"Christmas is Over"

For all the build up of the season, it really is hard to explain the feeling of when it is over.  Our almost six year old showed signs of growing up by looking ahead and commenting how it was going to be sad when Christmas was over.  Most really small kids can't see past the presents and when they are to be opened.  Cam definitely savored his gifts this year and wanted them to last.  It was nice to watch his focus shift.  He also had a hard time thinking about having to say goodbye to our elf, Elfis.  Twice on Christmas Eve, he was upset by the thought of Elfis having to return to the North Pole with Santa.

Of course Maeve didn't have the foresight to think about savoring each moment, but she showed a natural intuition to enjoy the gift of giving this year.  She loved each of her presents as they were meticulously unwrapped.  She also took note in what others were opening.  No tears were shed when the tree was undecorated or the stockings were packed away.  She simply walked around stating the obvious: "Christmas is over."

But, whether those two realize it or not, Christmas is always in our hearts.  That has been evident by Maeve's mixed-up Christmas carols.  Just today she was marching around the house singing, "Glory to the manger" to the tune of "O come let us adore Him"  and "Two golden rings" instead of five!  Her record gets stuck on repeat to her favorite "Go tell it on the mountain. Over the hills and everyway-er."  The calendar says Christmas is over, but you my dears, have found the joy of Christmas and that never leaves us if we take the time to feel it.

The Twelve Days of Christmas

Christmas joy at its best!

The wonder of new things you never knew you wanted!

Although we joked that school wasn't out this year until about 20 minutes before Christmas Day, we really did our best to celebrate the season this year instead of just one or two days.  We had gatherings before school was out, in between, and after.  A great time to just enjoy.  And, although some of my gifts weren't wrapped until moments before they were packed in the car to deliver to their recipient, it was O.K.  Tony helped out tremendously this year with the purchasing efforts.  I really couldn't have done it without him.

The hustle and bustle didn't get the best of us.  We spent time with those we love the best, listened and sang along to lots of Christmas tunes, went on a trek to see a beautiful lights display, watched a few movies that got us in the spirit of the season, and told and retold the Christmas story so that those two sets of ears who are always listening would know the true meaning of this very special time of year.

A little Christmas courage - trying new things

Spending time with friends and....

family!

This is when I had to use the "He's watching you" card to get them to cooperate!

Christmas surprises!

Japanese Christmas - discovering a new talent

A new gift - tornado big wheel

Catching a moment for rest and relaxation

Hay, Santa, and Cowlicks

Quite an unusual combination for a Christmas gathering, but with this family, nothing is surprising.  Anything goes and that's what makes it so much fun!  I told Tony on our way home that Granny's Christmas gathering was my favorite out of all the Christmastime events when I was growing up.  Maybe it was because it was always a little bit different....a different place, a different guest, a different menu.  Or maybe because it was always full of surprises....tracking Santa on the radar, getting that most unusual gift from Granny, or having chicken feathers coughed up after eating chicken stew.  I'm pretty sure I know the reason for it being my favorite year after year....there was never an expectation to be something.   It was just genuine enjoying the moment and enjoying each other. 

This year proved to be the same.  We caught the great-grand boys playing in the Littles' hayloft.  It was better than any trampoline.  They were climbing up and down like they were all true country boys.  We had our traditional visit from Santa, who feels like he is part of our family now.  He admitted that we had lost all control as children were going in and out and all about.  However, we were able to capture some very organized pictures this year among all the chaos.  We got pictures of each generation with Granny and Santa - the great-grands, the grands, and the children.

The Great-Grandchildren

The Grandchildren

The Children

We ended with a life lesson for all of us.  The cow was called up (her name will be not be revealed here..ha!ha!).  We were going to let Maeve get a close-up view of her.  We took a roll out to her as a treat.  OH DEAR!  Have you ever fed a cow and seen that long tongue????  Wow!  Maeve saw her mama totally freak out.  I kept dropping the roll as that tongue came toward me.  I have never in my life experienced something like that.  Several of us gathered around and marveled at her cowlicks. 

Cam talking to Santa

Maeve's new baby

As our family has grown, so has our love and laughter.

Bean's Birthday

Today is your day, Bean!

CoCo celebrated his 12th birthday in style.  We had a teachable moment of 12 x 7 = 84.  I must say, Bean is looking good for his ripe old age of 84!  Cam suggested we get out the party hats while Maeve was excited about him "blowing out him" candle. 

Here's a hat mom! Can we put it on CoCo?

"You've got to be kidding me!" declared the birthday dog.

CoCo got the royal treatment.  After a little torture of wearing the birthday hat, he got to enjoy a leftover hamburger.  I think he liked that far better than cake.  For sure, he knew it was a special day.  Cam commented later that day that CoCo sure didn't have a lot of people come to his party.  But, my love, he had the ones he loves the best and that is a great birthday! 

Singing "Happy Birthday" complete with cha, cha, cha

I hope to pass on my love of dogs, especially dachshunds, to them. 

He is definitely feeling the love. 

Pink Pig Part 2

For Cam's first Christmas, Pop decided that he would like to carry him to ride Macy's famous Pink Pig.  So we made the trek there and made some memories.  We didn't make it back for Maeve's first Christmas or second, so we were determined to take her this year.  Instead of waiting on the weekend, we went during a school night.  It was a big trip for one evening, but there was no wait and both kids were great.

Maeve loved it. Afterall, it was a sea of pink.  After riding twice, she got to pick out an ornament like Cam had done for his first time.  She picked out Pricilla, just like any girly girl would.  Cam, on the other hand, was a bit disappointed.  I think he was thinking on a Disney scale, and it definitely was not quite that big.  When we got off, he said, "Was that it?"  Poor thing.  Now he will remember for sure. 

They will both have a memory about their Pink Pig adventures as they hang those ornaments each year.  Who knows, we might just have to go back for memory's sake. 

What is Christmas?

Somehow this year, my payment was due and it was my turn to be in charge of the kids' Christmas play at church.  With much doubt and despair as I anticipated the extra work that would be required to pull this off, I almost backed out.  However, something very simple and managable was laid on my heart for us to be able to do.  With Tony's help and computer expertise, we were able to bless our community with a children's Christmas musicial.  It was very traditional in that it consisted of the Christmas hymns and the reciting of the Christmas story found in the Bible.  We also put together a video collage of the kids telling about their favorite part of Christmas and another one of them telling about the true meaning of Christmas. 

If nothing else, the kids who particated learned the traditional Christmas carols and will be able to sing along for years to come because of learning and practicing them this year.  Also, I hope they have a better understanding of the best gift ever given - Jesus! 

Even Cam and Maeve had small parts in the musical.  Cam sang all the songs.  (Maeve practiced them and loved bellowing out "Go Tell It on the Mountain," but did not stand up in the choir to sing during the performance.)  Cam also memorized what the "A" in Christmas stands for as part of the poem we recited.  He said, "A is for the angels who made the heavens ring."   Maeve dressed like a little sheep, but I was her shepherd on the front row apparently.  She never made it up to the stable area, but she looked adorable in her attempts.  Wherever we have been and we hear the now familiar Christmas carols, both of them will say, "This is one of our church songs" and join in signing it. 

I am glad that I answered the call. 

90 Years Young

Accepting her party guests with lots of stories and smiles

Ninety years ago, on a December day, little Doris Virginia Lord was born.  While I don't know what that day was like, I can only imagine that it was calm, and beautiful, and a day full of God's grace.  I have only known her in her role as my Grandmama (aka Granny) and now the great-grandmother of my two and a whole brood of great-grands.   I knew as a little girl that she really loved me...I mean, she let us pick her chinaberries for our mud pies!  I am so glad that I've gotten the chance to see how much she loves and cherishes my little ones.  She will bend over backwards to offer them an ice cream sandwich or to watch them while they play. 

Grandmama with Regina's Grandchildren

Over the last year and half, I have watched her adapt to earth shattering changes as she has adjusted to life without the love of her life.  She not only lost him but with him, she lost all of her familiar, daily routines and much of the independence he provided her.  Although she had to celebrate her 90th milestone without him by her side, she did it with grace and graciousness.  She says, she'll be here as long "as the Good Lord sees fit."  Thank you, Lord, for seeing fit to let me have her for an example for so many years.  Love, love, love my sweet Granny! 



Little Granny with her littlest great-granddaugter

Parade

Not the coldest parade, the longest, or the best one - but a nice one, nonetheless.  Got to stand with great friends - ones we dont' get to be with near enough.  Goats, instruments, floats, and tractors a plenty.  Love small town traditions!

Thought the wagon might help us out. 

Cam had other ideas for the wagon!

Look cuter than any elves I've ever seen!

Another use for the wagon - patty cake!

Maeve's Parade Post

It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas

Love this time of year!  Love sharing it with these two little ones.  Telling them about our traditions and helping them understand the meaning of it all helps me to relive my favorite memories and Christmastime pleasures. 

Decorating the tree was quite an experience.  My usual order of ornaments was mixed up a little as they were both trying to dig in the box to look to see what was next. It was a chorus of, "Mama, where does this go?  Mama, can you help me hang this one?  Mama, can you hang this one up high?  We had only two casualties that hit the floor before being hung on just the right branch.  Our live tree is very beautiful even in the randomness of its ornaments. 

Cam got to decorate his very own gingerbread house too.  I think he had done this with Nonna before, but never at home.   I actually brought home the extra supplies that were leftover from my class' decorating extravaganza.  It was a perfect activity for him to do while Maeve napped.  He was very methodical with the placement of his can decor.  And, surprisingly, he only ate a couple of gumdrops too. 

The Christmas pjs have come out too.  We get a whole month's worth of Christmas pjs in around here and can be caught wearing them at other times besides bedtime!  I realized that Cam's pjs from last year were about 5 inches too short on the arms and legs.  But, Maeve has a plethora of handbydown pjs from Macie that she will enjoy throughout the month.  Nothing better than a clean baby decked out in comfy red and green pjs admiring the glow of the Christmas lights!

We have acquired a new tradition this year as well - an elf on the shelf that we lovingly named Elfis.  When we retreived the decoration boxes for Cam and Maeve's trees, we had a special package wrapped from Santa.  It was our elf.  After reading the book, we are very excited to know that he will be hanging out at our house during the days of December, but will head back to the North Pole to report back to Santa on the behavior of the day each night.  Cam gets into locating Elfis each morning and is bright eyed like he is on Christmas morning.  And even Maeve said with very wide eyes, "We can't touch him cause him will lose him magshic."    So far, he hasn't been as mischeivious as some other scout elves we've heard about. 

I also get a little carried away with the Christmas outfits, especially for Maeve.  Even when Cam was little, I would nearly smother him in some kind of red or green shirt as many days as I could.  Now, it is rare if you find Maeve in the month of December not sporting some kind of Christmas themed outfit.  I know I will miss the days when I don't get to be the CEO of their clothing! 

During this time, I am reminded of the song "Let Them Be Little."  Yep.  Let them experience all the joys of this magical season.  Even when it seems like you can't possibly squeeze one more thing in, do it for them.