Christmas 2009

It was an amazing Christmas this year - exhausting - but amazing for sure.

We started off Christmas Eve day at a break-neck pace - doing what every year I swear I won't do again - running last minute errands, delivering gifts and double-checking our Christmas card list to see if we missed anyone.  (Maybe next year will be the year that I get organized before Christmas Eve rolls around.)

This year we had Christmas Eve dinner at Grandpa and Oma's.   It was a yummy dinner followed by three Christmas traditions:

1. Reading "The Night Before Christmas."

2. Reading Luke 2 while the kids acted out the Nativity - a needed reminder of what the focus of Christmas should be.

3. The opening of the Christmas jammies from Oma and Grandpa.

(Everyone but little Lila.)

It was a great evening, but by the time we were done with these three events, the kids were wound up and it was time to go home.  (It didn't help that the kids kept checking the internet to see where Santa was on his route, and it became increasingly obvious that we had better hurry if we were going to be in bed before he made it to our house.)

We came home and read in the Book of Mormon about the night before Christ was born.  We said a family prayer and all the kids said good-bye to Winston, our dear Christmas elf.  It was late when we finally got the kids in bed, but Abby and Isaac were determined to stay up and watch for Santa this year. I don't know if they ever did see his sleigh - all I know is when we woke up the next morning, he had been there and had definitely lightened his load.

All our kids are young enough, that we haven't really reached the video game/ ipod stage, so everyone just got fun toys: race tracks, dolls, puppets, a teepee, and games.  Christmas morning was magical as the kids discovered what treasures had been left.

Once the goodies from Santa had been reviewed and played with, we moved to the presents under the tree.  Abby let out a squeal when she opened a new camera and said, "I didn't think I'd get a new camera this year." (Peter broke the one she got last Christmas.)

When Isaac opened the book, "Owen and Mzee" he tackled me with a hug and said, "Oh Mom, I love this book!"

Henry opened a gift that had been wrapped in a light bulb box.  When he saw the box, he lowered his head and very dejectedly said, "No, not light bulbs." We told him to open it and when he did his depression immediately changed to elation and he yelled, "Yes! Yoda!"

Peter was pretty uninterested in the presents under the tree.  He was so excited when he found the snow shovel that Santa had left he immediately said, "Boots time!" and put on his boots and coat so he could head out and shovel the patio.

Andrew got a desperately needed new watch and the game Bananagrams and I got a new camera lens and a pair of earrings.  It was a perfect Christmas morning - pure joy, so much fun, and totally magical.

My family came over for Christmas brunch and we had a wonderful time opening presents and being together.  This was the first Christmas in three years that we were all together and it was great.

On Christmas night, we went to Andrew's brother Nathan's house and the kids did the Nativity again.  It was the perfect way to end the day - to again be reminded of the birth of the Savior.

There is a quote by Robert Louis Stevenson that I thought of several times on Christmas day:

May the Christmas morning make us happy to be thy children,

And the Christmas evening bring us to our beds with grateful thoughts...

As I fell into bed on Christmas night, I was wiped out but filled with gratitude - so thankful my beautiful children, to be surrounded by family and friends and especially for the Savior, whose birth we celebrate. After an amazing Christmas season, I drifted off to sleep counting my many blessings...

The Children

were nestled all snug in their beds....

while visions of sugarplums danced in their heads.

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The Lottery

One of my favorite Christmas events each year is the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Concert.  I love this event for two reasons:

1.  It is always an amazing show with talented singers and dancers.  My favorite artist so far was Sissel, who was here a few years ago.  She was A-MAZ-ING!  But no matter who the guest performer is, it's always a great show.

2. The other reason I love going to this concert is that there is a real rush being among those who get tickets.  Seriously, the selection process for this thing is nuts.  It is strictly through a lottery and I am the unluckiest person I know.  I have never been selected to receive tickets.  Fortunately, I have siblings and in-laws who have better luck than I do, and luckily, they are often willing to share.

This year my sister-in-law who lives in Chicago/Colorado, was lucky enough to get tickets - and she was also kind enough to give them to me.  This is the first year that Abby has been old enough to go, and I was so excited to take her.

The guest performer this year was Natalie Cole and she did a great job, but Abby's (and Andrew's and my) favorite song of the night was when the choir sang, "For Unto Us."  That became our song of the season.  Almost daily, Abby would put it on repeat on the ipod and our house would be filled with that beautiful music.

Anyway, we had so much fun with Abby at the concert.  She is so enthusiastic and upbeat about everything.  She is curious and excited by new experiences.  It was a great night.  Abby loved the singing, she loved the dancing and she loved Natalie Cole's bedazzled microphone.

It was the perfect thing to get us all into the Christmas Spirit.

We had so much fun with this girl - and it didn't hurt that she looked like

a character out of a Dickens' novel.

Christmas Day in the Morning...

Last night when it came time to open our Christmas book, it was Isaac's turn to pick.  He gingerly looked through the stack of books that hadn't yet been opened, until he found the one he was looking for.  He picked it up and unwrapped it - and the room was filled with knowing murmurs:  "It's the one that makes Mom cry," they all said.

I looked and sure enough, it was "Christmas Day in the Morning" - the one Christmas book I have never been able to read without crying.  "Maybe this year I won't cry," I said hopefully, but we all knew what was to come.

We sat down next to the Christmas tree to read.  The kids seemed to snuggle a little closer on this night, as if trying to protect me from the wave of emotion that was ready to crash at any second.  And then, somewhere in the last three or four pages, it hit.  It started out with my voice starting to quiver - just a little.  The kids all looked at me nervously - yet hopefully.  "I'm fine." I assured them.

But a few paragraphs later, a tear leaked out of one eye.  Henry looked up at me and gently brushed it away.  Isaac put his arm around my shoulder and Abby patted my knee.

I pressed on, but it was a lost cause.  I finished the book with tears running down my face - yet trying to maintain the slightest bit of composure.  I can't help it.  This book does it to me every time!  When we were done, the kids dog-piled me with hugs and kisses and understanding giggles and I soaked it all in.

After everyone had calmed down and they were tucked in bed, I thought about "Christmas Day in the Morning" and about my kids' reaction to it and to my emotions.  I realized that although my kids aren't really comfortable seeing me cry, the fact that I cry every time I read this book to them, is as much a tradition as the reading itself.  And they love that book - and me - for it.

Christmas with Henry

There is nothing quite like a four-year-old boy at Christmas, and this year, I am loving my four-year-old Henry.  He has really caught on to the spirit of Christmas.

When I came into the family room and saw this:

Henry explained to me that he and Peter were playing Joseph and Baby Jesus.  Peter was quick to disagree with Henry and told me that he wasn't Baby Jesus, he was a baby elephant.

Henry spends much of the day singing Christmas carols.  My current favorite is:

Have a holly jolly Christmas,

It's the best time of the year.

Say hello to brands and load

And havansgup of jeer.

The only part of Christmas that Henry isn't grasping is the Santa Claus part.  Last week, when he sat on Santa's lap, he wouldn't say one word to Santa about what he wanted for Christmas.   (He wouldn't say one word about anything actually.)

(Still wearing his cow costume from the Nativity.)

Later, when I asked Henry about how it went while sitting on Santa's lap, this is what he said:

Mom:  Henry, did you tell Santa what you want for Christmas this year?

Henry: No, I didn't tell him anything.

Mom: Well, do you know what you want from Santa this year?

Henry:  No, but I know what I want from Target this year.

So, although Henry is really into the spirit of Christmas, for him, Target still has better options than even the North Pole.  What an endorsement for Target!

Like I said, there is nothing better than a four-year-old boy at Christmas, and as far as I'm concerned, Henry is the best one around.

Lucy is almost seven months old and still sleeps in the same bassinet, right next to my bed, that she slept in the day she came home from the hospital.

I know it's probably time for me to move her out, but if I did, where would she rest her foot?

I guess I'll keep her close by for a while longer.

A New Member of the Family

We live in a pretty great neighborhood.   That much we've known since we rented a house in this neighborhood when we first moved back to Utah.  In fact, we loved this area so much we bought a house so we could stay here and raise our kids here - even though the house is way too small and was way overpriced.  (A different post for another time.)

In any case, although we've always known this neighborhood is something special, it has recently come to our attention, that it is special for a different reason.   Since moving here, we have learned that Santa sends special Christmas elves to many of the homes in our neighborhood.  In fact, Abby recently reported to me that we are the only ones who don't get a Christmas elf.  Well being Abby, she took matters into her own hands and wrote a letter to Santa:

Well, imagine our family's delight when we woke up this morning and found that Santa had sent our family a Christmas elf too!  He brought with him a note, by way of introduction, and included the rules for having one of Santa's elves in your house.

Basically, he is here to observe what goes on in our house between now and Christmas and will report back to Santa.  He moves around the house at night when everyone is asleep - so everyday we need to look for him in a different spot.  He can't talk to us, but if we have questions about him or Santa or about the North Pole, we can leave notes for him and he will write back to us.  The most important rule, is that no one is allowed to touch the elf.  If anyone touches him, the elf magic will be broken and he'll never be able to return to the North Pole.  All his elf magic will be gone.

The kids were beyond ecstatic (yelling, shouting, jumping up and down, and generally freaking out) when they spotted him - perched high on shelf, sitting next to our alphabet blocks which had  a special message:

We are all so excited about welcoming this elf to our family and look forward to learning more about him over the next  24 days. Hopefully, he'll have great things to report back to Santa as he observes our family this month. (Fingers crossed.)

So, while we are always grateful for our great friends and neighbors, today we are grateful to them for letting us in on the secret of the elf.

Ready to Read...

Andrew and I were up well past midnight last night wrapping books for our annual "Christmas Book Countdown." Today, they are all under the tree ready to be  inspected, picked through and unwrapped.

I am keenly and painfully aware that there are only a few years left in which our house is completely filled with magic this time of year, and I am trying my hardest to make the most of every moment.

So today, Andrew and I are sleepy but lighthearted as we look forward to the rest of this month.

Happy Reading and Happy December to you all!