We’ve had a lot of rain. Last Sunday set a new rainfall record for the date. And I hate to complain (and, really, I’m not complaining), because we just came through a pretty dry summer. After a really wet spring. Which led to problems with growing things. And, says the exterminator, an increase in vermin. But the much, much larger problem is this: we’ve not been able to do things with Peter that we’ve wanted to do.
🙂 We’ve still got that giant box that we saved so Peter could play in it.
🙁 He was able to do it late one afternoon in September–before it poured rain the next day.
🙂 Now that the temperatures are down, we’d hoped to spend more time visiting the nearby park to ride the tricycle and play on the playground equipment.
🙁 We did that one afternoon, in a drizzle, with umbrellas and boots.
🙂 Go to the zoo on Gibbon Day.
🙁 Not at all. That was the day the Baylor Homecoming parade was cancelled. Because of the torrential rain forecast.
🙂 David was looking forward to raking up leaves for Peter to jump and play in (and maybe stuff them in the big fridge box), at Thanksgiving.
🙁 Nope. Rain–the whole time he was here.
Now I’m looking at the next round of Things We’d Like to Do with Peter. He did help decorate the Christmas tree when he was here last week.
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- Me: Peter, which is your favorite ornament on the tree?
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- Peter: This one.
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- Peter: I think this is Peter, when he was a baby. Me: Well, actually that’s Baby Jesus.
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- Peter: Really?
He’s coming again next week, and I have Christmasy plans.
- Make some Christmas cookies.
- Go to Story Hour at the Library
- Go to the Mayborn (not exactly Christmasy, but he wanted to go last week and we didn’t have time).
- Put gifts under the tree.
- Fill stockings for the adults in the family.
- Prepare gifts to mail to JoAnne’s family.
- Take a few photos (oh, more like-take LOTS of photos)
- Play in big box/ride tricycle/go to park/chalk paint the patio/maybe work in the yard
- And, pretty important–put up the outside lights.
I have some solar lights. Some go on the holly bush by the front porch. Some go on the boxwood on the other side of the garage doors. And some go on the garland on the wrought-iron porch railings. I got them out last week, before Kevin and April and Peter came, thinking how much fun it would be for Peter to help put them on the rails and then see them come on after dark. Too bad. They have to pump themselves up by having the sun shine on their solar panels for 8-12 hours. We’d not had a total of 12 hours of sunlight for daaaaaays.
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- The lights are supposed to be stored in the “off” setting. They’ve sat around in the box since last Christmas. When I got them out and pushed the switch to “on,” they came on! They would, of course, only stay on for a few minutes. The solar elements have to be charged for 8-12 hours when you’re starting them up again.
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- In addition to written instructions, there’s this highly helpful pictorial diagram.
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- I especially like this very helpful information: Read the instructions-YES. Throw away the Instruction Manual-NO. Put the solar panel in a shadow-NO. Put the solat panel in the sunlight-YES. Is your solar panel under a streetlight-MOVE IT AWAY FROM THE STREETLIGHT. (BECAUSE IT WILL THINK IT’S DAYTIME AND NOT ALERT THE LIGHTS TO COME ON.)
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- This “User Manual” is actually an 8.5 x 11 piece of paper. But it *is* two-sided.
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- And the user manual *does* include this helpful illustration. Not as informative as the other one, but it does give me the basic gist of things.
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- My three little solar soldiers, all lined up to gather sunshine for the next few days. When Peter comes, we can put the lights in place, push the switches to “on,” and watch them come on when night falls.
I’ve checked the weather. Sunny again today, after a sunny yesterday. Sunny Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Then, not much sun again, for all the days Peter will be here next week. But hopefully, there will be enough stored-up sunshine in the solar panels for a couple of nights of light.
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 1:18 (New Revised Standard Version)
In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered.
Luke 2:1 (NRSV)
In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.
Luke 2:8 (NRSV)
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.”
Matthew 2:1,2 (NRSV)
These verses are the beginnings of several parts of the Christmas story. I’m not exaggerating when I say that I get a little tingly when I read them, even though I’ve heard them and read them, and even sung some of them, for many, many years. We’re at the beginning of the Christmas season. The beginning of the best story ever. Gloria!
* This song was the first one Peter learned to sing from a CD I listen to when I’m driving back and forth between Waco and Fort Worth. Here’s a link to Peter Yarrow (the Peter of Peter, Paul, and Mary) singing this song