It was about the time that the school buses start pulling up in front of our house and unloading all the kids who live in the trailer court, so I asked if she was watching the kids come home. "No," she replied casually. Clearly, she wasn't giving out information, so I even entertained the thought that she might have a secret crush on a boy she was watching. I sure couldn't think of anything else she would be secretly stalking all afternoon.
I continued baking cookies and Naomi continued to disregard my reminders that she ought to be doing her schoolwork. At this point, I was so mystified that I demanded she tell me what in the world was going on. Backed into a corner, she sighed and turned to me. "It's a surprise," she scolded.
Oh. A surprise for me? Something outside for me? My children often made surprises for me that involved construction paper, toilet paper tubes, and scotch tape, but I doubted they would have planted one of those kinds of surprises outside. Could this possibly be something Matt was behind? No. Certainly not. Matt had not bought me a single Christmas present in the entire previous thirteen Christmas seasons we had known each other. Silly me...but...maybe.
About fifteen minutes later a large brown truck pulled up beside our house and all the children began screaming, "It's here! It's here! Don't open it, Mommy! Daddy says we have to keep you from opening it until he gets home! It's a surprise! Don't open it, Mommy!" The UPS man smiled broadly at my crowd of cheering children as I signed for the large package.
"They're telling me this is a surprise," I informed the delivery man, raising my eyebrows at him to ask if he had any information.
"I don't know nothing!" he laughed, with his eyes twinkling, and I thought that his job must be wonderful this time of year.
The large, trapezoid-shaped, brown box gave no clues to its origin, and though I had a reasonable idea of what might be inside, I pretended to have no idea at all.
"Oh...wow!" I mused, "What in the world did Daddy get me?" All the girls giggled with a wild excitement that told me they'd been plotting this for some time with Daddy. "It looks like...a new...pyramid decoration for my living room!"
More giggles erupted, "Nope. No, no, no. Not even close, Mommy."
"No? Hmmm....well, then...Oh! I know! It's a new swing set for my baby dolls!"
"No, no, no. Not at all."
"Can I open it now and look?"
"NO!! No opening until Daddy comes home!"
Matt was almost as giddy as the girls when he finally arrived home three hours later. We gathered in the living room and this is what I found.
Yes, this is the brand new iMac that just became available to order on November 30th. The card from the kids reads:
"Dear Mommy, you're the best mommy ever. We love you a lot. You'll really like our early Christmas present. It's a new computer that is even bigger and faster than Daddy's. I bet you'll really like it. Now you won't ever have to complain to Daddy about how slow your computer is. Have a Merry Christmas. Love, Naomi, Hannah, Emma, and Toby"
This is, for the record, the best Christmas present I could have possibly received. I have been using a Dell laptop that Matt and I bought in 2002, just after we were married. It is now exceedingly outdated, slow, and frustrating to try to complete any task on. This fall I have nearly given up on blogging or posting pictures because of the enormous amount of time wasted trying to use a computer that continually froze, crashed, and lost my work. Matt heard my laments and saw my frustration and put my needs before his own this year. I feel very well taken care of. Here are the before and after pictures of my desk.
 |
| This is also the computer that Toby pulled 17 keys off when he was a toddler. B key never recovered. |
Matt has been working hard to get everything installed and transferred to my new computer. Most of his spare time in the last week has been dedicated to getting everything up and running for me. Today I finally retrieved a huge number of pictures from my camera that my previous, retarded computer couldn't handle. In honor of my new, updated capabilities. Here is a collection of some of my favorite moments from this summer and fall that I haven't had a chance to share yet.
 |
| "Mommy! Elijah got into the wipes tub and pulled out all the wipes!" |
 |
| I love how these boys are enjoying playing together already. |
 |
| Such a Daddy's boy |
 |
| The "twins" strike again, losing their first teeth 24 hours apart. |
 |
| Thanksgiving |
 |
| Superman, and his smaller side-kick Pooperman |
So there's your pictorial highlights from summer and fall 2012 in the Eby house--all thanks to my new favorite Christmas present ever, from my favorite husband ever.
And now, back to real life: running a household where four children ages 6 and under are infected with strep throat at the same time. But that will have to be the subject of another blog.
No comments:
Post a Comment