A Very Late Christmas Post

Only nearly a month late...

Merry Christmas!

Kibby provided our laugh for the morning, when she got her stocking, she went from Grandma to Grandpa saying in an excited voice, 'TRICK OR TREAT!!!" and held out her stocking to them. Ah, Kibby... Great enthusiasm, but wrong holiday. :)

Checking out their stocking gifts and candy.

Ethan got a chore chart. It's magnetic, and I still haven't thought of a really good place to put it where the little ones won't be into it and either rearranging the magnets or losing them, or worse - choking on them. Ethan was (still is) pretty excited about it, though.

The girls got fleece slings that Grandma made for them. Ruby loved hers and I have a couple dozen pics of her wearing her baby that morning. Kibby liked hers but wasn't nearly as excited. She chose to carry a Care Bear in hers.

Here is Ruby when she first opened hers. My mom had made them each 3 dolly blankets and a sling. Ruby immediately gave hers a snuggle!

Our family of six! (Wow, nobody is crying!)

Christmas in WI

Finally, the post you've all been waiting for...

Ok, maybe not. :)

We were planning to go to my parents for Christmas on December 26th, but due to the weather we decided to pack quickly (ha) and leave Christmas afternoon. It was dark, cold and gusty when we hit the road and the snow was blowing across the interstate, making it hard to see. Once we crossed over into Wisconsin it was much better and we made it to Mom and Dad's without trouble.

We mainly spent the weekend hanging around at Mom's, but on Friday night we got to see my friends Jamie and Camee. I hadn't seen either of them since their wedding, and I'm guessing that was about 10 years ago. It was great to reconnect and get to know Camee a little better. (I miss them already! Ack!) Jamie and I go way back to High School. We didn't go to school together, but I saw him nearly every Sunday at church. Jamie, his two brothers, my best friend and her sister sat together just about every Sunday, and often passed notes back and forth. Seems like there was always somebody having a crush on someone else, too. Never a dull moment there...

We met up at Pizza Hut in my hometown and had some good laughs at the waitress who messed up our order. Some things never change even after 15 or so years. It worked out okay because Camee got her plain pepperoni and we ended up with two free pizzas due to their error...

We went back to Mom and Dad's and played some pool (word of the night - "scratch!") for another hour before they decided it was time for them to head home. It was a very foggy night, so I'm glad they made it home safely. I'm kicking myself because I didn't even get a single picture! How could I have let that happen?!?! Well, there is always next time. And hopefully it won't take 15 more years. ;)

We spent the remainder of the weekend hanging out at Mom and Dad's, shooting pool and taking pictures and playing games. Not all of the pictures were blog-worthy, but I'll post a few. Ethan really enjoyed playing pool with his cousin,

and was beginning to be a pretty good shot!

My sister and I got in a few games, too. When the boys let us. :)

Ruby playing peek-a-boo with her new blankie from my parents:

The guys didn't get to go out as they had planned, but that didn't stop Seth from acting like they had...



Kibby loves her new tea set from Nana and Bumpa...



...and Ruby loves the old shag carpeting on my parents' basement stairs!

We had a good trip, and uneventful travel home, too. Plus, I got to sleep in my own bed when we arrived home since I had asked for the night off work!

I hope all of you had a nice, peaceful Christmas season. I know that some of my bloggy friends had a rough Christmas this year, and if you're reading this, please know you've been in my thoughts and prayers!

Christmas and end-of-the-year stuff

It's January 2nd already, and I haven't posted any Christmas pictures! Hopefully the "busyness" is behind us now. I have been meaning to post for about a week and there has always been something else to do, it seems.

I tried to take pictures of the kids in their Christmas outfits this year... No small feat! I didn't notice that I had my camera set on the wrong setting until about half-way through because I was trying to hurry. So, half of the pictures turned out a bit blurry, and by the time I noticed and changed the setting, the kids were not very cooperative! Here is the best of what I got:






"Pleeeeeease, Santa????" :)





We spent Christmas Eve at Seth's brother's house. Yummy food and many excited kids! :)



Again, my kids were SO cooperative! They love the camera!
Here is us, with Seth's brother and his wife's family. You can see a better picture on the blog Confessions of an Oxymoron, which is Seth's brother's wife's brother's wife's blog!!! Say that five times fast!!! :D

Also, the Pumpkin Fairy made an appearance... (Kibby had to change into this as soon as she unwrapped it!)


When we got home, we set out cookies and milk and tried - for about an hour - to get the kids to bed. Finally, around midnight they went...But at least they were nice and let us sleep in until 9:15!!

Here is a picture of the gift opening on Christmas morning:


I think I have reached the limit for pictures in this post... next post will be our trip to Wisconsin for Christmas with my family! :)

Christmas List

As I was cleaning out the toy room downstairs a few days ago, I started thinking about how cluttered our house has gotten since we moved in a few years ago. So much stuff. Lots of toys. Lots of clutter.
I know we don't need this much stuff. I was semi-gladly stuffing toys in boxes to donate to Salvation Army. What to get rid of, what to keep? Some of it had sentimental value. Some did not. Some my kids still loved to play with. Some, not so much. Decisions, decisions. Why is this so hard?
And then I thought, "Come Christmas morning, there will be more toys, more clutter."
Sigh.
I began to think of what is on my 6-year-old's Christmas list. Or should I say lists? Toys, toys and more toys. I had a talk with him that Mommy is going to be going through all of the toys downstairs and separating toys out to give away to other children. At first he was horrified, but when I explained how some children don't have many toys and he has been blessed with more than he can play with, we should get rid of some, and give to others who will be happy to play with them. And there would be room for new toys, then.
That he understood.
I was thinking this all through as I was sorting toys... And of how if it were my husband doing the sorting that much more would be going in the box to donate.
And it struck me.
Why do we hold onto things that make our lives messy? And then invite even more in? Why is it so hard to just put the toys in the box? I know full well that my children's lives will be filled with other things. That they will not be left without. There will be room for new, wonderful, exciting things.
Oh how my life is the same way...
I hold on to things I need to let go of.
Seriously. We probably all do, no?
So I began making a new Christmas List in my head. And now it's time to write it down and share it. Because writing it down, and sharing it, makes it much more real, you know?
This Christmas list is not of things I want to gain, but of things I want to rid my life of. Because I do not need them, and it is pointless to foolishly hold on to what I do not need. More than that, these things not only clutter my life, they can be harmful. They can block out the good.
This year for Christmas I want to rid myself of things that clutter my life and pull me down. Things that irritate me easily. I want to get rid of my laziness and my complacency. My indifference. I want to get rid of my judgmental attitudes. I want to get rid of my fears, the silly ones and the not-so-silly ones. I want to get rid of all the ugliness I carry around.
Why have I held onto these things? Good question. Why?
I don't know.
But I do know that I can choose to let it go, or I can choose to hold on to it. I can give it to God. I can ask for a fresh start.
And for those things I have a hard time letting go of (because face it, this is no easy task,) I can ask for His help.
And in letting go of the old, ugly parts...
I can be filled again. With hope, with kindness, with patience, with love.
And I won't have to look back with regret over the old...
Because I won't miss it.

What is on your Christmas list this year?

Mango Elves!

To read my Not Me Mondays, click here or just scroll down to the next post! :)

I just had to post this! :) Couldn't wait 'til tomorrow!

Enjoy!

Zack, Day 2

Zack picked a great spot today! Perhaps he was trying to be tricky and camoflauge himself in the pointsettias? Ethan found him right away this morning, before he was even fully awake, still rubbing his eyes. It was the very first thing on his mind this morning as he stumbled out of his room. So cute.

Kibby just grinned, pointed, and said, "Lookit! I can't beLIEVE it!" Which made Seth and me laugh out loud. (When she wants to talk, she does!)

Meet Zack!

Today we had the arrival of a special guest at our house! Meet Zack, one of Santa's scout elves!

He arrived this evening, about 30 minutes ago (just before 9PM!) Ethan found him on top of the speaker! He is going to watch over the kiddos' behavior and report each night to Santa at the North Pole. Then he will be back in the mornings, hiding in a new spot each day! It will be the kids' job to find him! Ethan is so excited! :) Kibby just smiled a shy smile, pointed and said, "Who Dat?"

Ethan found our elf and named him.

Here is Ethan reading the book (all about these scout elves) called The Elf on the Shelf.

Zack should be a lot of fun for the kids this month! I'm looking forward to seeing where he shows up each morning! :)

Here are a few more recent pics...

I love this one!

Here is Ruby playing with the Christmas tree bulbs. She was actually waving her arms in excitement and squealing and laughing. Later, she discovered she could take the bulbs off and walk around with them. (Much to her sister's anxiety, which only made it more fun for Ruby!!)

I'll continue to post about Zack's appearances from time to time, especially if he happens to hide in a really creative spot. ;)