Season of Surprises

Christmas and New Year's was a season of surprises for our family. The weeks leading up to the holidays were consumed by Aaron's finals. We adopted a very late schedule, picking Aaron up at the law school long after Christopher typically would have been in bed. When we would get home, Topher would ask to cuddle with Dad, which Aaron couldn't refuse. It's now become our habit to have some family cuddle time while watching tv, even if it's late and even though finals have long since passed.

On December 23rd, we also enjoyed some family bonding time when we all attended my 20-week-ultrasound to find out if we were having a boy or a girl in May. Oh! Did I forget to mention before that I'm pregnant? Ha! No, I didn't forget. We just weren't posting that information quite yet. We were waiting till Christmas to tell our families, and by then I just happened to be pretty far along. Even sweatshirts weren't working quite so well anymore to hide my growing belly. But we were excited to take Christopher into the ultrasound room where we all saw pictures of his little brother for the first time. Yep! It's a boy. And I have to admit that I was relieved. The novelty of a girl would have been nice, but having another boy makes life so much simpler for us at this point--few things to buy, fewer things to store, and a buddy for Topher to play with someday! And the best part of the whole appointment was the knowledge that he looked like he was developing exactly as he should be. All my fears were alleviated for the time being. And I was excited to get down to Georgia and let my family know.

Aaron captured the moment on video: I had bought some Christmas ornaments for Grandma Julie and Grandma Judy on which were printed the names of each of their grandchildren. Of course, included was one extra labeled, "Baby Pacini." Christopher brought Grandma Judy's to her after all the family gifts had been passed around on Christmas Eve. And the shocked look on my mom's face was priceless. It took a moment for her to process, but then she cried out, "I knew it!" Earlier that day she had asked me pretty pointedly if I were pregnant but I'd said no. Even my dad had approached me and patted my sides, teasingly saying, "Wow, Shalene! Putting on some weight there!" To which my reply was, "Yep. That's what marriage does to a girl!" And indeed, it does. Dad was baffled that we had lied to him as well, but they soon forgave us and I didn't have the hide my belly behind bulky sweaters any longer.

The rest of the holiday in Atlanta gravitated around casual family activities. We were spoiled with toys and gadgets and far more gifts than we had anticipated. And Christopher relished in the size and running space of Grandma's house. He was very helpful in passing out Christmas presents and he perfected the fine art of ripping open his own gifts. Of course, his favorite presents were all those dealing with Thomas the Tank Engine: Thomas Legos, Thomas sticker book, Thomas coloring book, Thomas blanket, Thomas mountain pass and Bertie bus and Cranky crane. Still, despite all his new toys, Christopher seemed infatuating with a plastic pig that Jandel gave my dad. It pooped candy, and Topher was always begging for "pig poop!" And he wanted to play with Aaron's new board game. And he couldn't leave my mom's fancy nativity alone. I had to buy super glue to fix all the parts and pieces he broke on the nativity. But he did impress my parents with his knowledge of the nativity story.

Throughout December, we had introduced Christopher to both Santa stories and the true Christmas story. He could name Joseph and Mary and Baby Jesus, and he enjoyed counting the wisemen whenever he saw them depicted in pictures. He could have played for hours with Baby Jesus if I had let him. But whenever he needed to settle down, the one movie he requested again and again was "Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer." He even surprised me by being able to complete the phrases of the song with their rhyming words if I gave him the chance to sing. By the time we returned home, Topher had also discovered "Frosty the Snowman," and he would wander around the house singing the song to himself. His memory never ceases to impress us!

Some of our fun family activities while in Atlanta included attending the temple, going to the movies, playing trains and getting haircuts at "Cousin Bodie's house" with all his toys and secret passageways. We also explored vacant houses, played at a park with super-long slides, and chased Topher around the Atlanta children's museum. I corrected several mean kids who were trying to bully him out of the treehouse inside the museum, reprimanding them for the naughty words they were using around my son. Honestly, I was appalled to think of what language such young kids must be exposed to at home if they were using it so freely in public! We went out to eat with my family several times, and we attended the last day of the Christmas festival at Stone Mountain.

Aaron had never been to Stone Mountain, and we chose the perfect day for the adventure--brisk but warm in the sunshine. The whole place had been recreated as a quaint Christmas village with millions and millions of lights decorating the cobblestone streets and sweet buildings. I was impressed, but Topher was only enthralled by the sky tram and the real train. My parents, Aaron, Topher and I waited through the long line to the sky tram so we could ride the mile up to the top of Stone Mountain, and it was worth it. Topher was so excited to be floating above all the people and trees and buildings below. He ran around the top of the mountain with all kinds of enthusiasm, and he had fun riding on Aaron's shoulders for most of the day. My parents missed the train ride around the mountain because they were in line for food, but Topher and Aaron made it back from the parade just in time. And Christopher loved the train whistle, the swoosh of the movement, the Christmas lights, and the Christmas songs. Topher had reached his limit by the time the lazer light show was over, but it had been a full day of happy memories.

Christopher impressed me by how well he endured the nine-hour-drive back to Virginia without a movie playing on his mini-DVD player. Instead, he slept or listened to me read a book aloud to Aaron. I enjoyed sharing in a common adventure by reading with Aaron, and it's a new practice that I want to continue. We were eager to get home and get settled, but Christopher needed a little stretch time before going to bed. So we invited the Booth family over for games, and even though we weren't unpacked, we played "Scotland Yard" and Topher chased Garon and it was a good return from a long adventure. I was simply grateful to have spent some real time with each of my Atlanta siblings and to have made more memories with "Grandma and Grandpappappa." It was a happy holiday.

But crazily enough, our adventures didn't end then. Even though I had packed away our suitcases once we got settled, I was soon dragging them out of the storage area again. Just a few days after we returned from Georgia, Aaron learned about an opportunity to work at the White House with the Presidential Speech Writing committee for a couple of days. After being so busy with finals and then suddenly so lazy with vacationing, he needed any excuse to get out of the house. So Heather and Kent were kind enough to open their house to us so we could spend a couple of days in DC. While Aaron worked, Topher and I visited with a very pregnant Meredith Filiatreault and a new mother-of-four-boys, Natalie Moore. I don't like imposing on others, but it was nice to see old friends and catch up on their stories. And Christopher loved exploring their different homes. He especially begged to play with Gwynne's big train that he could ride in circles around their huge tracks. Aaron and I took Heather and Kent out to dinner and we all played games the two nights that we stayed at their house. It was refreshing to be engaged in good ole competitive gaming again. And the night we left, we met up with the Pugmires half-way home to each dinner and play games with them, too. It felt like date night every night, and it was perfect way to finish Aaron's holiday break.

He started school again the next Monday, so I thought we has settled into the semester. But surprise! After some negotiating, convincing, and scheduling, we determined that it would be worth the expense, time, and effort for Christopher and me to return to Atlanta for my dad's surprise retirement party. My mom had been planning Dad's party for months and she had tried to convince Angie and me to travel down from our distance homes to attend. Unfortunately, Angie had building obligations with Bret that weekend and I couldn't come because Aaron would be occupied with the final exam from his first crash course of the semester. He couldn't watch Christopher and I couldn't travel on my own--at least, these were the excuses we gave my mom. Disappointed, she seemed to understand. But what she didn't know was that behind the scenes, we were making arrangements with Deleen, Jandel, and Cherece so both Angaleen and I could attend.

Topher's main thrill was flying on the little airplanes that zipped us from Charlottesville to DC and then down to Atlanta. We had to actually walk out onto the tarmac and climb the plane's steps and feel the wind whipping around us. Oh, Topher was so excited! Poor kid suffered from severe sleep deprivation, however, because we didn't get into Atlanta until midnight and then Deleen, Topher, and I stayed up until 2am. Poor kid woke up and saw Deleen and her dog cuddled up in bed, and he desperately wanted to join us. So we all cuddled in bed and watched cartoons until we decided to actually start the day. I felt bad because my only obligation was to stay hidden until that night. Deleen was the one hustling about, getting her car cleaned up for us, hiking Kennessaw Mountain with Dad so he wouldn't suspect anything, and tidying up after us when we left for the party at her boyfriend's airport hanger. It was great to see Angaleen after nearly two years apart, and I was eager to catch up with her and Jandel while Topher played with the dogs. We talked family, health, pregnancy, and child development. We swapped pictures and told stories and danced in the first snow of the season. Then hurrying off to the party, we decided to arrive early to surprise my mom.

Now that was a moment worth remembering: Christopher was super excited to see all the jets and airplanes parked outside the airplane hanger where my mom had spent the day decorating. We arrived a little more than an hour early and sent Topher inside to startle my mom first. As soon as Angie and I peaked around the entry's corner to see Topher toddling towards my mom, we caught her confused reaction. She turned from all her other business and reached down to pick him up, wondering, "Christopher? What are you doing here?" as though he would actually answer. That's when Angie and I came in and she caught of glimpse of me first with a jolt of surprise. Then, glancing to Angie next to me, the sheer shock brought on a burst of sudden tears. My sweet mom's face turned bright red, her eyes started streaming, and she started stuttering. "You came! You'll all be here! I can't believe it!" And really, I don't think she could. She stared at Angie and me for the longer time and just laughed and cried.

I paused to hug her and then found myself instantly running after Christopher who found the music filling the hanger far too inspiring to not "dance." In Christopher lingo, "to dance" means to run wildly in circles in large spaces. There were massive fuel-burning heaters in each corner warming the hanger, so I was nervous that he would get too close to one or destroy my mom's decorations, so I found myself chasing Topher far more than I socialized during the course of the evening.

The best moment of the night was after all the guests had gathered inside the hanger and Deleen escorted my dad inside under the pretext of being pulled away from their reserved dinner at the airport steakhouse. They walked into the massive room and the crowd started cheering and Dad's face lit up and he started clapping, stepping back and seeming to applaud Deleen. She had just finished taking her Board Exams, so their dinner had been planned to celebrate her. Naturally, he thought the surprise party was for his daughter and hosted by her boyfriend...until Deleen turned him towards the crowd to study faces. "Dad!" she laughed, "They're here for you!" And that's when he read the "Happy Retirement" banner. That's when he spotted faces he recognized from work and church. But when he suddenly fixed on Angaleen standing there, clapping and smiling at the family table, his face broke wide open with the biggest smile I have ever seen. He looked towards me with Christopher on my lap and his grin got even bigger. There was such astonishment and delight written in my father's eyes that I will forever hold the memory of his loving, happy face as one of my fondest moments. He hurried forward to hug Angie, me, and all the other kids--baffled that we were there and still confused about how his casual dinner-date had turned into such a significant event. It was true joy.

Then the music came on and the socializing began. Unfortunately, because Christopher had slept so little and eaten so poorly, my cute kid was not the happiest imp that evening. Mischief was his mainstay. So although I did get to see some old family friends like the Gagnons, the Parsons, and the Dixons, I didn't get to enjoy any real conversations because Christopher was either running from me or fighting me. Finally, I took him updates to the loft overlooking the hanger with its glass encloser where I had set up a bed for my little boy. It took an hour of "Thomas the Tank Engine" to coax my cute kid to eat and then I put him down to sleep. By the time I returned to the big gathering below, it was late and people had started to file out. Not all were gone, but the crowd was definitely slimmer. And I only had the chance to sit for fifteen minutes before Angie showed up with my sobbing son in her arms. Poor, exhausted kid. I didn't know what had upset him after he went to bed so easily, but he clung to me for the next half-hour as we tried to take family pictures.

All of my siblings and I had not been together since my wedding, so it was a special opportunity for my parents to get pictures with all of their kids together. Of course, because Aaron and Bret and Angie's boys weren't there, it wasn't a full-fledged family reunion. But what mattered most to my parents were their children and we were there--all of us--with all our differences and dramas and dear feelings for each other. And it was fun. Christopher chased his cousin Bodie around the hanger with a broom while we all hunkered down to clean up after the festivities. That's when I realized what a practical blessing seven grown kids can be. Between putting away tables and chairs, gathering food and decorations, the party was packed up shortly before midnight. And all the while, Topher spun in circles tackling any uncle standing nearby. Dad and Mom were both still beaming by all the love filling the big room, and they followed us back to Deleen's house to stay up talking. It was as though every minute was priceless and no one wanted to sleep through it.

I slept for two hours that night, woke at 3:30am to pack and get Topher ready, and then Dad took Angie and us to the airport. Poor Christopher managed to sleep a little on the two small planes that took us home, but all the while he kept trying to stay awake for the excitement of the ride. I think I managed to handle Topher and our bags and our stroller with a pregnant belly while on so little sleep...simply by virtue of adrenaline. Aaron welcomed us home from our whirlwind adventure with warm hugs and a listening ear and lots of love. He had food ready for us and we went home to rest.

The holidays were happy days. Exhausting days. Fulfilling days. And I was grateful for them.