A Christmas Extravaganza

Every year is the same around here

(I love that!)

and Christmas isn't just a day...

it's an extravaganza!

Day One starts at my grandmother's house.

A Christmas Eve celebration where --

children are free to entertain themselves,

talents are shared,
and ornaments are opened...
lots of REALLY beautiful ornaments,
each one a celebration in itself.

Day two is Christmas morning.

And guess what....

SANTA came!
and even though he didn't bring a baby sister
(my own secret wish a few years back),
he did seem to hit the mark!
(No, the dalmation wasn't real,
but almost real in his own little online world.) And the traditions continued
(my favorite part)...




matching Christmas jammies
(the only gift opened on Christmas Eve),

a toothbrush in every stocking

(the big guy is SO smart!),

leftover crumbs from a yummy midnight (or 3 a.m) snack

(no time for neatness with millions of kids to visit!),

and sweetness and love for breakfast!

After Christmas dinner with my hubby's delightful family,

Day three begins -

A "Day-After-Christmas Party" at Grandma's house

(so she doesn't have to compete with the in-laws),
where we take an annual Christmas picture of the cousins,

and have what seems to be the annual post-picture dog pile.

This is followed by special gifts for each child.

Grandma is so careful about checking their lists,

and each child gets several gifts

picked especially for them.

My mom is so clever --

She loads the children's gifts

on one half of the tree.

And after they speedily race through,

here is what's left...

gifts for the adults!

And we take our time,

and open each one with care,

and admire what others receive.

It's so fun.

So MUCH fun.

3 days of fun.

No wonder it has taken me so long to recover!

The Nutcracker

The picutres are poor

(to say the least...)

but the day was fabulous!

Mom, Linda, Nathan, Camille and I

went with Aunt Sandra

to see the Nutcracker

at the War Memorial Opera House

in San Francisco.

Stunning!

Camille and Nathan
posing in front of Sandra's
amazing Christmas tree.
(I wish the picutre
could do it justice!!)
Overall, a wonderful day!

Doors

I've been thinking all week
about how grateful I am for doors.
When you open a door
you invite wonderful things into your life--
like carolers with cookies
or friends dropping by with a smile.
Sneaking up to a door is fun too--
especially when you've got secret santa duties to perform.
And doors can be closed
(particularly those belonging to teenage boys)--
and that makes me very happy as well!

Yea for doors!

Good Luck Santa!

Camille has been keeping a secret.

She's got an idea of what she wants from Santa, but she doesn't want anyone to know - it's just between the two of them.

I told Matthew that it was his mission today to find out what the secret wish is.

It's not like I need to know or anything.

After all, the gift isn't from me.

I'm just curious.

She was hesitant to tell.

She was afraid he might think her ideas were a bit "ridiculous" - but who can resist the lure of sharing a secret with a sibling?

So, the secret is out. (But don't tell her!)

Would you like to know?

Well, she's open to two options. . . the first is a dalmation puppy and the second is a baby sister.

Good luck, Santa!

Day 6 - Breakfast with Santa

What better way is there to spend a Saturday morning

than having pancakes with Santa Claus?
Can't think of one.

Day 5 - Finding our Tree

One of our Christmas traditions is driving up to Apple Hill to cut down our own tree. It's an event that the kids both love and hate. They love running among the trees, trying their hand at the saw, playing in the leaves and chasing wild turkeys. They don't love the 90 minute drive or the fact that they can never understand what my qualifications for a perfect tree are. (I will say that I'm a bit picky!) This year has been so crazy that we decided the only time we could squeeze in a trip up the hill was on Friday afternoon. We pulled the kids out of school early and had the tree farm completely to ourselves. It was delightful!

Searching for the perfect tree.

It never works quite like Brad and I expect it to - with snow covering the ground and a big beam of light that comes down to illuminate the perfect choice (a la Chevy Chase), but we still manage to find a good one!

High Five!! We found one in record time!


And after that we played in the trees...

and slept in the leaves while Dad tied it on the car.

It was a beautiful stress-free day and we're so happy to have our fresh, fragrant tree smelling up the living room!

Now it can be Christmas.

Traditions

So, I didn't have time to post yesterday (craziness all around), but I did have time to be thankful. In light of the season, today I'm thankful for traditions. I love that we do the same things over and over every year - it gives a little sense of joy and stability to the chaos (only 20 days left!) that is called Christmas. And this year we have a new tradition (it's never to late, you know!) of making sure we do something Christmasy (is that a word?) every day (thanks Crisitn!). I just put a little note in the advent box (along with a few pieces of chocolate, of course) that tells what the magical moment of the day will be. . . nothing fancy, just regular stuff. I guess you could call it the tradition of making sure we get all our traditions done! (I know...I'm weird.) Of course the boys aren't really that into it (what is it with boys anyway?), but my little girl gets just as excited as I do (thank goodness!). So...

Day one - load the advent calendar

(Camille's favorite)

Day two - decorate the little tree

(full of ornaments that little children

and good friends have made over the years)

Day three - open your Grandma ornament

(we LOVED them! Thanks Mom.)

Today it's our annual trip to pick out and chop down our Christmas tree. I can't wait!

Thankful

This week in her speech at school,

Camille was thankful for this table...

Tonight we were thankful for this table...

...where we had what was probably

the tastiest Thanksgiving dinner know to man.

I'm also thankful for such wonderful family to share it with

and for my sister-in-law who hosted the spread.

This Thanksgiving I'm also grateful that at this point in my life

I have everything I need. . .

Food to eat, a roof over my head and the love of a good family.

I'm also mindful that so many don't have such blessings,

and I pledge to remember to help them during this holiday season.

Won't you join me?

Moms and Being a Mom

Aren't Moms great? Tonight my mom just happened to call while I was mulling over a difficult choice. (Coincidence?) I'm always so grateful for her input. It's always so nice to have the perspective of someone who's done this before and can see the situation a little differently than I can. She gave me some great advice, as always, and tonight I'm very grateful for her (as always!). Thanks, Mom.

I'm also grateful to be the mom of three great kids. Today I had parent-teacher conferences for the two youngers. I love parent-teacher conferences. Last year Adam's teacher sent a note home saying she didn't think I needed a conference because he was doing just fine. I wrote her back and said, "ARE YOU KIDDING??? Conferences are like a mom's payday - where we finally get to see our reward for countless hours of watching over the homework table!" So, she let me come in and have my happy mom moment. Today was no different. Two very happy mom moments for two really delightful kids. Thanks you guys!

Great Wonders Park

We've been having such beautiful weather here - in the high 70's to low 80's for weeks now (sorry, Janet!) - so the kids and I decided to take a few friends and check out our new park. Thought those of you who used to live here might enjoy seeing what it looks like now...


This was one of our family projects - digging trenches and laying the pipe for the talking phone gizmo. Adam tried it out for us, and guess what... it works!!!

This menacing looking slide is a new addition. We didn't get to build it, but we did lay down the layer of crushed gravel that is underneath the playground bark (backbreaking work!)

It's a fun little place, but I have to say that they just don't build them like they used to. My kids prefer an old metal park with steep stairwells and lots of dangerous places to leap off of - not these safe, lawsuit-proof places that they build now!