Heirs of the Magi News Flash!

***Heirs of the Magi News Flash!*** Winter has, for the most part, been mild so far - or awesome for the month that Cassie and Michael spent in summertime-Australia! They are home now and will be working from home for most of the time until Easter. The hometown work will include getting ready for their next trip, but there will be a lot of fun to get in on and share with their favorite people - including their March Break trip to Florida adventure. All of your favorite Magi Masters will continue to work and play while their future plans unfold; so... ...Visit Witch Falls often to keep up with all of their latest stories; and Happy Reading!

Monday, December 9, 2013

Cassie's Journal - December 8, 2013



Happy 13th Birthday, Lily!

I’m fairly sure that Tai Chi this morning was the only quiet time I had today through until I climbed into my Jacuzzi tonight – and even then I was multi-tasking my usual school night studies, work, and computing while I was the tub time.

The morning highlights included some sister hair and dress-up time with Ehlana and the full shopping and travel report exchange during breakfast that included pretty much everything that had been going on when we weren’t together yesterday.  There was more shopping talk going on at church too, but the main action there for the kids, teens, and Sunday school teachers revolved around the ongoing work needed to get ready for the teen Christmas concert and other holiday activities and crafts.

Snow had continued to fall very lightly all morning, so Michael and I weren’t the only people in town having minor snowball fights after church; though we were on our own for that while walking to the Inn.  His parents had needed to leave before the service had ended, but we were ahead of Rebecca and most of the staff working the lunch shift too; and while I wouldn’t classify that little respite as quiet time; it was quite a bit of fun.

I only helped out at the Inn until the main prep work was finished for the lunch rush, and then I went home to eat and get ready for Lily’s party.  It had pretty much stopped snowing by then and Dad had cleared that half-inch or so of white and fluffy from the driveway, sidewalks, and porches already.  Missing out on that was okay, but I would have liked to be there for the wintry play time Mom and Dad had with Ethan and Ehlana when they’d first got home from church.

Rowen met up with me at my house because Mom was taking us over to Lily’s for the party so we didn’t have to walk.  We picked Michael up at the Inn on our way; but met Tim there.  This had been another group gift opportunity, and as usual; I liked being able to do that instead of buying four smaller gifts for our friends.  It was also the first time I’d been invited to one of Lily’s parties; which gave me a chance to get to know her family a bit better than I did before today.

She’s a member of the Ayres clan, but only distantly related to Uncle Nick, Liz, and their side of the family.  That sometimes seems strange in such a small town when families have the same last name; but then I also don’t usually even think about how connected almost all of the families here really are.  I’m sure that Lily doesn’t mind having a cousin for one of her teachers this year; and probably has other teachers with closer relationships.  It’s probably because it was just Mom and me before moving here that makes my new family ties so much more important to me than for other kids and teens.

Anyway, Lily’s the baby of her family; her parents are closer in age to Michael’s parents than mine; and her oldest brother is in his second year of college now.  He obviously couldn’t be at Lily’s party, but her sister, Alexandria, and brother, Kurt, were there all afternoon – while staying out of the way with their respective boyfriend and girlfriend until we all went to dinner at the Inn.  There really isn’t much to report from the party.  The guys mostly wanted to talk football – and watch it on television when they weren’t playing video games too.  The college championship games from Saturday were big news – particularly the upsets – and the NFL races for playoff spots are heating up too; so the die-hard fans like Tim are really getting into the games now that high school football is done for the season.

I should probably recognize for posterity that my boyfriend did not even attempt to watch football last night or even check the scores while we were hanging out together in the lounge.  Hopefully that won’t damage his future reputation; but I’ve definitely lucked out in the boyfriend department when it comes to things like that.

While the boys were immersed in football and video games, the girls mostly just sat around and talked.  The only excitement for the afternoon was when Lily opened her gifts, and her parents had her do that at the house so that they didn’t need to drag everything to the Inn only to haul it home again later.  Michael and I left for the Inn early so that we could help with getting the first wave of food cooked and out to the buffet tables; and then we re-joined the party.  Tim and Rowen had saved seats for us, and though we were on the edge of the birthday action; we enjoyed an entertaining hour and a half together before Michael and I wished Lily one last happy birthday and went back to work in the kitchen.

The rest of my Sunday evening has been busy and more than a little exhausting.  Michael, Rebecca, and I were sent home early; mostly because we all had homework that needed to get finished by morning.  I stopped in at Michael’s house long enough for a decent goodnight hug and kiss; but then headed home for the night from there.  Except for some bedtime fun while getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night; it’s been all work since then.  My homework didn’t take long, but my Magi lesson with Mom took a bit over an hour; and I’ve spent more than three hours on my studies, the family business, and my usual nightly computing since climbing into bed with Mandy.

I really need to crash for a few hours now, but before I do that; let’s take a quick look at the upcoming events schedule.  It’s hard to believe that we only have two weeks left at school before the Christmas break, but most of the college kids only have one week left before they’ll be coming home.  They’re all concentrating on exams right now, but I’m looking forward to having Violet, Dillon, Jake, and Stephanie home again soon.

That’s going to be great, but we have a lot more on the go; including the school Christmas dance on Friday night; a sleepover and babysitting service on Saturday night while the adults go out to a Christmas dinner at the Inn and party at Sheldon’s; and our band has a Seniors’ Christmas party to play at on Friday afternoon, and the Maple Valley Christmas parade on Saturday morning.  We’ll be having our last game night of the year on Thursday too; Michael and I need to find more time to practice for the school Christmas concert between now and next Thursday; and I have all of my regular work to do too, so even the quieter days will be busy.

With all of that to look forward to, I really should get started on my nap time now.  If this weekend is any indication; this whole month is going to add up to a best-ever kind of Christmas and holiday season; and every day will be full of fun and excitement – even with all of the work.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!