All Things Christmas

We had a wonderful, though insanely fast, Christmas - the entire month of December just flew by so quickly. I know they say that time goes faster the older you get, but this is getting a bit crazy!    

The week before Christmas, in-between Christmas shopping, cookie baking, holiday parties, etc, I was able to get baby Barrett over for a few pictures.  I had seen a neat idea on Pinterest so I had Ella be my stand-in model so I could try to get the lights right.  

I made the mistake of touching B with my cold hands and that set him off on some crying.  Oops.  He did give some smiles to his mama though even if he was a little cranky at me!

We thought we'd put him in a stocking, but his stocking was too small to put him in, so I found my stocking from the hospital and put him in there.  He didn't seem to mind too much.

He's such a cutie pie - it's fun to have a baby in the family again, especially one that I don't have to get up and feed at all hours of the night ;)

It was neat when we decorated the mantle this year - Silas had brought home his Gingerbread man from school and now we have Mason's kindergarten snowman,  Ella's kindergarten Gingerbread girl and Silas' kindergarten Gingerbread boy. A complete collection  :)

On Christmas Eve we had a nice, non-stressful evening.  Abby and Carson's mom, Jennifer, had taken Ella and Silas to the zoo lights the day before, so Justin and I were able to get EVERY present wrapped, and didn't have to do it at midnight on Christmas Eve. It was wonderful!

Instead, we got to decorate Christmas cookies that Aunt Amanda and the kids had made.  Some of the cookies got a little blobby as they baked, they puffed out quite a bit.  That gave the cookie decorators the idea to get creative with them - kinda like "what's that cloud look like?" only with icing.

Silas had made some reindeer food with a new recipe at school.  So before bed, he and Ella went out and sprinkled it on the lawn. 

After the kids were in bed, Justin and I had our eggnog by the light of the tree.  One of my favorite parts of Christmas :)  We had a wonderful tree this year - from Lowe's again.  The shape was perfect, the size was perfect for the space and it barely lost any needles at all.  I wish we could box this one up and use it again every year!

The last look as I was going up the steps to bed...looking at this picture reminds me of my Christmases as a kid, probably because of the vintage look of the picture. Just the tree lit and everything all quite...I love that.

Christmas morning the kids slept in until 8am.  I was pretty impressed!  Especially with Silas because he had been all excited and was bouncing off the walls at bedtime.

Yes, Mason is a grump-butt!

Ella and Silas both got iPod Touches from Santa (now maybe they'll leave my phone alone!!)

Mason got a PlayStation 3 gaming system.

Silas was SOO excited about all the Legos that he got.  He spent HOURS at the table putting them together.

We spent the afternoon with the family at mom's and dad's and managed to get a picture of the kids all together.  Fun stuff!!

 

All three were very happy with their gifts and have played non-stop with the stuff that they've gotten. Mason even smiled a time or two :)  It was a great Christmas.  I hate that I do this, but it was on my mind that we are getting closer and closer to not having all the kids living at home for Christmas. Mason is a Junior now and in just a few years, it's hard to say where he'll be going off to.  I love that we have this time together NOW...maybe something that I need to work on for 2012 - to stop getting ahead of myself!!

Mother's Day

I woke up early this morning. Silas James came and stood by my side of the bed, looking at me - "mama?".  I pulled the covers back and said "hop in bud".  He wraps his arm through mine and we both fell back asleep until around 8:30, at which point Si began the non-stop chatter that I know won't end until I give in and converse with him, or convince him to go down and see what daddy is doing. 

I never have high expectations for Mother's Day. Not because it disappoints, but because like most "Hallmark" holidays, I just don't get excited about them. I still think of Mother's Day as a day for other moms. My mom, Justin's mom, new moms.
I give myself a few liberties - I read in bed for awhile, I sniff for the smell of fresh coffee. I just lie in bed enjoying the moment.

Ella brings me banana bread in bed (say that 3 times fast) and I get my coffee.  I get a craft from Ella that reads:

M - My Mom loves me

O - Oh the times I get in trouble you still love me

T - Tells me things a lot

H - Her job helps others

E - Every night she tucks me into bed

R - Relly (really) good at love (I like this one)

We go to get flowers at the nursery to put into the pots that the kids painted for me last year. I start to settle into the day and think that this is a tradition that I love - the flowers, the handmade reminders of their childhood...and the mimosas.

Mason and I go to the store to get potting soil and Mason tells me to come look, he's found something that I'll like.  He's right.  He found a great hammock and stand. I have missed my old hammock since we moved and this one is perfect.  I feel spoiled and self-indulgent when I call Justin and he says "it's Mother's Day - get it" - but I do with a bit of giddiness.

We go to Ella's soccer game, we go to see my mom and dad, we stop at the store to buy an impromptu dinner (steaks to throw on the grill). And then finally, I come home and test out my hammock.

We eat a delicious dinner of steak, grilled asparagus, salad and red wine. It's chilly out but I take my book and mimosa back out to the hammock and climb in. Justin brings me a cozy blanket and I spend the next hour reading, looking up at the sunshine through the splay of tree branches and watching between the fence slats as the kids play with the neighbor kids next door. I see their feet running, I hear them laughing and I know that this will be one of those moments in my mind that I will remember with every sense. It's a perfectly content moment - to be happy and know that my children are happy. I close my eyes and thank God, and then continue to bask in this moment of appreciation as I pick my book back up and sip my mimosa.

I am a blessed mother and I am blessed to have so many wonderful mothers in my life that teach me along the way. Thank you!

Time for an Update - caution, a little sad

It's been quite a while since I've posted an update - part lack of motivation, part no time, part not sure how much to update.  So, I'll update briefly on what I wasn't sure I'd share (but decided that it's something that I want to look back on in context to where we are as a family and I want it here).

I found out that I was pregnant a couple days after we returned from our NY Finger Lakes trip in October.  We had a 6 week check and ultrasound on 11/16 and saw the baby bean, a strong heartbeat and all seemed to be going well.  I was feeling pregnant and sick as a dog.  Then sometime the week after Thanksgiving I noticed I wasn't feeling quite as sick.  We had a 9 week check/ultrasound scheduled for that Thursday (12/3) and as soon as I saw the baby on the screen, I could see there was no heartbeat.  If you've ever seen a baby/fetus on ultrasound, as early as 5 or 6 weeks you can see the flicking white beat of the heart. I think my doctor was just as crushed as we were (we had a miscarriage in June too and Dr. G is such a dear and she felt so positive after we saw the 6w heartbeat this time).

My body did not take care of business naturally this time, so I had "the procedure" yesterday afternoon. No complications, everything went smoothly.  I get sad when I think about the baby beaner - but overall doing well.
One of the worst parts about yesterday was having to go ALL day without any food or water (the other worst part was being taxied down the very long hallway to the operating room - I didn't care for that).  The procedure wasn't until 4pm.  By noon I was dying for food.  I was even hallucinating when they rolled me into the OR - the basket full of surgical sponges looked like big chunks of cheddar cheese (the nurses thought that was hysterical so I zonked out with them laughing at me).  Margie and I stopped and got HUGE gyros on the way home and soon after I crawled into bed for the night. I fell asleep last night with Ella snuggled by my side and that was probably the best therapy of all after such a day.

Today I feel kinda like I've been beaten with a stick but overall okay.  I've had some time to cry, to sleep, to eat! and lots of laundry to distract me when needed.  It's an odd mix of grief and profound gratitude for the blessings that we have in our life.

Man never made any material as resilient as the human spirit.

- Bernard Williams

 

Merry Christmas!

Justin and I were up an hour before the kids this morning...we made coffee, read the paper, checked email, etc. and then FINALLY Ella came downstairs. She was pretty laid back about it all - we went up and poked at the boys to wake them up.

Last night we did our usual Christmas Eve routine....Margie, Tim, Sarah, Brian, Mom and Dad came over - they got off very easy this year. Usually we are scrambling and wrapping ALL the presents. This year, we were about 95% wrapped (I got an early start this year by wrapping with my neighbor Kelly and that helped a lot!). So we got to eat, drink and relax last night - Justin read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas and the bible passages of Jesus' birth. We managed to get to bed at a decent hour (which is probably why we were up before the kids!).

The tree all lit and ready for Santa.
I could sit by the light of the Christmas tree for hours...glass of wine and listening to Ray Charles and Nat King Cole sing Christmas carols.

Margie and Si playing on Christmas Eve

Opening presents - we all made out pretty well :)
I got a new iPod that has 120GB - I didn't even know that they made them that big!
I want to load every CD I own onto it!

Miss Boo watching the very tiny bit of glittery snow that we got today -
so fine you could barely see it. (did anyone else see it?)
Time to Get Up and Go to Work! (a popular saying around here)
Can we fix it?? YES WE CAN (emphasis is Si's!)

Si and Mason playing with Si's new train/car/canyon toy - he LOVES it.
Silas likes it too :)

I had a great birthday drink (okay, 2) with Jodi - something she started last year because she feels bad that I'm neglected on my birthday ;) Then we were off to Mom and Dad's for a very yummy dinner that mom slaved over. Some Happy birthday singing for me and Silas; and a delicious Texas sheet cake. Came home ready for bed but caught a 2nd wind listening to the iPod and blogging, and we have Mason's cousins sleeping over.

I feel so very blessed as many friends and family helped me celebrate today, and most importantly, as I watched my kids have a wonderful Christmas - not only with a bazillion gifts but surrounded by family and love. Uh oh, I feel some kid-birthday sappiness coming on (here for another example)...

Merry Christmas!!

2007 Blessings

We had a great 2007. We were blessed with:

1. Good Health - we all managed to have no major illnesses throughout the year

2. JPJ got a new job that he loves

3. CKJ's work increased but is still flexible and allows me to work from home

4. A sitter that is awesome and the kids love going there

5. A toddler that still loves to snuggle

6. 2 paid off vehicles that still run 99% of the time

7. Melissa's talent that allows her to take wonderful pictures of our kids

8. The internet that helps us keep in touch with friends and family across the country

9. WINE

10. Family close by that we can spend our holidays with and that are also willing to babysit and take our kids for a night or two (thanks!)

11. Weekly dinner menus - haven't missed a week since Feb. 2007 and it has taken away almost all of the meal making stress!!

A resolution for 2008 - do a better job of teaching the kids about volunteering and charity work to help those less fortunate. I found this site that I plan to look at to figure out how to do that: http://www.idealist.org/kt/familyvolunteer.html

A couple pictures from our New Year's Eve: