and heat, the thought of wearing shorts and bathing suits, the heat, excessive sweating... oh right, I wasn't going to make that list!
11 Days and Counting...
Some of you will know what this means. The rest of you, just ignore it... it doesn't concern you.
Chocolate Categories
In case some of you feel that my categories are useless, this post is to prove you wrong! I don't arbitrarily choose "milk" over "M&Ms". They each have their own unique purpose. So here is the list: bitter - I'm writing about something I do not like or am upset about
dark - This is something that is good for me, but I might be upset about it too
hot chocolate - It's just something that makes you feel warm and fuzzy all over
M&Ms - OK, I really don't know what this one means. The idea was to add it for color.. (get it? man, I'm hysterical)
milk - Just everyday stuff
semi-sweet - My official definition originally was "un-fun stuff, but it has to be done". Whatever the heck that means... Hey, maybe I'll put this post under that category! From now on, semi-sweet is "blog business".
truffles - These posts contain pictures.
unsweetened - Any posts that relate to projects that I'm working on (and we all know there are many...)
Great Chocolate - Any posts that are part of a series, including my "What Makes a Great.." series, and any book reivews.
Chocoholic - Addiction! Must keep coming back for more! And that is why this category will bring you to all the posts in the serialized story so far.
And that's that! See? I am the epitome and embodiment of organization! My organizational skills, they just abound!
My new project
What is it with me and projects?! It's like my life isn't fulfilled unless I have around 20 half-completed projects, and around 674 unfinished projects that I've thrown by the wayside. Anyway, here is my newest:
As you will see if you visit the site, it is going to be an encyclopedia completely devoted to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, as well as The Hobbit. If you're a fan of the books, keep checking back for new updates (and also to keep me on my toes!). If you're not a fan, look at it anyway. It's cool. I'm the coolest.
Once again...
Here it is July and I have no new posts! I know what you're thinking: You hope that this lack of posting isn't a sign of the progress with my other resolutions. Well, guess what? It is! I, like most people, am failing on my resolutions. On the up side, I'm probably one of the few people still trying to make my resolutions work.
My Fear Lists
Those of you who are my very faithful readers will know that I like to make lists. Well, in order to enlighten you further about the events that have transpired in the past several minutes, I need to share my lists of fears. Yes, that's "lists" - plural. My first list of fears includes what I call the "serious" fears (by no means to imply my second list is not serious). They typically include a family member dying or developing a fatal disease, or me crashing to my doom while I'm alone on an airplane or developing schitzophrenia (I'm at a Psychiatry convention... I just added that to my list today). The second list of fears is mostly a list of "beasts". It is the latter of the two on which I will elaborate. List of Fears II
spiders - any kind: small or big, black or brown, crawly or (heaven forbid) furry
somehow a spider entering my mouth (Thank you to all of you who have found this funny and spouted the statistic that we all eat at least three spiders a year in our sleep. I blame you if I ever die of a cold for fear of just opening my mouth to breathe when sleeping.)
roaches - blech, I cannot even continue... starting to feel crawly
spider on any part of my skin
having a child wake me up from my sleep (thanks to the movie "Identity")
split personality disorder
Ray Liotta
small pieces of dust floating through the air (you'll see...)
OK, that's enough for now, you get the idea... Unfortunately, if I think about it long enough, I could go on. However, since I'm sleeping alone in a hotel room tonight, and then flying out tomorrow, I should probably rest my mind on happier things. But first, two stories.
Sweet sleep was overtaking me. The light from the TV was bright in the surrounding darkness of my bedroom. My eyes closed dreamily, only half watching through slits. But then, something twitched. Oh, it was so tiny, barely visible. I never would have seen it had it not been for the reflection of the light. It was suspended, as if floating in mid-air. In a flash I was awake and sprang towards the light. It had been a long time since I had done my nightly spider checks. But now I wished I had continued them because as I glanced around my room, tiny spiders were hanging from every square foot of my ceiling. It was my worst nightmare. Except I was actually awake. The next minutes are a blur. I suspect that I somehow made my retreat and went to get back up (that would be my dad, who should be on my list of "beasts" when he's woken up in the middle of the night). I remember being laughed at for being afraid of little tiny spiders. But they were hanging! From my ceiling! Possibly getting into my hair! And what if I had opened my mouth!? I cleaned for the next several days. And I wouldn't even enter my room without the Swiffer. I would extend it out in front of me and wave it through the air. The theory here is that if there are any spiders floating on their invisible webs, the would get on the Swiffer instead of anywhere on my body. I remember "sleeping" with the light at the opposite end of the room on, and watching their small bodies congregate around it. This is an absolutely horrible memory for me... and what's worse is the mirth it seems to cause! There is nothing funny about being trapped in a room with spiders falling from the ceiling. See fear #1 on list II: it does not matter if they are small.
And tonight, after spending a lovely evening with a colleague, I arrived back to my hotel room, ready to jump into bed. But what's that? There's a small spot on one of the pillow cases. It's not... can it be? Yes! And there's another one, right next to it! Am I reliving a horrible nightmare? As far as I can tell at this point, the answer is "no", but only time will tell. So, after pouring water onto the bed from a great distance in an effort to drown the beasts, and then having to squash them anyway since apparently drowning doesn't work, I am now off to a wet, and hopefully no longer spider-infested, bed.
Change of Plans
Well, I promised more posts... but more posts you aren't going to get. At least not right now. Turns out, I had to rush out to San Diego! So now I'm on the opposite coast, working from 9am to 9pm every day, and I'm exhausted. So feel bad for me. Oh, and it's my one year anniversary. And I'm in San Diego. And Ryan isn't. Plus it's cloudy and cold. Can't you just hear the violin?
Squeaking, squealing, yelling
"Ryan, did you hear that? Wake up! I think there's a mouse in here!" "There's no mouse, go back to sleep."
"No, I hear squeaking."
"It's just the wind. Go to sleep."
A couple minutes later. "There it was again! Did you hear it, Ryan? There's definitely something squeaking in here!"
"It's probably just the heater! Go to sleep!"
An hour or so later. "Ryan, there's a mouse in here! I can hear it squeaking right behind me."
"Amy, there is NO MOUSE! They don't have mice here!"
Another hour, more squeaking. I am curled in a little ball under the covers of the guest room bed. I swear, if a mouse crawls into this bed with me, I will have a heart attack.
"OK, that was definitely a mouse!" I turned on the light.
"What are you doing?? Turn off the light!! They do not have mice here! It's a new house and they've never seen a mouse! Go to sleep. I promise, there is no mouse."
It was a long night - squeaking, me waking up Ryan, him assuring me there was no mouse, more squeaking...
But it was soon forgotten.... until a call from the owner of the house. "Yeah, we finally got rid of the mouse problem we were having. We had heard the squeaking in the basement, but eventually we found it in the guest room."
Anger Issues
There's more to dumpsters than just trash. Sometimes they can be highly informative resources for discovering your neighbors secrets. Think about it. In every detective movie, what do they do to figure out about a person? They dig through their trash. Gross, yes, but informative. But sometimes it's even easier than that. Sometimes your neighbors leave notes on the dumpster that reveal more about them than their trash ever could. The following message was left on a dumpster in my special little community: "Who is the freaking stupid person who left their recyclables by the dumpster? IDIOT! They don't go by the dumpster. They go by the blue pole. BLUE POLE. Do you need a PICTURE of the blue pole? Let me draw you a picture! [insert what I can only assume is said "blue pole"-drawn in black] Maybe now you'll remember to put them in the right place. STUPID IDIOT!"
When I read this note, I looked down at the trash in my hands. Were there recyclables here? Was I putting everything in the right place? By the tone of this note, my very life was on the line if I got it wrong.
Several days later, another note was posted to the mail boxes. A photocopy of a smaller note said, "Would you mind parking across the street? Your truck takes up two spaces in front of my apartment. Thanks!" Under this copy, someone had written, "Never, EVER put your dirty hands on my car. There will be trouble if I ever see you do this again."
I didn't think it had anything to do with me until I was bringing a pizza box to the garbage a few days later. A man in a big blue truck across the street noticed me and yelled, "HEY. You don't have recyclables in there, do you?" All I had was a box, as he could plainly see. "No," I whispered, my voice shaking. "Good," he said, glaring as I hesitantly put my box in the bin, and practically ran back to my apartment.
Should I be worried?
True Beauty
She is sweet; she is charming; she’s delicate and tough. She truly cares for people, and yet can have a sense of humor about them.
People don’t know it by her smile and her laugh, but she can be hurt, and hurt deeply.
She is the perfect paradox of sensitivity and humor.
She makes me laugh, and yet always humbles me with her wisdom.
She pours herself out for people, always giving. Sometimes she forgets to take care of herself too.
She is beautiful, in every aspect of the word.
Her creativity is astounding, she can take almost nothing and turn it into beauty.
Her eye for color, design, and fashion are breathtaking, but still can’t compare to the loveliness within.
She is everything I want to be.
And the sad thing is, she may not even realize this is about her, because sometimes she just can’t see what everyone else can.
Kid stories
Oh wait, I don't have kids. But what do I do when everyone I know starts talking about their children? I start talking about my dog. Really, he's almost human, so people shouldn't be offended. In fact, he communicates to me and understands me better than Ryan sometimes! (Determine for yourself what that says about me and/or Ryan...) So yesterday I woke up to Ryan saying goodbye to me, as he has to leave for work before I even have to get up. I gave him a kiss, a smile, and (only if he's lucky) a wave from bed and turned over to cuddle with my sweet little boy. But he would have none of it. Seeing that daddy had already left for work, he felt that it was time for mommy to get up too. So, hopping like a rabbit around the bed, he began to bark. And believe me, his high pitched yelp is hard to ignore (sorry people upstairs!). But to Hugo, barking doesn't mean "I have to go outside and do my business" or "I hear noises outside and it could be an intruder so I want to scare them away", it means "Play with me or I won't stop until your ears hurt from my screeching!" And he means it. So I found the chewy we keep on the bed and hurled it out the door into the living room. He leaped from the bed, bounded on the chewy, and brought it immediately back. I was already asleep, and he knew it. So the barking began again. Finally I just got up.
A new thing he's doing is grabbing the tag on his collar. He knows he's not allowed to do this, so I'm realizing it's completely out of spite. He knows if he's doing something bad, he'll get more attention! And he craves attention! He stands just out of arm's reach, looking at you, daring you to try to get him to drop it. But as soon as I reach out to grab it, he hops away (is he part bunny?). So I have to chase him in order to get him to drop the piece of metal in his mouth, the toy that is always just right around his neck. He is such a brat! But it just makes him more endearing. That little face, the daredevil expression, the catch me if you can attitude. No wonder he is so bad! Mommy and daddy are suckers.
At least he doesn't eat his own poop anymore.
Projects and Resolutions
I thought I'd officially write down my resolutions for the Year, even though most people have already given up on theirs. Not to say that I have been faithful about mine, but I am writing them down in the hopes that I will be more committed. Interestingly, they are completely different than the "Projects" I had set for myself when I first began this blog. Does that mean I have finished my projects and have now set my sights on bigger and greater things? Wouldn't that be something... but alas, no, I didn't accomplish even one of those projects, and while they are still on my horizon as things I'd like to do, they didn't make it into the List. 1. Lose 40 pounds. OK, I know this is totally cliche, but I really want to do this. If you think about it, that's less than a pound a week. How great would that be? Also, for those of you who don't know me, I don't think I look like I need to lose 40 pounds. So please don't think that of me. If you looked at me, you'd probably think I only needed to lose 38 or so.
2. Get up in the morning to have daily devotions. I'd be happy with myself if I was faithful in daily devotions anyway... but adding "get up early" is another whole resolution in itself! But after much thought, the morning really would be the best time for me to do this.
3. Post on this blog every week. This resolution is remarkably similar to "post on Venustas every day" under Projects. And if you've visited Venustas lately (which I'm sure you haven't, because I've had zero hits for a while now), you'd see that I hadn't posted since August 3, 2006! But since I have decided to become more lenient about what I post (ie. it doesn't have to be a novel), I am optimistic about this resolution.
OK, now for a Resolution update!
1. So far I have met my first 2 goals, and missed my 3rd. I'm hopeful for this coming weekend though (my weekly weigh-in is on Saturday morning) that I'll be able to meet my 4th and make up for missing my 3rd.
2. I am really getting there with this one! On Sunday, I decided to actually set my alarm early so I'd be able to get up. On Monday, I actually did wake up, and then fell back to sleep. On Tuesday (today), I woke up, briefly spoke to Ryan, and fell back to sleep. I really think I'm making progress. Tomorrow I'll make myself sit up in bed, even if it means falling to sleep sitting up. At least it's a step in the right direction. OH! I just had a great idea! I have an alarm that will play CDs, and I have the Bible on CD! Maybe I could just WAKE UP to the Bible! I am going to have to give this a try and hope I will absorb it through osmosis.
3. Well, I've posted twice in January. This one will make three. Wait, that's not right, I've posted once. So this resolution isn't going so great.
Grace, A Children's Story
It was a week before Christmas and Amy and her mommy had just finished visiting some newly born puppies at a friend’s house. The puppies were so small, but were practically bursting with energy. One in particular had caught Amy’s eye: a beautiful black Yorkshire terrier who always had its tongue out, ready to kiss at the slightest human touch. Amy had held it close, even as it squirmed to lick her face, and had fallen in love. “If he were mine, I would name him Kisses, because that is what he loves to do,” she had said. Amy’s mommy loved the puppy too, but knew that Daddy would take more convincing. “Daddy, I want a puppy,” Amy declared at dinner that night. “You’re too young to have a puppy of your own, honey.” Daddy said, as if he had had this conversation hundreds of times before. “Nu-uh, I would take care of it all by myself. I would Daddy!” “Mommy and I will talk about it later,” he said and Amy knew not to say anything more. She did, however, look imploringly at her mother, hoping maybe this time her daddy could be convinced.
Later that night when Amy was in bed asleep, her mommy and daddy decided to have a talk. “Maybe it is time to get a puppy, Bill,” Amy’s mommy said. “They were so cute, I wouldn’t mind having one myself!” “But Amy needs to learn responsibility. If it were to be her puppy, she would have to take care of it. I don’t want to have to always be the one taking it out or feeding it or paying all the vet’s bills.” Amy’s daddy was trying to teach her how to be a responsible person and he knew this would be an excellent way for her to learn, but he wanted to make sure she would take it seriously. “Maybe I’ll write up a contract that we could have her sign. It could list all the tasks that she would need to do in order to get and keep the puppy.” Amy’s mommy looked at him skeptically.
A couple days later, Amy and her parents sat in the family room to talk about the puppy. Amy was so excited and it burst out as smiles and laughter. Maybe she would finally get the puppy! Maybe tomorrow she and little Kisses would be playing together on the floor of this very room! “Amy, I know how much you’ve been wanting to have a puppy, and your mother and I think you may finally be ready to take care of one. But before you get too excited,” Amy’s daddy added quickly as he saw his daughter giggling in her chair, “you must agree to some chores that I have already written down. We will talk about them now, and then if you agree, you can sign this paper.” Although she was still excited at the prospect of a new puppy, Amy’s smile faded a bit. She was confused by what her daddy was saying to her, but could tell that he was very serious. “Number one, you must train the dog to only go potty outside and clean up any mistakes he might make around the house. Number two, you must give the dog a bath at least once a week. Number three, you will pay for one-half of all doctor’s visits including any medication the dog may need.” Amy sat listening as the list went on and on and her heart sank. Her daddy had compiled a list of chores so very long she knew she would never be able to accomplish them all. There was still one hope. If she could just get the puppy in the house, maybe her daddy would forget about the list and allow it to stay anyway. But suddenly her daddy read the last sentence of the contract. “If Amy is not willing or able to accomplish all the above chores, then the puppy will be sold or given away, and will not be allowed to stay in the house any longer!”
At this, Amy knew her desire would not be fulfilled. She would not get the puppy and Kisses would find a different home. Soon tears flooded her eyes, and she began to cry. Her daddy looked startled, but she managed to explain. “Daddy,” Amy sobbed, with tears pouring down her cheeks, “I can’t sign that list. I’d never be able to do all those chores!” With that, she ran out of the room, and headed for her bed. Amy’s mommy and daddy looked at each other. Her daddy looked shocked at his daughter’s response. “I thought for sure she would sign it. I thought she’d sign it without thinking and we’d have to give the puppy away. I thought it would be a valuable tool for teaching responsibility.” “Well, maybe you didn’t give your daughter enough credit,” said Amy’s mommy knowingly as she left to go comfort her daughter.
That night Amy’s daddy could not sleep. He kept picturing his little girl crying from something he had done. But the worst part was that he knew she had acted more responsibly than he had given her credit for. How could he fix this? He wondered. He wanted so much for his little girl to be happy, but he wanted her to understand his actions. Suddenly, he had an idea. The more he thought about the idea, the more he liked it. But in order for it to work, he had to get up right now and prepare. So he climbed out of bed, and got to work.
On Christmas Eve, Amy woke up early. It wasn’t because she had gone to bed so early the night before. And it wasn’t because she had fallen asleep crying over her lost puppy. It was because she heard a small knocking on the door. “Amy, wake up. Daddy wants to show you something,” came her mommy’s voice from behind the door. Crawling out of her bed, she took her mommy’s hand and was led downstairs to the Christmas tree. Stapled to the wall, Amy recognized the contract her daddy had written, and a sign above it that said “The Law” in large, bold letters. Next to that was another sign that said “Grace.” Amy looked below the sign and saw a tiny ornament that looked like a puppy. The puppy had a sign on it as well. It said “Kisses.” Amy could feel the excitement coming back, but she was confused. “What does it mean, Daddy?” “Come to me,” her daddy said, lifting her up to his lap. “Before Jesus came to earth, people who loved Him had to abide by every rule that He asked them to. It was quite clear to the people that they could not keep every single rule. It was just impossible for them. But when Jesus came to earth, everything changed. Because He came and took all of our sins and failures upon Himself, we did not need to follow every single rule anymore. In other words, we now live under grace. Under grace, we love Jesus joyfully, knowing that He freed us from our burdens so that we can enjoy everything He has given to us. That contract I wanted you to sign was like the Law that Jesus gave to his people. But we do not live under the Law anymore. Because of Jesus, we live under grace.” “But daddy, what does it mean to live under grace?” Amy asked. “It means,” her daddy paused and smiled at his daughter. “It means,” he said again, “we are getting a puppy.”
My Christmas Story
Merry Christmas and Ho! Ho! Ho! To Colorado we will go! But in Dallas we're stuck, Much to our bad luck, We couldn't leave 'cuz of the snow.
Yes, that brilliant little limerick sums up nearly half of my Christmas vacation time. But for those of you who want the brutal details, I will put my flair for poetry aside, and enlighten you further with my prose. It all began seven days ago. I was nervous about traveling anyway for several reasons. (1) It would be my first Christmas away from my family, and instead I would spend the holiday with my husband's family, some of whom I had only ever met briefly. (2) The last time I was in Colorado, I became desperately sick (due to the altitude) and my future mother-in-law had the distinct pleasure of cleaning up all my lovely bodily functions. And (3) we were bringing our puppy, Hugo, who would spend a total of 7 hours (with a brief stop in Dallas) in a little carrier, pushed under the seat in front of me. But, despite my misgivings, I found myself at 32,000 feet, with Hugo sound asleep, and I soon followed him.
We reached Dallas without incident. Hugo hadn’t made a peep, and as soon as we got to the airport, I put a “wee-wee pad” down for him, and he went immediately. “Good boy!” Ryan and I cheered. This trip was going so smoothly, no bumps in the road. I put Hugo on his leash, and we all walked toward our gate. The next leg of the trip was the easy one. It was much shorter and Ryan’s parents would pick us up at the other end.
And then we saw it. The word every air-traveler hates to see. A word that brings doom to the hearts of anyone who wants to see their family on a holiday. C-A-N-C-E-L-L-E-D. It was with shock that we talked to the woman at the gate, who sent us to the ticketing line, who directed us to a phone number we needed to call, who told us to get back in the ticketing line. So there we stood, and our options were bleak. The next available flight was Christmas Eve, due to “The Storm of the Century” that was taking place in Colorado. That was 4 days away, and we were flying back on Christmas Day anyway. “No problem,” the helpful ticketing agent on the phone had said. “We can change your return flight as well!” Ryan had to kindly inform the man, who apparently had never heard of a job with a limited number of vacation days, that that was impossible. Our other option was to get right back on the plane and fly back to LaGuardia in two hours. Two hours later, however, we had moved 10 feet in the ticketing line, with still another 30 feet to go. We weren’t going home that night.
After another hour of discussion and frustration, any option looked better than standing in line another minute! We decided to rent a car and drive the 10 hours to Colorado Springs. Why we thought driving into a blizzard was a good idea, I don't know. Our minds had been fuzzied by the airport bureaucracy.
At first the trip was exciting. Hugo is good in the car, and I enjoyed that we had more freedom than in an airplane. But after driving the first 10 hours in Texas, then into New Mexico, then back into Texas, then detoured off main roads because of snow and ice, then driving on roads full of snow and ice anyway, then finally onto the interstate that brought us through the mountains and into Colorado, I had seen more of southwestern America than I ever want to again, or indeed ever did in the first place.
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By the time we reached New Mexico for the second time, Hugo was going crazy. You know how you look when you start hearing voices in your head? You know how it's hard to hear one because they are all shouting at you at the same time? Well, that's how Hugo was looking. I could practically hear the voices myself! We couldn't take him out, because, being only 3 pounds, he would be toppled into the snow by the wind. And he was tired of sleeping. Ryan was stressed, and I was miserable. But finally, after a grueling 18 hours, we made it.
The relief and joy of seeing Ryan's family was magnified in my mind, because of the harrowing journey we experienced. The snow then seemed a blessing, instead of a curse, as I gazed out their windows at it and at the majesty of the mountains beyond. Then I remembered the reason we had travelled all this way to spend Christmas with our loved ones. The Reason all this majesty graced the land before me, and the Reason all the gifts were piled beneath the tree. And I was overjoyed.
"When they saw the star, they were overjoyed."
Matthew 2:10
Rex is an uncle!
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Our sweet new boy, Hugo, is both Rex's biological nephew and adopted nephew!
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