Does It Come with a Yarmulke?

My parents went out this week and bought themselves a Jewish refrigerator.

It all started on Christmas day. 

We have an absurd and frightening tradition of burning the sweet potatoes for major holidays.  Not every year, no.  That would be too predictable.  Yet on a fairly regular basis, the potatoes come out blazing.

This Christmas was like every other.  The kids were happily curled up with a movie while final dinner preparations were being made.  Some of us were visiting in the living room, when suddenly the loudest noise I've ever heard came out of my mom's kitchen. 

I'll be honest.  It scared the crap out of me.

We raced out there to find my dad staring at the oven with an incredulous look on his face. 

"What happened?!" we asked.

"An electric current just shot out of the oven," my brother answered, as he casually sat at the counter.

And it had.  Electricity had shot out, hit the door of the oven, and returned to it's fiery lair. 

My dad still hadn't spoken.  I examined his face carefully.  He appeared to still have both eyebrows and all of the remaining hair.  My heart slowed.

Apparently the oven had shorted while it was doing what, you may ask?  Broiling the topping on the SWEET POTATOES.  Of course.

After the circuit was shut down, someone reached in and gingerly removed the pan.  The marshmallow-y topping quivered, unscorched.

It was a Christmas miracle.

The rest of the day was fairly non-explosive, which was good.  Fast-forward to Wednesday, when my popped by while she was in town.

"Did I tell you Dad and I found a new oven?"

"Mmm, that's nice."

"And while we were there we decided to buy a new fridge too."

"Hmm."

"It's all stainless steel, and we're thinking it's not going to match the microwave so we may have to replace that."

"Right.  Makes sense."

"Did I mention that my fridge is Jewish?"

"Your WHAT is WHAT?"

Now she had my attention.  My mom can be goofy, but she had hit a new height of bizarreness.

"My refrigerator is Jewish.  It has settings for the Sabbath."

And she wasn't kidding.  It turns out that they can flip a "Sabbath" switch anytime they decide to.  It will turn off certain parts of the fridge in observance of Jewish law.  I mulled this over for a minute, before speaking.

"I'm guessing it's not circumcised?"

"KIMBERLY!"

"Sorry, I couldn't resist."

Indoor Date Night

My parents gave Ethan this Ogosport game for Christmas.  At first I wondered if we'd play it, but then we picked it up and started playing the night of Christmas.  It was SO MUCH fun!  Granted, we were tripping all over toys and the puppy was chasing the ball when it dropped, but it was great. 

Fast-forward to tonight.  We arranged earlier today for a friend to come over for a little bit tonight so we could go run an errand and have a mini-date.  She ended up not being able to come out, so we set the kids up with a movie and started playing again.  (This time with a clear floor!)  I haven't laughed so hard in a while.  I can't say that either of us is particularly skilled with this game, but it didn't matter. 

Hope you feel inspired to try something new for your next date night!

My Smile of the Day

We made rice crispy treats last week.  These two goofies got it in their heads that the only suitable place to eat the snacks was inside the dog's kennel.  Not sure why, but they had a blast doing it! 

Christmas Gifts!

In the above pictures I am modeling this season's garage wear, a 15-year-old ski coat my hubby so graciously let me borrow to stay warm while making Christmas presents.

We basically gave the same gift to everyone in our family this year.  Ethan and I made these adorable welcome signs to put in front of the house.  And because we're brilliant, we started making them one week before Christmas.  Yep, that's right.  I learned to use a power sander and sanded at least 50 pieces of wood.  I also used a radial arm saw . . . whoo-hoo!  But I only used it once (under careful supervision), because as a person who has flooded the bathroom by leaving water running (twice), I can be a little distracted.  Power tools and distracted girls do not a happy pair make. 

What's the verdict? 

The 12 Days of Christmas

Our family just took up a new tradition that is absolutely fantastic.  We are doing the 12 Days of  Christmas with two other families.  How does it work?  Well, we chose a family to bless that has been through a really tough time the past several months.   Every evening this family gets a surprise gift.  The first day they got 1 tin of caramel popcorn, the second day they got 2 bottles of cidar, the third day (today) they got 3 Christmas ornaments.  It's so much fun.  Our kids love the sneakiness of it all; creeping up to the door, knocking on it, and dashing away.  They may end up catching one of us before this is over, but it's still a blast.  Gotta love new traditions!

No Room At the Inn

This blog post has been on my heart for a long time.  I've struggled with the decision to write it, but feel that it's too important to stay quiet.

Several weeks ago our family made the difficult decision to leave our church.  I've only attended and have been the member of two churches in my life; the one I grew up in and the one I found after moving away for college.  This was the church where I met my husband, where our babies were dedicated, and where new aquaintences became family for life. 

Since we left, Sunday mornings have been a mix of hope and discouragement.  We've attended several churches throughout the valley.  The girls usually jump right in with the other kids their age, no problem.  But when we try to drop Bubba off, it's another story.  Usually he won't let go of us.  We've taken him into the main sanctuary before but he makes strange noises and the looks we get tell us it's not acceptable.  When we attempt to drop him at the classroom, we make sure to inform the teacher that he's autistic and explain a little bit of what that means.  Sadly, the most common response is the "deer in the headlights" expression.  You can tell they absolutely do NOT want him in there. 

Today we happened to arrive at a church on the day of their Christmas program.  We took Bubba and the girls to the sanctuary first.  He was holding still but making a continuous sound like he was clearing his throat.  After some obvious looks our direction, I took him out to try the children's  ministry.  After struggling to hold him while typing our information into the check-in center, a man told us that the kids would be going up on stage and that our son needed to stay with us.  I understood, but wasn't quite sure what to do next.  So I settled for taking him into the foyer and sitting on the couch.  I tried to keep him busy with songs and stories.  After a few minutes Ethan came out to check on us and we switched places.  While I was in the sanctuary, Ryan pulled a Christmas ornament off the tree and it bounced across the room, but that was the worst that happened.   I went out spell Ethan for a few minutes.  By this time Bubs was getting pretty antsy.  He started alternately rolling on the couch and running around the small area.  I thought about taking him outside but our coats were in the sanctuary.  A couple of ladies sat down to talk in the same area and gave us encouraging smiles.  They seemed nice, but I felt completely humiliated when one of them leaned over to Bubba and said (in a syrupy sweet voice), "We don't run in church!"  Seriously.  I was trying my hardest to keep him well-behaved, but he is five!  He was actually doing a good job, considering.

I know this church we visited is a great church.  In fact, all of the churches we have visited have been great churches.  But I'm starting to feel like the unwanted family!  I feel that this needs to be said:  if we were going to church for my first time, we would NEVER return.  Parents of children with special needs must feel that they are welcome!  If you are in the ministry in any capacity, do you know there are families like us out there?  Would they come back to your church after one visit? 

As a side note, the church we have left was fantastic with our little boy. (Not the reason we left.) One of the best ways they helped us was just by asking how they could do better; what we needed. I will always love those people for the love they showed all of our kids. Thank you!

Please know that we have not harbored bitterness in our hearts towards any one person or church.  We understand the place those people are coming from.  In fact, I'm ashamed to say that once I was one of them.  I didn't really know (or particularly care) how to help those children or families.  I didn't look past their "church face" to see their hurting hearts, and I'm ashamed of that.  But now that we are on the other side I feel that it's important that someone advocate for those families.  It's hard to take your family anywhere when you have a child with special needs.  But the place you should never have to feel unwelcome is in God's house. 

Copycat!

Big brothers are awesome.  At least, that's what our sweet little Calico thinks.  Bubba is her favorite playmate and role model.  This picture shows how good he's got it; the big five-year-old making the baby push him around in his Tonka truck.  But she loves it. 

Now the funny thing is, Calico has picked up some of Bubba's habits.  For example, when Bubba apologizes he swipes his hand down your face.  Now the baby has picked up on this.  It's all I can do to keep a straight face when I watch her pat down her sister's face while saying "I sawwee".  He also makes strange sounds in the car sometimes, and sure enough, she chimes in to make it a duet. 

It's not often that a kiddo with autism has the admiration of another child; I'm so grateful my little boy does!