Seeing Santa

On the Thursday before Christmas, we finally took the kids to see Santa. My good friend Jill wanted us to take all of our kids together (total of 8 kids ages 7, 5, 5, 2 1/2, 2 1/2, 8 mos, 5 mos, and 5 mos) to see Santa at the mall and have their picture taken together. I couldn't muster up the energy or patience to take all of these little people to the mall, in the rain. That's the kind of thing in the month of December that can push me over the edge :) So Jay and I opted to see Santa that night at Chickfila instead. Thankfully because it had been pouring down rain, Chickfila was pretty empty. Perfect for 5 small ones to see Santa.

Catherine and Will each typed and wrote down a list of 5 or 6 things they wanted Santa to bring them. This was a very random list that they assembled as we were walking out the door that night. It included things like camouflage sunglasses, a belt, and a few random toys I had never heard of. Santa really enjoyed reading their lists. We reminded Catherine and Will that Santa really likes to bring surprises so that they wouldn't be disappointed when he didn't bring them what was on their lists. The only thing he did bring from either list was Barbie clothes for Catherine.

Sweet Anna was a little bit shy with Santa. He had to listen closely to hear what she asked him for---a candy cane! That was all the little one asked for. She was very excited when he handed her a candy cane right then. And she was thrilled on Christmas morning when her gifts were wrapped in red and silver striped paper because it looked like candy canes.

James was very curious about Santa. I think he would have liked to grab his beard. Elizabeth was just happy that someone was holding her. I love this pic of Santa holding both of them. 

After visiting with Santa, we enjoyed milkshakes and cookies. Chickfila does have some yummy treats!

kids Christmas performances

I'm a little behind the past few weeks on keeping up with these things. But that's partly because we've had extra things going on, like children's choir performances and school nativity plays.

Here are some fun pics from Will and Catherine's Christmas choir concert at church and Will as a shepherd in his school nativity play. I love seeing the children participating and learning and worshiping through these. It was a great way to help prepare our hearts for Christmas and to enjoy the treasure of these small ones.

Gingerbread house failure

We attempted to make gingerbread houses yesterday. I had bought one of those kits to make the little village. I thought it would be a fun craft activity one morning over Christmas break.

Our gingerbread houses kept collapsing though. Marcy and I assembled and reassembled each of the five structures at least three times. This was about to push me over the edge. And Catherine too. The sweet perfectionist had a meltdown because it wasn't perfect. Will and Anna were very happy to eat all the candy and icing. It was close to getting out of control.

Who knew gingerbread houses were such a difficult adventure? They can make gingerbread houses at school next year.

Christmas pics by Anna

Enjoy a few of these Christmas pics by Anna. This is what you get when you give the 2 1/2 year the phone. :)

Merry Christmas

I hope you have a wonderful and joyous celebration of Christ's birth.

Christmas and the days leading up to it and the days recovering from it are some of the most exciting days for families, especially with little children. They are also some of the most exhausting and trying ones. Every day for the past month we have had extra Christmas events and parties and school performances and church choir and shopping and wrapping and more. I have tried to cut back on a lot of the extras this year but adding anything extra into my daily routine right now is enough to make me crazy, or at least very tired.

But as I prepare to go to bed and to celebrate my savior tomorrow, I am trying not to worry about how early our kids will wake up, the fact that we forgot to put out the reindeer food and cookies for Santa, the mess that our house will be for the next few days, the logistics of packing people up so we can visit my family for 18 hours, or the laundry I still need to put away.

I am reflecting on the fact that this chaos and mess is what my God chose for his son. Jesus willingly left something more wonderful and perfect than we can even imagine to come into this messy and broken world. For me. For you. It amazes me.

So Merry Christmas friends! Celebrate the chaos and craziness and praise God for Jesus.

5 months (plus a little)

The babies are now 5 months old (well, really 5 1/2 months because I'm behind on posting these things). They are both growing and changing every day. I love seeing their personalities develop and watching them engage more with people and toys.

Elizabeth is still the sweetest, laid back baby. She cries if she's really hungry or wants to be held. She is pretty even keel--which means not much crying, but it also means that you have to work for her smiles and laughs a little bit more. She lights up when Catherine is with her, and Will has figured out her ticklish spot under her chin. She also really loves to be held by Mimi. She has rolled herself from tummy to back a few times, but she's not too interested in going anywhere yet. She does like to play in the jumper some. She is a precious baby doll. I could snuggle her all day. 

James continues to be extremely animated and lively. If he is grumpy, he is really really grumpy--screams his head off, arches his back, inconsolable kind of grumpy. But when he's happy, well he has the sweetest smile I've ever seen. It is glorious. He rolls all around, jumps in the jumper, and pushes himself up on his hands and knees. He got his first 2 teeth this week. The boy is a bundle of energy. He always falls asleep last and wakes up first. 

Their personalities are very different, but they complement each other so well. They love to be together, to be beside each other on the play mat or to sit in someone's lap together. They still grab each others' hands or snuggle near one another. So sweet.

These babies are so loved! What a blessing!!

Please tell her to stop taking our picture!

7 years old

Catherine turned 7 years old this past Thursday. Our sweet girl is growing up so fast. In some ways it seems like a lot longer than 7 years ago that we started having children and that we have known our sweet girl. But in other ways, it seems like she was just born, or just toddling around the house, or just started preschool. And now she's turning into a young lady right before our very eyes. She is so lovely, so compassionate, and such a wonderful part of our family.

For her birthday dinner, she chose to have quesadillas, rice and beans, and guacamole. She asked Mimi to make lemon bars for her birthday dessert. She even got all fancy (notice the pretty earrings??--they're clip-ons from her great-grandmother's jewelry box). She enjoyed opening a few birthday gifts, some new clothes and books mostly.

Precious Will wanted to give her something for her birthday too. He wrapped up 3 books for her--2 from his bookshelf and 1 from hers. He said "Catherine, I got this one for you because I know you'll like it since it's already yours." I love the sweet thought processes of a 5 year old boy to his sister. By the way, Will did a really good job wrapping the books. Maybe he can help me wrap Christmas presents.

Will and I went to school to have lunch with her and read a book to her class, Pickle Chiffon Pie, one of her favorite books. Jay took her out to Yogurtini after dinner on Friday, just the two of them. Then on Saturday, Mimi and I took her to see Mary Poppins at the peace center with one of her best friends. (I haven't uploaded those photos yet.) We have had a great time celebrating Catherine.

We love you, Catherine! We are so proud of you and the wonderful lady God is creating. I am so thankful to be your mama.

Christmas tree reality

Jay has this dream that our family will go to a Christmas tree farm, hike up a mountain, cut down a beautiful tree, sleep in a cabin, and bring home a glorious Christmas tree.

So far, it hasn't happened. One of my criteria to attempt such an adventure is that everyone can walk up and down the mountain on their own. We are not carrying a Christmas tree, and a saw, and children up and down a mountain.

Here's more what our Christmas tree adventures currently look like: Jay took Catherine and Will to the Christmas tree lot set up next to chickfila while I was home putting two crying babies to bed and bathing Anna. Catherine and Will picked out the most beautiful tree they've ever seen in the dark . (Too bad they haven't seen many trees for comparison.) Jay and I got the tree in the stand and in the house later that night with minimal discussion.

The next day I decide to put lights on it, except we need more lights. So Catherine, Will, and I go to Walmart. This is enough to cause me stress at this time of year. The only lights they have left are colored lights. So we buy 600 colored bulbs. The kids are thrilled. While we are there Catherine picks out this really amazing $8 light-up star because she does not like the pretty bow I usually put on top. We make it out of Walmart without me losing it, barely.

Lights finally get put on the tree that afternoon while babies nap, somewhat haphazardly with the help of a zealous 5 year old. Two days later we all put about 1/2 of the ornaments on after dinner while 2 babies are crying and spitting up. The beautiful fresh Christmas tree sheds needles all over the floor from small hands' gentle touches.

The next day Will, Anna, and I finish putting ornaments on the tree. The tree continues to shed its unwanted needles. We also decorate a small tree for Will's room and a pink one for the girls' room. They are festive and crazy. The trees and the kids.

I add 7 stockings underneath the tree, because I can't find enough stocking hangers to put them on the mantle. I can't believe we have so many Christmas stockings.

So, no mountaintop Christmas tree experiences here. But I am perfectly okay with that. These are the Christmas memories we will remember and long for.

And don't worry Jay, we will go to the mountain and cut down a tree and stay in a cabin one day. Maybe just the two of us.

Two cute elves

December birthday celebration

Catherine's school holds a birthday celebration once a month. All the kids who have birthdays that month get to go to the cafeteria for ice cream and a dance party. On Friday I went to help pass out the ice cream and party with my oldest little one. She had a great time, although I think she was embarrassed by my dancing :)

I also noticed in the hallway her elf paragraph. It says:
"I would make a super cool elf. Why? Because sharing is a great thing to do. I would do that by giving my things to other people. Also I would be a very smart elf. I would do that by thinking before I made toys. "

I love our Catherine.

When you don't want to leave

Yesterday our good friends came over to play. Will loves, loves, loves to play with his buddy Eddie. They can become quite adventurous together. They spent a solid 4 hours outside cutting down trees and branches in our woods, including the poor pine sapling pictured below. We did convince them to come in for lunch but otherwise they played outside the whole day. We would periodically go out and check on them and they are usually fairly responsible, so no big deal.

Jill yelled out the door at about 1:15 that they were going to be leaving in 15 mins. We packed up the baby and her things and she headed out to the car. A couple of mins later she came in and said she couldn't find Will and Eddie. I went outside as well and we started yelling for them. No response. I put on my tennis shoes and started walking around the edges of our woods while yelling for them. No response. I went down and checked the creek, the fort, even Will's secret hideout. No response.

By this point, I am having to talk Jill out of calling 911. I go deeper into the woods, still yelling their names. No response. I check the neighbors pool, still calling them. no response.

Take every thought captive---don't panic. Where are the boys??? Lord help us find the boys.

After a solid 20 mins (which is a very long time to not know where your child is) I finally catch a glimpse of Will's yellow shirt and hear them. They are deep in the woods hunkered down behind a log, underneath some brush.

"Boys, did you not hear us calling you?" "We don't know. We didn't want Eddie to go home. "

So there they were, hiding in the woods, with their acquired treasures they found on this hike-a dog leash, 2 golf balls, a beer pitcher, and a plastic plant container-- so that he wouldn't have to leave.

Good grief. About gave these mamas a heart attack.

Lets just say there was some discipline that occurred as a result. I love that Will wants to play outside in the woods. It's one of the reasons we moved to this house. But for heavens sake, answer your mother when you hear her and see her frantically searching the woods.

Boys!

A new advent tradition

I love advent. The waiting and anticipation. The excitement and longing. I love advent calendars and wreaths.

Each year I am trying to incorporate a few advent traditions into our Christmas celebration. One of my favorite blogs www.desiringvirtue.com has some great ideas for this. We are trying one of them this year with the Christmas books.

I have a lot (probably 35-40) of children's Christmas books. I wrapped 24 of them, one for each night from dec 1-dec 24. Each night after devotions the kids take a turn picking a book to unwrap and read together. On her blog, she only does nativity/Jesus books. Most of mine are christ focused, but I did include a few "night before Christmas" and secular books.

If you want to try this but don't have 24-25 books, just start with what you have. Do 7 and open one each night the week before Christmas. Or pick 4 and open one each Sunday night in December. You can adapt based off what you have and what works for your family.

The kids have loved this so far. I hope to make it an annual tradition.

A new veggie favorite

A few months ago a friend kept raving about how great roasted cauliflower is. I have never liked cauliflower but thought we would give it a try. It is so good!! We all like it, even the kids. And it's super easy. Perfect.

Just cut a head of cauliflower into small pieces. Or you can buy a bag already precut. Occasionally publix has those bags on sale for $1 each so getting two of those bags is cheaper than one head.

Then mix about 4-5 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tsp salt and pepper and pour over the cauliflower. Roast at 425 degrees for 45-60 mins, until it turns a nice golden brown. And you're done! Hope you try it and enjoy it as much as we have.

Student of the week

Will was student of the week for his class this week. His friends all wrote on a poster what they like to play with him or why they're glad he's their friend. He also took some pictures to share and filled out a questionnaire about himself. Here were some of his answers:
Favorite tv show: the Cosby show
Favorite toy: football
What he wants to be when he grows up: a preacher
His favorite place to go: the beach
What he likes learning about: hunting, building, and superheroes

He's so much fun. I love to see how he approaches the world, a totally different way than how I see things. He's one of my favorite people to hang out with.

Just take a min

New running shoes
Beautiful weather
Time to run downtown
By myself
A chance to breathe
My husband knew I needed it
It's hard to step out of the craziness
He had to push me out the door
He's pretty awesome