Continued from this post and this post.
My mother-in-law likes to keep everything equal...whether it's money or gifts or food or offering to put gas in someone's car (she will offer it for everyone, not just one person). So the boys (Jim and his brothers) all know that if one of them pulls something out of their Christmas "sack," there's a 99.99999% chance that the other two will have that exact item in their sack as well.
Blow dryers, beard trimmers (they don't have beards), nail clippers, etc. Three of each. Every year.
Now that I have a son-in-law, and my own boys are older...they are starting to get some of the "big boys'" gifts, too.
This year, Logan, Clark and Aaron-the-son-in-law each got a large, metal, wand-lookin' thing that had a magnet on one end...in their "SOS." The first thing they did was to extend their "wands" as far as they would go, and then Logan and Clark acted like they were light-sabers and made the sounds from Star Wars as they "pretend" cut-off every limb of each other's bodies.
Boys never actually grow up.
And then one of them turned to the other one, pointed his magnet wand, and said, "EXPECTO PATRONUMMMMMM!" and they turned into a scene from Harry Potter just.like.that.
Side note: Most everyone moved into the living room area after dinner and that's where we had "Christmas." Everyone except for Holly and Aaron, Logan and Morgan, and Clark and Faith. They were content to sit around the dining room table and talk, and it just blessed my heart to no end. They weren't being anti-social...they were just enjoying being together. We hadn't seen Logan and Morgan since Thanksgiving, and they are staying with Morgan's family until Christmas day or the day after that (sniff)...so my kids were just enjoying each other.
And I LOVED it.
Anyway, Aaron-the-son-in-law started trying to see what all he could pick up with his magnet wand. And my other two boys followed suit. At one point, Aaron was able to snag a fork from the silverware canister that's in the middle of the table...and brought the fork to his plate. Logan used his wand to get a fork...brought the fork over to his plate...cut a piece of cake with the fork still attached to the magnet want thing...and put the cake into his mouth. All while using his magnet wand.
I'm sure that was the intention behind the makers of the magnet wand.
No more, "please pass the salt." Instead, just whip out your magnet wand, extend it, and get the salt yourself.
IF your salt shaker is metal...which, my mother-in-law's is.
At the end of the evening, we got ready to go home. Some of my bunch stayed over one more night, but the majority of us headed home. Holly and Faith had to sing on the Praise Team this morning, and I planned on taking advantage of a day with the kids gone to get a bunch of wrapping done.
ANYWAY, we had already loaded up the vehicles and filled up with gas. We were fixin' to head out. I had Clark and Faith in my vehicle...and Aaron, Holly, Logan and Morgan were in the other vehicle. As I put the last item into the trunk, I heard Morgan say, "we'll be on in a minute...don't wait on us. Mammaw said we could shop in Mammaw Irene's room."
Now, Jim's grandmother, Mammaw Irene, has been dead for many years...but there was a point in her life, near the end, where she moved into the Lakehouse with my in-laws. Her bedroom was pink, and it is now and will forever more be referred to as "Mammaw Irene's Room."
My mother-in-law is a pack rat like none other. I've talked about her "you-TIL-tee room" (utility room) and all the supplies she has in there. I've talked about how they have 4 refrigerators/freezers and how they are all FULL...and how the saw/ham thief showed that his momma didn't raise no fool when it came to knowing where the goods were, because he hit the Lakehouse carport frig two times in a month. Just sayin'.
Well, my mother-in-law's supplies and "stuff" filled up the you-til-tee room a long time ago. So that, and the fact that my mother-in-law has an ankle issue that makes it hard for her to walk...has made the front "area" as you come in from the carport...another supply place. Because what she can't leave in the garage, she brings just in the front door, and drops the grocery bags on the floor...and then it's just up to everyone to get what they want. For the past few years, she has started filling up Mammaw Irene's room with her stuff, too. It is a mess and I know most of the people reading this don't believe it's as bad as I say it is because y'all were all on Jim's side when he said I had a "flair for the dramatic."
I know who you are, BUT I'M NOT KIDDING.
Anyway, when my mother-in-law told Holly and Morgan that they could "shop" in Mammaw Irene's room, well...as they say around here: "Katie, bar-the-door," because they took off back inside the house. And when Faith heard where they were going, she JUMPED out of the front seat of my vehicle and said, "I'M IN." And that's how we ended up leaving later than what we had planned.
Holly and Morgan got all kinds of kitchen stuff. Morgan even got a set of "green" frying pans like my mother-in-law gave Jim...the ones that he won't let Clark use because he's afraid Clark will use a FORK when he cooks an egg, and it will scratch the surface of the pan.
The whole bunch of them are crazy.
The girls said that shopping in Mammaw Irene's room was their favorite part of Christmas, and I should say so!
Canned popcorn and tweezers will only go so far!
"So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith." Galatians 6:10
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