Farewell to Christmas

This is the house just down the street and around the corner from us.  I used it as motivation for the kids to get things done many times over this last month.  (Mom:  "If you hurry and get your pajamas on and brush your teeth, I will drive you to the dancing light house before you go to bed!"  It worked every time).

I always meant to go fully equiped with my video camera or at least my good camera.  No.  Instead we took pictures and movies from John's phone, which ran out of batteries in the middle of a song.

Christmas Day

There is something special about Christmas Day landing on a Sunday.  It keeps everything in perspective and wraps up the day with a beautiful bow on top.

Here is what we looked like on Christmas morning.  We let Yummy go down first just to tease the big kids.  He rode around on his little bike from Santa, and had a mouthful of candy before the protests from the top of the stairs got too loud to be ignored.  After examining what Santa brought, we opened presents, then ate our yummy Christmas morning omelet.  Later that afternoon, we had a house full of other MBA students and their families for Christmas dinner.  Christmas is always better with a full house.

Awesome Uncle Garrett came through again this year with crazy fun laser guns!

Caroling and Christmas Eve

On December 23rd our countdown calendar included the rest of our caroling to friends and neighbors, so even though it was FREEZING and sleeting (not snowing, boooo), we bundled up to deliver our goods.  We stole a tradition and recipe from some dear friends back in Dallas and presented Tosca Kaka (fancy name for Swedish almond cake, a Christmas staple at our house!), accompanied by Avery and Isaac on their violins.  The best part of the evening was caroling to two families, both with children who are friends of our children, that had never received carolers before.  One cried, which made me choke up.  Darn my easy flowing water works.  The other was our wonderful neighbors, who clapped and cheered and requested an encore.  The children treated them to "We Wish You a Happy Hanukkah."

Christmas Eve we watched "The Polar Express" and decorated our gingerbread house.

The remainder of the day was taken up by John making thousands of wontons to add to our traditional Hawaiian Christmas Eve celebration.  Yes, I know wontons are not Hawaiian, but they eat enough of them in Hawaii, and the kids love them so much, we decided to bend the rules a bit.  We got to share our celebration with some very sweet, gracious Young Women from our ward.

No Christmas Eve would be complete without reading the account of Christ's birth from the bible, which we did, each child or guest adding a piece to the nativity when their turn came.  It was beautiful.  Then we opened our pajamas, with an added gift this year of Christmas Eve pillows, which she made completely on her own for the boys out of leftover pajama fabric.  Then it was off to bed for the little ones, for sugarplum visions that didn't come until much later in the evening when their fatigue finally overpowered their anticipation!

Chicago Christmas

One Christmas morning about 5 year ago,  John and I made a decision to not give our kids presents on Christmas.  Sounds drastic, I know, but it has been wonderful.  Our reasoning was this:  we sat amist the mountains of wrapping paper and boxes and toys piled so high that we really didn't know where to start.  Everyone had been so generous in giving to us and to our children (at the time, our children were the only grandkids on both sides, and the only nieces and nephews).  We were so thankful, as were the kids.  Santa had come and delivered abundantly.  And then John and I had given gifts to the children.  It was total carnage. 

Instead, we decided that as parents, we would give our children the gift of good memories at Christmastime.  We would choose several activities that we would not normally spend money to do, and we would do them as a family during the Christmas season.  The first year we went to a big production of the Nutcracker, and attended a huge indoor ice show, appropriately called "Ice" at the Gaylord Texan Resort.   Another year we added a little road trip to a live nativity near Austin, Texas, and a stay in a hotel to our plans.  The kids were fans, and so were we.   They didn't miss the extra gift under the tree, and we got to enjoy time with and make memories as a family. 

This year, we attended the Nutcracker once again.  This was Nathan's first time, and he ate it up.  We also surprised the kids with a trip into the city just days before Christmas, complete with a stay at a "fancy" hotel (fancy to us at least) right off of the Magnificent Mile, with an incredible view of Lake Michigan and Navy Pier.  We were lucky enough to convince some of our close friends to make the drive up from central Illinois to join us for a few crazy, fun filled days in the city. 

First we stopped at Macy's in the old Marshall Field's building to check out the holiday window displays, the ornate decorations in the store, and the famous tree.

Then it was on to the American Girl store and the Lego store for some last minute wishing.  Back at our hotel, we ate dinner and then swam until way too late (okay, so maybe it was only 10:00, but for us that is way too late!

The next day we walked the few blocks to Navy Pier to spend the day at Winter Wonderfest.

Between our two families, we had nine children under the age of 10! 

Happy Birthday to Brady

Avery woke up extra early (like 5:45 early) to make and hang this sign for Brady.

Dear Brady turned 7 the Monday before Christmas.  Seven!  Where did that one come from?  And because his birthday is always right before Christmas, I go out of my way to celebrate big so that he knows we love, love, love him.  (I could put in here how I had a little brother once who had a birthday right around Christmas, who put it into my dear, sweet, gullible parents' minds that he needed to celebrate his un-birthday in July because he got shorted with his birthday being so close to Christmas, but it was really just so he could get extra presents during the summer, which he did, but I won't go there because I love said little brother way too much).  Anyway. . .

Brady.

Brady is an old soul.  He is sweet and compassionate and oh so smart.  Where did his mind come from?  It really is amazing to watch his thought process unfold.  When he helps me with laundry, he usually ends up squeezing behind the washer to see how everything is connected and how it all works.  He can spend hours designing a Lego contraption of some sort or another, complete with moving pieces and guns, of course.  Brady is almost always the first one done with his chores in the morning, and they are always done correctly. 

He has become more adventurous with his eating, but still prefers tried and true meals like chicken noodle soup with home made french bread (although when I finally got him to try the won ton soup at Joy Yee, he instantly fell in love).  He can be the most stubborn of all of my kids when he wants to be, but that is certainly a rare occasion. 

And most of all, his spirit is so good, and willing, and teachable.  I am always finding notes or little presents that he made at school, tucked under my pillow, or on John's table next to the bed.  Special little love notes.  The other night at the Nutcracker, he leaned over to me and said "Mom, Heavenly Father is looking down right now and listening to this music, and He is happy."  Yes, Brady, you are right.

Here is how we celebrated Brady.



Opened presents first thing in the morning.



After opening this building kit, he studied the box for about 5 minutes.  Then he proceeded to tell me which pieces we needed to put together first and how the whole thing was going to work once assembled.




No more fancy cakes for these boys.  They request ice cream cake, decorated with Legos, of course. And Yummers loves to sing the birthday song now (Happi day, cha cha cha).

 After that, we loaded up in the van and headed off to Legoland.  Then we caught a dollar movie (Spy Kids 4), and then dinner at Brady's favorite, Texas Road House.  (I felt a twinge of homesickness while we were there, for our life in Texas). 

Happy, Happy Birthday Brady!  We love you!

The school parties

Because Christmas fell on a Sunday this year, my kiddos were out of school for more than a week before the actual holiday.  I loved it.  For me, the traditions, the anticipation, the activities leading up to Christmas, are as good as the actual day itself. 

So here is how I spent the Friday before Christmas break.  The ENTIRE day, mind you, at the school with the kids.

 


 

Nathan with his wonderful teacher.  She is leaving after Christmas break
because his other wonderful teacher is coming back from maternity leave.
We will miss her.  (And Avery was on hair duty this morning).





All four 5th grade classes combined for a giant party.  One of the teachers had the idea to turn her classroom into a giant "snowball" fight.  She provided piles and piles of newspaper and then let the kids loose.  By the time Nathan and I arrived there from the other parties, the room was full of smelly, sweaty, but extremely happy fifth grade boys.  No fifth grade girl in her right mind would dare venture in there.  Nathan jumped right in.


This picture was obviously AFTER round 2 of said snowball fight.