Merry Christmas Friends and
Family!
We hope all is well with you and yours. The year 2014 has had ups and downs for the
Polski’s, but we are grateful for good health in our immediate family; God has
allowed us each to serve Him this year in several different ways and through
various gifts and talents. We’re
thankful for a full year, and most of all, we’re thankful that God sent His Son
to redeem us from our sin and pain.
We’re also thankful that Lily stopped sucking her
thumb. We truly wondered whether she’d
give her future husband the same speech she gave us on the necessity of
thumb-sucking. And so, we decided that
since she was old enough to become philosophical about it, she was old enough
to stop. As mentioned in a previous blog, because of a particular dental appliance,
her thumb is no longer attached to her mouth.
And thanks to the dental appliance, mom has listened to lily talk more
in the last couple of months than ever before.
Because Lily’s lack of thumb sucking and increased
talking capability came to mind when I thought about 2014, it occurred to
me: we need to write our 2014 family
Christmas letter…for each other. So,
that’s what we did. Here are the
questions that were asked and the answers that were given by different members
of the family (with a bit of *necessary* commentary from mom):
The Questions:
1. If this person
were an animal, what would they be and why? 2. If this person had three
hours to have fun, what would they do? 3.
If this person was finished with their work or school work, what would
they do? 4. What is this person’s
favorite meal that mom cooks? 5.
What one accomplishment this year would this person be most proud
about? 6. How would you describe
this person’s day?
Our answers about each other…
Jrod’s
(10) answers for Dad…
1. If dad were an animal, he would be a Gorilla
because he’s laid back and calm…and a little big. (Our kids are nice to
us like that. Aging is particularly
difficult with kids in the house.)
2. If dad had 3 hours of fun time, he would
totally nap.
3. If dad was finished with his work, he’d nap. (It’s quite necessary
to state that my husband does not spend the majority of the day in bed and
enjoys multiple other activities that do not actually include a pillow.)
4. Dad’s favorite meal mom makes is chili. (The reality is that
this is the one meal dad has perfected.
Mom has actually never made chili).
5. Dad would be most proud this year of preaching
at Easter time.
6. Dad spends his day doing a lot of Bible study
and sermon prep, and rests a little, and watches a TV show or movie, and goes
to bed
Lily’s
(6) answers for Mom…
1. If mom
would be an animal, she would be a flamingo because she looks very pretty and
dances. (I appreciate Lily’s compliment, but
please feel free to refrain from imagining me doing flamingo type dances around
our kitchen; I assure you this rarely happens.)
2. If mom had three hours to have fun, she would
play with us.
3. If mom was all done with her work, she would
watch a movie and rest.
4. Mom’s favorite meal is a salad (of all the meals?)
5. Mom would be proud that she became a
nice person this year (I really have no words).
6. During the day, mom cooks food, watches
movies and rests. (Well, at least she acknowledges I cook.)
Mom’s
answers for Ella (12)…
1. If Ella were an animal, she’d be a hermit
crab because she likes to hide away in her room, coming out every once in a
while for a little fun…or food.
2. If Ella had three hours of fun, she’d spend
it with the band, One Direction.
3. If Ella had all her school work done, she’d
listen to music and take a long, hot shower. (It’s the simple things that make this
kid happy.)
4. Ella’s favorite meal that mom makes is French
Dip Sandwiches. (Due to the disgusted look on my daughter’s face, this was
apparently wishful thinking.)
5. The accomplishment Ella would be most proud
of this year is making the Jr. High basketball team at Westminster Christian
Academy.
6. Ella’s day includes waking up quite a bit earlier than
she’d like (Ella is my night owl), going to school, playing sports after
school, listening to One Direction until bed time, then dawdling for a good
thirty minutes after bed time until she reads and falls asleep.
Dad’s
answers for Jrod…
1. If Jrod were an animal, he’d be a fox because
he’s sly and sneaky (candy wrappers hidden in an empty tissue box next to his bed might
be…could be…an excellent example of this).
2. If Jrod had three hours of fun, he’d play
Minecraft.
3. If Jrod was finished with his school work,
he’d play Minecraft.
4. Jrod’s favorite meal that mom makes is butter
noodles. (Why, oh why, do I slave over the stove, I wonder, when my kids sing
my praises when I do things like throw a slab of butter onto a bowl full of
cooked noodles? Oh-vey.)
5. Jrod was most proud of making the select
soccer team this year.
6. Jrod’s day includes eating three or four very
large bowls of cereal in the morning (I can attest to the truth of this due to
visual proof and grocery bill proof), school, and he would include recess as
a significant part of school, homework in the car, sports, violin practice,
computer games, reading, and bed.
Ella’s
answers for Lily…
1. If Lily were an animal, she’d be a Hyena
because she’s loud. (Ella nailed this one!)
2. If Lily had three hours of fun, she’d wrestle
with her brother (and she goes back to this activity day after day in spite of rug
burns, scratches, and bruises. Like a
lamb to the slaughter…).
3. If Lily was finished with her homework for
the day, she’d try to annoy people (that’s an older sister for you).
4. Lily’s favorite meal that mom makes is boxed
Mac and Cheese (again…no more slaving over meals…).
5. Her greatest accomplishment has to be learning
how to read.
6. Lily’s day includes waking up, going to
school, coming home, eating a lot of food, watching movies, drinking a lot of
milk and going to bed.
The kid's answers about themselves…
Ella:
1. If I were an animal, I’d be a spider because
they’re sneaky.
2. If I had three hours of fun, I’d go to a One
Direction concert. (What? We were all terribly
surprised by this answer. Or not at
all.)
3. If I was finished with all of my school work,
I’d watch a movie (probably a movie about One Direction. I’m just putting that out there).
4. My favorite meal that mom makes is Orange
Chicken and Gooey Butter Cake (I’ve now decided there is some sort of conspiracy
against mom. The Orange Chicken that my
firstborn is referring to is frozen and pre-packaged. Heat and Serve. Good grief.)
5. The accomplishment I was most proud of this
year was making the basketball team at my school.
6. My day consists of waking up really early,
taking a shower, doing homework, eating, watching some TV & going to
bed.
Jrod:
1. If I was an animal, I would be an eagle so I
could fly around (Jrod is definitely my free- spirited kid).
2. If I had three hours of fun time, I would
have an airsoft gun war with my friends.
3. When I’m finished with my school work for the
day, I like playing Minecraft.
4. My favorite meal that mom cooks is baked
beans and Barbeque ribs. (He’s referring to the already marinated, pre-packaged ribs. Heat and serve.)
5. The one accomplishment I’m most proud of this
year is getting on a select soccer team (I'm going to add that Jrod also rocks at the violin).
6. My day includes school, games, shows, dinner
& bed.
Lily:
1. If I were an animal, I’d be an elephant
because you can eat so much yummy stuff and spray water through your nose. (This answer
describes Lily so well.)
2. If I had three hours to have fun, I would
jump on our trampoline.
3. When I’m done with my school work, I like to
play with Jrod (While this sounds incredibly sweet, there are times when money is
exchanged in order for one person to play with the other.)
4. My favorite meal that mom cooks is chicken
and spaghetti (this is the closest acknowledgment to an actual meal that I have
made. Thank you, Lily Joy).
5. I am most proud that this year I learned to
be nice to my friends (I’m sincerely glad that someone else learned to be nice this
year).
6. My day includes eating ice cream, painting,
and playing.
And why not live in a dream
world? With that, folks, we wish you a
merry Christmas and a happy new year.
May your days be filled with ice cream, painting, a lot of playing, and
above all, may you feel the presence of our Savior.
With Love,
The Polski’s
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