A Handmade Holiday

It was another handmade Christmas for us. I wanted to share what was made. Needless to say, I'm pooped from projects. Along with Christmas pajamas and another quilt (which I'm too lazy to take pictures of) I think I've met my quota for this year.

Although, a new year starts tomorrow, so I can start sewing again.....

 

Christmas Day at home

This was our first Christmas at home. That's a big deal in my book! We've been tagging along with our family's traditions for almost 30 years, and this year we got to run the show.

To be honest, we did all the same things, but it just felt different. It was quieter, much quieter.... that's not a good thing. Over the past couple weeks I have missed the loud talking, laughing, and occasional arguing that comes with tons of family members crammed in houses. It was just the quiet 6 of us.

6 because my Mom came and spent Christmas weekend with us. It was wonderful having her around.

As far as traditions are concerned, we......

 did the usual December movie marathons, watching probably 2 dozen Christmas movies (sometimes twice)

Filled our advent with chocolate (and ate it all by Dec 5th)

We baked cookies, and caramels

Made a gingerbread house (which, as I am writing this now, realize I do not know the whereabouts of)

Went and saw Christmas lights

Told the story of "The Symbols of Christmas"

Wrote letters to Jesus

Ate Italian food Christmas Eve

Ate ham dinner Christmas Day

Acted out the Nativity Scene from the scriptures

Baked and decorated cookies for Santa Clause Christmas Eve night 

Read all of our Christmas books (2,3,4 times)

Went to the theater Christmas Day. We saw Gulliver's Travels (we thought it was awful, my own fault for not watching the previews)

Opened one gift (pajamas) Christmas Eve

Came down stairs Christmas morning in order, youngest to oldest (although, Jefferson cheated and went downstairs while we all slept. He woke before the sun did, managed to play with ALL of his presents... and everyone else's, then take a shower and dress himself, before waking us all up........ THAT STINKER!)

As the kids get older, I think it would be fun to add to this list of traditions. Things like... Secret Santa, 12 days of Christmas, caroling, ice skating Christmas Eve, and maybe even hanging our Christmas tree upside-down, ha! 

We were able to use the webcam with Ian and Clarissa who are living in England. We opened gifts over the computer and shared the Christmas spirit. I'm so thankful for technology and its ability to bring people together from the furthest distances!!

 Christmas morning...

 

Everyone was happy with their gifts.  

Jefferson really got into the giving spirit and surprised us by wrapping up a gift for Grant... his prized treasure case. It was a pretty simple gift, but something that meant a lot to Jefferson, and to give it to his brother really warmed Shawn and my heart. Grant was so excited, he bolted up and attacked Jefferson with a bear hug, almost knocking him over. Luckily, I caught this historic moment with my camera!

We had a truly wonderful Christmas, even if we did miss our families back home. I sure hope everyone had a memorable Christmas wherever, and with whomever you celebrated this year! And I hope the Christmas spirit lingers in all of us past December and for months to come!

ha, I just realized that I am in none of these pictures. I don't get remembered in the family history, yet without me there would be none... go figure!

On the Polar Express!

My mom surprised the kids with tickets on the Polar Express for Christmas. Yes, of course it was the 'REAL' Polar Express.... minus the snow, and the middle of the night, dancing/singing waiters, a fast moving train, miniature elves, and Tom Hanks! But, otherwise, it was the genuine Polar Express.



Shawn and Reagan boarding the train.



We had greatest seats in the train..... I might go as far as to say 'the best'! Right on top, in the dome car, and at the very end of the train.It felt like we had the train to ourselves.  

The kids were shocked to be on the Polar Express. We watched the movie the day before, so it was fresh on their minds. They glowed the entire ride!

Just look at that face!!!

 

Here are the boys sporting their pajamas I made them for the special day.

The train started moving and we were shaking all over the place. Are all trains shaky? At times I felt like I was being lulled to sleep, other times I felt like vomiting. But, the kids never complained that the train was swaying back and forth, or that it was only going 5 miles an hour... they were still thrilled.


They played music from the movie over the speakers while the waiters handed out hot cocoa. Or, if you want me to give a true account, I should say they handed out "luke-warm dirty water."But, each of us did get a pretty awesome Polar Express mug.

Then, the conductor came through the cabin and punched our tickets. He even made them look like letters... at least he tried. The boys thought it was great, and held on to their tickets the whole ride. Jefferson was convinced that if he lost his ticket he would be able to drive the train because "that's what happened in the movie." 

 



Shawn was scared to death when the bum ran up the stairs behind him, yelling! He stopped long enough to snap a picture.

Along the ride the whole train sang songs. We visited and laughed and waited with anticipation to arrive at the North Pole.



Looking out the windows.

We had to stop for a huge herd of Elk to get out of our way. Then, finally we made it to the North Pole. Santa was standing outside his workshop waving to us. The North Pole looked familiar to me.... that's when my mom pointed out it's strong resemblance to the Auschwitz concentration camp. It was so barren, and rundown looking. It flickered with a few strands of Christmas lights. I ENTHUSIASTICALLY told the kids that it was Santa's workshop and hundreds of elves were inside making toys for them. They believed it!  

Next came the best part of the trip. Santa surprised us by actually boarding the train. He talked to each of the kids and gave them all a silver bell. If only I could have captured Grant's reaction... he almost cried! Here's Jefferson giving 'ol Santa a high-five.

On the ride home, we were able to stand in the caboose and look out the window. I'm not sure, but this may have been more exciting to the boys than seeing the North Pole.

All of us!

What a trip! It was fun, really. Just being together was the best part. I may only give it 2 stars, but seeing that much joy on my kids faces was totally worth it. They believed every second of the ride. They LOVED the rocking cabin, the horrible hot-cocoa, the bad acting, the ugly North Pole, and the lame scenery.

It makes me step back and think about my perspective, on not just the Polar Express, but life in general. I hope to be more child-like someday.  

Christmas at the Zoo

A few days before Christmas we took the kids to the Portland Zoo Lights. It was a MAD HOUSE. The parking lot was full... the overflow parking lot was full.... and the line to board the shuttle was enormous! After waiting in line for 45 minutes and moving about 20 steps, we thought it best to come back another night. Well... I thought it best. Shawn wanted to stick it out (crazy), and the boys cried when I told them we were leaving.

I thought I was a genius to pack a dinner and arrive at the zoo 30 minutes before Zoo Lights opened. Everyone else must have thought of the same brilliant idea because once again... parking lot full! We did manage to find one golden spot left for us, thank goodness.

It was fantastic!! Why do Christmas lights make everyone so happy? I don't know, but we all enjoyed ourselves. We were there staring at lights for 3 hours!! We bundled well for the weather.

 

 

There were lights everywhere. There were even animals walking the park. Here's Jefferson with a dinosaur.

 

Some of our favorite lights....

Reagan shouted at us to go see the elephants all night, like she usually does when we go to the zoo. Finally, we found some elephant lights. These were not good enough for her and she cried, "no, that is not a elephant" I guess she wanted the real thing.

We waited in line for 1 hour to ride the zoo train. We've ridden the zoo train before. I whined about it HERE. So what made me stand in the line again, I don't know. I guess we thought it would be an amazing light show. Wrong! Grant enjoyed the ride, he loves trains. But Jefferson kept pointing out, "I only see fences and trees."

Reagan and I looking unusually happy to be in line for 60 minutes.

All aboard!

We had a great time. Zoo lights will definitely be a tradition (minus the train). At least for 1 more year while we're living here. It was truly wonderful.

Merry Christmas

This man's coming tonight. The kids are thrilled!

We hope everyone has a Merry Christmas.

----

'Tis a Wonder World Christmas

Yesterday was Grant's Christmas program at his preschool.

He's been looking forward to this day for many-a-weeks.

This was one serious performance. I mean, he never uttered a word about it to me or Shawn. And if I ever asked him a question he would abruptly say, "I can't tell you, it's a surprise." Once, when I told him his teacher wanted us to practice "Silent Night" at home, he got upset, "how did you know that was one of my songs?!!!!" Weird. The point is, he takes school seriously, and he'll clearly make a good confidant if you ever want to tell him your secrets... he keeps 'em pretty well.  

Here he is with the rest of his preschool. This is AM and PM class combined. Aren't the costumes cute? Every child got to wear one. Grant was a wise man.

There were a lot of parents and it took Grant a while to find us, despite my frantic waving. This is his smile when he finally saw me. Actually, he's probably more happy to see Shawn who wasn't going to come because of finals, but made a quick appearance for Grant's special day.

The kids sang some darling songs and rhymes. Grant wasn't the most enthusiastic, but he did do all the motions. I had a cute video of them singing "Santa Claus is coming to town,"  but couldn't upload it. Just picture my child grudgingly singing and slowly flapping his arms to each motion. Then at the end of the song he rolls his eyes and slumps his shoulders. He was excited to be up there... so why all the bored drama, Grant?

Santa made an appearance at the end of the show and gave out Candy Canes to each child. Grant had the opportunity to sit on his lap too, but after standing in line, he chickened-out. He said he was "too scared." Alright!

It was a really special day for Grant. He willingly got all dressed up and asked me to gel and comb his hair. Looking at this picture now, I realize he needs some new church pants, and perhaps a hair cut.... he looks a little like Donald Trump.

His teacher, Lynda, is amazing. She is like a sweet grandma to all of those kids. I don't know where she finds the energy, but I thank her. She's perfect for Grant and he loves her!

My future Danseur

(or is it Ballerino?)

A combination of dark, rainy days and a boring Saturday can create some wild imagination play....

And some great blackmail videos

So, if you forgot to get your Nutcracker tickets this year, no worries, just watch this video.

I couldn't help myself, I have to show another one...

This was unprompted by me. The boys were upstairs playing and ran down wearing tutus and laughing hysterically. They were buck-naked! I told them to put on at least some underwear. I was listening to the Nutcracker and they got into character and started dancing. They used a piece of foam I had lying on the ground as their 'dance floor.' It was pretty hilarious if you ask me.

I always wanted 3 girls. I got what I wanted for a short afternoon.

These came off and the knight costumes went on... followed by wild sword fighting. The nativity scene got knocked over and I got whacked in the head. The ballet was short-lived.

Dear Mrs. Allen

Jefferson wrote this letter to his teacher. I think he has a crush on her. He's always making her pictures and writing her notes. I thought this one was adorable...

In case you can't read 6 year old handwritting, it says...

"I love you.

You are the Best Teacher.

I Just Can't Stand It.

I Love you Too Much.

I love You.

I love You.

I love You."

Thanksgiving weekend

My Dad was able to visit for Thanksgiving this year. It was nice. We celebrated the day and gave thanks. I will say, being the solo cook is the pits. I was happy to make all the food, really, but after spending hours in the kitchen in exchange for 20 minutes at the table with the family I decided it's just not worth it. Next year, I'm buying take-out! I didn't get any pictures of the table, or the turkey, or US for that matter. But trust me, we were there, we celebrated, and we had a great day!

The day of Thanksgiving we took the kids to see Tangled.

The kids LOVED it! Who am I kidding.... I LOVED it! It is my new all-time favorite Disney movie, surpassing The Little Mermaid and Fantasia (well... maybe tied with Fantasia). Reagan kept saying "hi Punzel" when she saw Rapunzel on screen. I think she loved it as much as me.

The day after Thanksgiving we went to hunt down the best Christmas Tree we could find.

Reagan found some "MARSH-OOMS" 

Before going out, Shawn and I debated over how to decorate the tree. I thought it would be awesome to hang the tree upside-down from the ceiling. I'm not crazy, really, the idea has been around for a while. Shawn prefers the regular "normal" way. When we saw these trees in the picture below, we thought it would be a great compromise... don't you agree? It's a regular, upright tree that turns into an upside-down tree at the top. Genius.... pretty ugly.... yet genius! 

Finally, we found a tree we liked. Too bad, you can't see it, I'm standing right in front of it... but it is just perfect! If you have any idea what my boys are doing, let me know.

 Now came the fun part... cutting it down. Shawn cut through most of it, then let the kids have a saw at it!

 Jefferson was a pro, he may be the official cutter next year.

 Single-handed



My Dad and Reagan walking through the tree farm



The boys watching the tree get bailed



We went home and started decorating. The kids hung all the ornaments, which is why they are all clumped together in groups.

The holidays make us happy... so does pink!

Here's our tree all decorated and smooched in the corner between our couches, because, well, we have a tiny living room and there's nowhere to put a tree. Except, of course, hanging from the ceiling, which would have been a space-saver... and looked pretty spectacular if you ask me. But I was outnumbered!