I realize I tend to get a little carried away with Christmas and holiday traditions. It's just so much fun (and work, but worth it!) with kids 5-7! The season spans a full 6 weeks, though we hold off on decorating until after Brett's birthday. We start it off with a trip to Macy's Santaland to see A Day in the Life of an Elf, eat a cookie from Mrs. Claus' Bakery, and write our ever-important letters to Santa.
Lydia has been talking all year about how last year she wished for "Jasmine" and Santa brought her a Barbie-size Jasmine, but she wanted a polly-pocket size Jasmine. Santa was aware of this last Christmas, but Jasmine was a pretty popular princess about 20 years ago, but not anymore, and the merchandise selection is a bit limited. When I suggested to Lydia that I had never seen a polly-pocket size Jasmine, her response was "Santa can make one." She was sure she wasn't specific enough last year, so this year, she clearly wrote "little Jasmine." Santa had to come through this year! Thanks to some help from Amazon, there was an overpriced "little Jasmine" in her stocking and the magic of Christmas lives on. On a side note, the boys, who had not been thinking about writing to Santa all year long, saw a cool monster truck toy on the way to the table to write their letters, and both wished for monster trucks.
It won't be long before Brett can put the top on the tree, which is something Bryan and I can barely do on the ladder, on our tiptoes!
We have our five gold boxes, a reminder of God's gift to us, tucked under the tree. Time for some chocolate covered oreos!
Next up was Reggie's preschool Christmas program. So sweet! Not posting pictures of the actual program, since there are other kids in them.
We ended up just the five of us at home on Christmas Eve and Day, which we don't mind. Also, in keeping with a four-year tradition, we were sick over the holidays. On Christmas Eve morning, I had finally put some gifts under the tree with the kids' names on them.
After dinner, a retelling of the First Christmas, and some Christmas carols , it was finally time to open presents.
All cozy in their new long underwear and robe, we checked in on Santa's progress. He was in Greenland, so we figured we'd better get to bed. And on Christmas morning, our stockings were filled with goodies!
We made Santa and reindeer pancakes for breakfast. The next day, Lydia's fever had finally broke, so despite our hesitation, we packed our bags and headed south to celebrate Christmas with my extended family.
We stayed at a hotel in my grandparent's town. The boys got a racetrack from their uncle and Lydia got a silly hat. They all got cowboy boots from my parents. Unfortunately, Reggie's breathing become progressively worse during the night and we decided to leave the next morning, missing Christmas with my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. We did get to stop in and see my grandparents before we left town (Reggie stayed in the van). They always do such a nice traditional family Christmas. When we got back into the metro, I took Reggie to urgent care. It was not an overreaction; he was very sick. Lots of medication and a few days "rest" was just what the doctor ordered.
On New Years Eve, Bryan's parents and brother and girlfriend came over. Adam's girlfriend had brought some fun New Years crafts for the kids - she is a kindergarten teacher! We played lots of games, like the marshmallow shooter game, but none of us stayed up to ring in the New Year!
On New Years day, Chad, Jill and the cousins arrived to celebrate Christmas! They have a new baby (not pictured) so they just came for the day. We had a kids round and grown ups round of shake dice.
After some food, it was time for the main event. With five granddaughters 6 and under, you would think MeeMaw had bought stock in Disney's Frozen!
We spent today packing away the Christmas decorations. The Christmas season has come to a close. But instead of feeling the let-down, I find myself feeling very full. Full of Christmas sweets and leftovers, but also full of gratitude. We have so much to be thankful for - I'm married to my best friend, we have three happy kids, a steady income, a warm home, our health, and supportive extended families. We live on a street and in a country where we generally feel safe and welcome. Our school and church communities are helping us bring up our kids with the values that are important to us. Above all, we believe in a God who is real and have hope beyond this life.
And let's not forget about magic. I hope the magic that sparkles in the kids' eyes this time of year has been captured in these snapshots, that memories of a magical season of celebrating will forever warm our kids' hearts.
