Saturday, January 10, 2009

Post-Christmas Discovery

If I'm your friend on Facebook, you're well aware that today is our "un-decorating" party; which commemorates the official end to the Ark's 2008 Christmas season.

If you've been reading here for a while, you know that our family has been growing over the past few years (exponentially some might say, although I beg to differ). And you'd also know from reading that we've just now finally solved our vehicle conundrum that has befuddled us for many months now.

But I'll be that none of you know that this year, when it came time to hang our matching stockings by the chimney with care, that we were one stocking short of a perfect match. Due to my resourceful Yankee sensibility, I had saved a matching set of six stockings from a few children ago. This thrifty move allowed me to resurrect the old Mom and Dad stocking, leaving not the needed seven--but EIGHT--extra kid stockings. All was right with the world.

And then my mother-in-law visited.

Having an eye for attention to detail, is, shall we say, one of her strengths. She picked out my two deviant stockings faster than you could say after-Christmas sale. But, as is her nature, she didn't just point out the problem, she also provided the solution. She just happened to have one extra stocking to match the other kid stockings, which (including the one I didn't use this year) bring us back up to NINE matching stockings--one for each of us. Amazing. I love this woman. Again all was right with the world.

Until today when I started packing up our Christmas decorations.

It suddenly occurred to me that if we kept the old Mom and Dad stocking and combined them with the newer set of nine matching stockings, we'd have two extra stockings. The same number of extra seats afforded us by the new vehicle seating arrangement.

Coincidence?

Only time will tell.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jane,

Does Pat read your blog??? LOL!

am

Life in Fitzville said...

Do you know that while I was pregnant with my youngest (4 years before we knew about our Haitian son) I bought a set of matching stockings on clearance. I don't know why (well now I do!) but I bought 9 instead of the needed 8. Not only that, but there were 3 patterns. 2 of one kind, 3 of another, and 4 of the last. I put names on those stockings, and it just so happened, that I made parent stockings, girls stockings, and boy stockings. The extra stocking had the boy pattern. I can remember my mom teasing me back then. But sure enough, 4 years later, we had the boy to match the stocking!

Time will tell... the Ark can't have extra stockings laying around! Or extra seats!

Ericka said...

Jane,
I've been so careful not to buy too many girl things. I'm so afraid to 'jinx' things :)
BUT I made the exception and bought a 'girlie' stocking after Christmas this year with the hopes of getting the honor to fill it next year ;)
BTW, love the new car :)

Mama of 5 said...

Surely God is speaking to you;)
Becky

Anonymous said...

I'm one of nine kids myself. It's a pretty good number. :)

Alice Gunther said...

LOL, time for twins, I say!