December Advent

I look forward to the Christmas season starting on about October 1st.  The lights, the peace, the joy and spirit of Christ truly make it the most wonderful time of the year.  But then Thanksgiving comes and goes and I start to panic just a bit- the presents!  The packages!  The magic that must be made!  There is so much that we want to enjoy, so little time to enjoy it, and a pull in many, many different directions all month long.  A 24 day countdown makes the season even more magical, and helps us remember what it is about Christmas that we love most.

1- December is here and so are the elves!  Find your elves and remember- the elves are watching you!

Jason also "elfed" the kids and they had a great time watching themselves dancing as elves over and over and over again. 

 2- Watch a Christmas movie in your jammies tonight!

The Grinch is probably my favorite Christmas movie- it's 26 minutes long and has a wonderful message about what matters most come Christmas morning.  The kids were enraptured, except for Noah, who needed to play Candy Land at the same time.  But as soon as Max the puppy/reindeer appeared, he was hooked, too.

3- Tonight we'll go on a "one horse open sleigh"!  

Jingle in the Junction was a hit- the weather wasn't too freezing cold and the kids were troopers about standing in the 45 minute line to get on the horse drawn trailer.  I don't know why I always envision that we will be the only people that are in attendance at events like this, but that was certainly not the case this night.  

But it was still lots of fun- especially with hot cocoa and tiny flashlights!

5- Daddy's birthday!  We were going to select our mittens to donate to the Primary mitten tree, but our plans changed for the day and we did that the following week.  The day was still filled with birthday fun, and when it came time to select the mitten donations, the kids were very thoughtful and generous with their choices.

6- Watch the First Presidency Christmas Devotional.  This is the first time we have done this- I usually remember it a week after it happens, but we will make it part of our December from now on.  It was a beautiful devotional filled with music and inspiring words, and while the kids complained that it felt an awful lot like General Conference, it was wonderful to sit and enjoy a quiet and peace-filled (if not peaceful) night.

7-The week of secret Santa!  This week the kids were reminded to focus on the person they are giving a gift to on Christmas Day, and to do a service for them.  I have watched them help each other with their daily chores, play kindly together, offer hugs, read books, help Noah out of his crib, find lost treasures, help put on shoes and coats, draw each other pictures, and say kind words to each other this week.

8- This was the night of the Relief Society Christmas party at our house.  We didn't do a structured activity together, but there sure were a lot of holiday treats and decorations set up for this event, which we all enjoyed!

And that night our house was filled up with about 50 people, which was wonderful fun!

9- Prepare gifts for teachers, friends, and neighbors.  We are so blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives!

Emma was my best helper with this activity- filling each pot up with dirt, adding a bulb, a little more dirt, a little more water, then saying "Good luck little plant!" to each one.  

10- Make and send a Christmas card.  Glitter galore!  Anything crafty is always a hit in our house.

11- Jolly Holiday Lights!  We packed up some hot cocoa and treats and headed down to Des Moines to see the lights display that benefits the Make-A-Wish Foundation.  Of course, I could barely explain to the kids what that is without choking up.  We are so blessed. and the night was a lot of fun!  

The big kids loved it because they got bonus 3-D type glasses that turned every light into a snowman! That has been a major source of entertainment around our house ever since.  Emma was very pouty at first because she wanted to stay home and watch a movie rather than drive around in the car, but once she saw the magic of the lights I think she enjoyed it most of all.  Certainly more than Daddy, who got hot cocoa dumped in his lap.  

 Noah declared this display "Da Tempo!!!" 

It was an even bigger hit than I anticipated, and I'm glad we went when we did- this week's incessant rainfall has caused flooding in the area and the lights shut down for the season the day after we went.

12- This was one of my favorite days of December.  Jason, Leah, Adam, and I, along with our neighbor Cameron headed into Des Moines to serve at Meals From the Heartland.  Emma and Noah stayed behind with Cameron's parents.  This organization packages and distributes meals to starving people all over the world.  We went with BYU Alumni, and it was fun to meet and work with other local Cougars.  In the two hours we were there, the 100 or so volunteers packaged 33,000 meals!  

I loved that the kids could join us in serving, and my heart just about melted when Leah said, "I feel so happy to be here- I'm sure there is a lot less hungry people in the world now because we did this today".  

We sang Christmas carols while we worked and cheered when we packaged up another box and rotated through the many jobs that needed to be done to package each meal.  Jason and I did our best to keep our competitive natures at bay and work at the children's pace.  That kept it fun!

And I kept thinking how nice it was to be spending a Saturday morning in December serving instead of shopping.  It was a wonderful day. 

That night was also our ward Christmas dinner, which was made extra special by the beautiful music and stories that were shared.  Leah was asked to be Mary in the nativity- every little girl's dream- and she did a fantastic job.  Even if it meant standing next to a boy!

13- This day was Sunday, and another favorite night of the month.  We invited some of our sweet neighbors over to sing Christmas carols around the piano with us!  

Adam started us out with Jingle Bells on the piano, 

Leah finished up with The First Noel on the violin, 

and we had a lot of fun with all kinds of carols in between, from The Little Drummer Boy to The 12 Days of Christmas and Silent Night (twice!).  We love our neighbors so much, and especially when we are far from home at the holidays, it's wonderful to fill our home with people we love.

14- See Mom for a special Christmas treat.  This was always my favorite activity as a child.  We made holiday buttons after school, (pretzels with white chocolate and M&Ms) but the best part of this day was our Christmas Family Home Evening led by Leah.  

She reminded us that we celebrate Christmas because of Jesus Christ's birth, and we each wrote on her Christmas tree poster something that we are thankful for at Christmastime- Jesus, repentance, forgiveness, love, the atonement, the temple, the great plan of happiness, family, peace, church, the scriptures... and Monkey George.  

 She even made little handouts for us and gave us each a small chocolate.  I love that girl. 

And that takes us up to the final 10 days before Christmas.  I'm able to sit and blog about all of this in the midst of the craziness because I still have little nappers that cut my day peacefully in half.  We are trying to get all of the shopping,  wrapping, gifting, visiting, and serving done, but between the hours of noon and 3:00, this house shuts down.  It's a wonderful chance to rest and remember that the magic of Christmas truly can't be found in the store- it comes from the peace we feel when we focus on family, service, and remember the gift of our Savior Jesus Christ.  

Little Things

I had a moment last week when all the world felt right.  There was nothing spectacular or exceptional about the day, it was just a peaceful, lovely day in our home when I felt so very happy and full with the blessings God has given us- a healthy family that enjoys being together, a beautiful home that keeps us safe and warm where we can gather and love and support each other, and a beautiful world with sunrises and sunsets and season and holidays and every day days.  Here are some of our regular day snapshots.  

This was an attempt at making a baby pyramid.  

 Leah had a "Fall Fiddle Festival" in November.  She is always so brave and confident when she plays, even to a room full of strangers.  It makes me so happy to see her doing something she loves.

She especially loves Miss Megan- 

   And our sweet neighbors joined us!  Cameron and Leah and Adam- 

Noah borrowed Cameron's earmuffs for a good portion of the recital.  Fiddling is hard stuff! 

Jason and I have tried our darndest to renew our commitment to Family Home Evening on Monday nights.   It really is fun to gather everyone together to read scriptures, sing songs, and share testimonies.  

Especially when we do it in a tent in the living room!

Adam had to get a silver tooth.  He was so brave and adorable.  He's pretty proud of it and hopes that it never actually falls out because he's decided he likes it a lot.  And now we've finally started flossing religiously for the whole family, becuase it looks like I've passed my genes for cavity-filled teeth onto my poor babes.

Noah still loves and cares for his "Feeshee".  If he's ever looking hungry, Noah dutifully pulls a chair over and feeds him generously, then claps his hands with delight for himself.

He's my sweet shopping buddy, but sometimes a donut and a dog cushion are what it takes to get us through the store comfortably.

Emma Grace is loving her two days of preschool each week, but on the days when we get to stay home, she lives in her Cinderella nightgown and has so much fun making up games and entertaining herself and Noah- and me!  

This day we discovered that I could zip her around the hardwood floors on the blanket.

 She tried to do the same for Noah, which he loved.

I put this sweater on and was quickly reminded that I still had a drooly baby this time last year.  I don't really miss those shoulder goobers, but it's strange to think that I'm never going to get them from my babies again. Until I have grandkids.  I'm already dreaming about having grandkids.  

 One day last week the kids and I went on a wild goose chase for stockings, garland and lights.  They were such troopers, but there is a very good reason that we stay out of the stores as much as possible!  Too much to discover, to covet, and to break.  

  At breakfast one day Emma said, 

"Mom, his hair looks like Pumpkin's ears."  

She was right!

 "Look Mom!  I so high!"  

 I got jalapeno juice in my eye one day.  Holy moly it hurt!  A mashed banana and some cold milk took away the sting.  It was only a tad embarrassing because I had a friend over that is legally and nearly completely blind.  As I was washing out my eye and moaning about, Emma walked over and asked, "Mom, are your eyes as bad as Keri's now?"  And I stopped complaining.

 Emma and I still snuggle up for naps most days... and this is what happens when we don't. 

(She dresses herself a lot these days.)

I needed this key that we buried in our yard last week after I accidentally locked us out of the house. Thank goodness the weather was nice-ish that day.  It's been rainy, foggy, and cloudy many days since, and we are wondering if there is any chance that we'll have a white Christmas.

We found out we had a mouse in our house last week!  Eww, eww, eww, that has not been fun.  Cleaning up the droppings and setting out the traps has been a disgusting job, but we caught a mouse!  We set out sticky traps, Jason greased the pipes it might have been climbing on and the dumb thing crawled onto one in the middle of the afternoon.  My poor neighbor was so kind to come over and pull it out, then toss it into the pond for me since Jason wasn't home.  Disposing of mice is a man's job as long as there is a man around!  

We're really hoping this was the only one.  

This is one major setback to living in the middle of two cornfields.

 One night we made pizzas for dinner- 

 Then the kids turned Daddy into a pizza!

I spent some time after church on Sunday reflecting on the amazing women that I work with and the relationships that have developed with ladies that I probably never would really have the chance to get to know were it not for the gospel of Jesus Christ and the amazing Relief Society program.  Then, just a few hours later, a sweet friend of mine- who is right about the same age as my mom- dropped by with this beautiful arrangement of hydrangeas and cranberries.  It has put a huge smile on my face to have such lovely winter blooms in our home, and to be reminded of the blessings of cross-generational friendships.

I adore winter poinsettias, too.

Noah was playing with his straw and said, "Look, MomMom!  I made an 'N'!"  Smart boy. 

He's a fantastic copycat, too.  I called him a turkey tonight and he said, "You are a turkey, too, MomMom."  (He calls me MomMom.  And of course Jason is DadDad.)  Then I said "Good night my little cookie pants" and he said "Good night my little cookie pants".  It's just adorable.

The kind of meal that makes me happy- this one used up the last of the forgotten snippets of grilled chicken, green onions, sweet corn and the last few strips of bacon and tortillas.  These scrappy meals are a talent I developed in graduate school, and leave me feeling satisfied that nothing is going to waste, and all the more appreciative of the abundance of food that we keep in our pantry.

So there are are few of the little things that have filled the cracks of our December.  Next up- the big things of the Christmas season!