Christmas Day

 The most highly anticipated day of the year! Christmas Day finally came! 

After hearing about a cute tradition from a friend, I suggested that the kids wake the parents up on Christmas morning by singing Christmas carols. I was thinking "Away in a Manger" or "Silent Night". We woke up to "Grandma Got Ran Over By a Reindeer" and "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas".  So close and yet.... not quite what I had in mind. 

Santa ate the cookies and wrote the kids back!

And we went through the entire glorious day feeling loved and spoiled by each other and our families, who we always miss extra during the holidays. 

Adam's big gift was a gift to the whole family- a keyboard with headphones so he can practice day or night without disturbing anyone else (and he does practice day and night!). 

Santa knows best - these little mounds of stocking stuffer moon sand were mesmerizing!

Santa's little helpers were ready for a long winter's nap by Christmas Day!

So many fun games and good foods and hugs and FaceTime visits with family - Christmas Day is the best day of the year, and this one was especially sweet as it's the last one we'll have 'the way it's always been'. It was a really wonderful one! 

Christmas Eve

We kept watching movies, shopping for last minute gifts, and wrapping presents right up until it was time to commence with our Christmas Eve traditions - starting with the Jesus Dinner! 

This is quite possibly everyone's favorite meal of the year. 

We even got a live donkey at our nativity this year! 

And the fluffiest little sheep-pup to accompany these wise men.  

Adam did all of the carol playing this year!

I remember the telling of the nativity going somewhat off the rails when I was a teenager too.  I'm glad our 25 Days of Christ and Jesus Dinner traditions keep us focused on Christ throughout the season. 

Swapping sibling gifts is another favorite tradition on Christmas Eve - these are everyone's most highly anticipated gifts! 

 The traditions of spreading reindeer food, hanging the stockings by the chimney with care and writing letters to Santa continue to be upheld as Jolly Old St. Nick continues to play a smaller and smaller part in our Christmas season festivities. 

But the magic was definitely in the air as we all headed to bed on Christmas Eve! 

17, 15, 13, 11

We made the deadline this year! The sibling picture tradition lives on, and I refuse to let my tender heart dwell too long on how many more years I will be able to get this picture captured.    

Standing up so straight! Emma is horrified at the possibility that she might be done growing.  She does not want to be the shortie of the bunch, but Noah hasn't even started his major growth spurt.  My guess is the final heights will be Adam, Noah, Leah, Emma (sorry, sis). 

How can I ever adequately express how beautiful this sight is? These four have each other through thick and thin. They love each other, they support each other, they defend each other and call each other out and they teach each other so much every day. I love listening to them figure out things like how to respond to a text or how to act at a stake dance or what to do in various social situations. And we all laugh when they reveal some of the trials they've growth through together, like when they were all younger and the worst insult they could throw at each other was to, "Stop being the star of the show!!" 

There is a great question mark hanging over the future of these four, as Leah gets ready to head off to college in the fall and relationships are bound to shift and grow.  Their connections with each other have a very secure foundation to get them started as they all continue to navigate life together, and that is probably the greatest gift I could ever wish to give them as their mother. 

Also, Laney made it into the pictures this year. And then someone stuck her in the ottoman. 

December and January Concerts

 December meant AAALLLLLLL of the concerts.  Holy smokes! Choir concerts- 

Orchestra concerts- 

and dinner dates after orchestra practice.

Orchestra concerts!

Band practices

and band concerts!

Leah's first concert of her senior year!

Noah invited Emma to his bring a friend night at the DSM Youth Symphony!  Emma loved playing with his talented group, saw lots of friends there, and ultimately decided that she would rather spend her extra time working on her singing and acting skills. 

Emma upgraded to a beautiful full-sized cello!

Just in time for her first junior high orchestra concert.

Jazz band concerts

Leah's amazing Drake University Honor Orchestra concert!

Noah's school orchestra concert

And show choir!  Which, for Adam, means both synthesizer playing for the varsity ensemble, 

Ahh, the turtleneck and chains... 

and performing for the junior varsity ensemble. Show choir is such a Midwest thing, but I can't deny the joy that it brings to so many performers, including my kids. And they work so, so hard. 

Look at this dapper young man!

Jazz choir is a fun first for Adam this year, too!

These kids are so talented and so brave!

And if that doesn't sound like enough, Adam had one of the lead roles in the one act winter play as well. Sadly, he died in this one too. 

And in non-performing arts news, Noah and Emma have been participating in archery this winter. 

The robotics season is nearly wrapped up.  Leah is working hard on the music for her senior recital, occasionally attending greenhouse club and lumberjack (pancake eating) club, and has finally started working at the RecPlex. 

Emma's show choir is in full swing, and she is working on the dramatizers spring performance. 

And fellow Uber Driver Dad E. and I are just trying to watch performances and get everyone where they need to be as much as we possibly can!