On a Cold Winter's Night...

This past week was really hard, with Hebs in a splint (that he kept unraveling, thank-you-very-much-two-year-old) and Gee having major dental work, various appointments and responsibilities, and a momma trying very hard to keep it all together.

It was a giant relief to get Hebs' cast on Friday. It is over-the-knee, so he isn't standing or walking in anyway, but he needs so much less vigilance on my part, now. Thank heavens. I think the constant watchfulness was getting on his nerves as much as mine.

I feel as if I am climbing out of a dark well. (Aside for my siblings: "Are you in a well?" "Yes, I am!") I think this week is going to be much nicer than last.

And we started it out right, by going Christmas caroling tonight! Caroling is a fond Tobler tradition, and we went once last year, to Zee's kindergarten teacher. This year we are expanding. Because the weather is fairly mild for this time of year, we decided to walk around our neighborhood, caroling to some of our good friends along the way.

We've been practicing "Jingle Bells", "Far Far Away", and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" for the past six weeks. Gee and Em know all the words, and sing them quite prettily, and Hebs sings certain parts of certain songs. (He especially loves the chorus to "Jingle Bells.") Gee doesn't really sing in front of others, but he loves to groove to the music.

We bundled everyone up, wrapped Mimi in her sling on my chest, put the little boys in the stroller with a blanket, and gave everyone little flashlights. (The flashlights were a stroke of genius on Bradley's part. They made the walk an adventure for everyone, and had the added benefit of making us more visible in the winter darkness.) And then we were off.

As is normal for drop-by caroling, we had about a 50% success rate. But the children were completely adorable, and incredibly well-behaved. The looks on our friends' faces as we appeared at the door, singing, made all the preparations worth it.

And we all got an extra strong dose of Christmas spirit, too.

Christmas caroling, 2001
(I have the feeling we were much cuter carolers when we were much younger, but this is the only picture I have of my family caroling.)
(And you'll notice that we aren't bundled up. This is caroling Las Vegas style, baby.)

From left to right: Daddy (Michael Tobler), my sister's friend Brittanie, my sisters Telima and LaDale, me, Bradley, Mema (my momma), and David (my brother). Not present are my sister Jenafer (already married with three kids), and my brother Samuel, on his mission in Australia.