Christmas Eve 2010

The kids were little bundles of energy...much like every other day. It was Christmas eve. The eve of Jesus' birthday. The eve when Santa would be making his journey around the world, hopefully stopping by our house along the way.

We'd been talking about Christmas for weeks -- reading the Christmas story from the Bible and various other books, acting out the story, watching Christmas movies, singing Christmas carols, making Christmas crafts, reminding Jacob and Annabelle that they needed to be good or Santa might decide not to bring any presents. **GASP** No presents? Surely not.

The day before, we talked about the importance of giving and sharing with others. For Jacob's birthday, Heath and I got a little caught up in the Toy Story 3 hype and bought him a Buzz Lightyear toy -- the one that talks and lights up, etc... We ended up not giving it to him. We knew there were other things he would like more, so we bought those other things instead. Buzz sat, untouched, unopened on the top shelf of our closet. Jacob knew the toy was there. He had seen it several times and asked, "Hey...why do you have that Buzz Lightyear up there?" I decided we would keep it until Christmas and have Jacob donate it to Toys for Tots, but we ended up taking it to another local organization. Jacob walked proudly through the door with Buzz and all the people who were working that day made a really big deal of it. They told Jacob how he was going to make some little boy very happy for Christmas. I don't know if he truly understood what he did, but he seemed to. He seemed genuinely excited about giving that "cool Buzz Lightyear toy" away. On the car ride over, I explained, again, that there are some children who don't have any toys and won't get any toys for Christmas. Jacob replied, "Oh. You mean, they forgot to tell Santa what they wanted?" Hmmm...how do you respond to that? After all, doesn't Santa bring gifts to everyone?

We spent Christmas eve day at Papa and Grandma's house. Annabelle discovered that it is great fun to jump off a bed onto a few old couch cushions. Her brother followed her lead and they jumped and played for the longest time.

Uncle Philip and Aunt Shelli were there too and of course, Grazie. Jacob and Annabelle love Grazie. Annabelle especially enjoys sharing her food (and sippy cups) with her.

Later that evening, after dinner, we moved onto the gifts. Jacob had been looking forward to this part all day. He had already been scoping out all the boxes and bags for the letters J-A-C-O-B. Both he and Annabelle ripped into their presents. Annabelle liked her gifts, but honestly, I think finding candy canes in one of her bags made her the happiest. Jacob was definitely impressed with what he received. At the end of the evening, I said, "Wow, Jacob you got a lot of new cool toys...and Santa hasn't even been to our house yet." Jacob looked up at me and said, " Oh! We should call Santa. We need to call Santa and tell him we don't need him anymore. We don't need him to come to our house." Boy, Santa sure could have saved himself a lot of money...had he known. ;)

After opening presents and playing with their new toys, the kids were exhausted..and so were their parents. We packed up the car and headed home. Jacob and Annabelle needed to get to bed, and Santa had work to do.

We put out a plate of cookies for Santa along with a glass of milk and a couple carrots for the reindeer. Then, we sat down on the floor beside the Christmas tree while Heath read the Christmas story from the book of Luke. The kids were a little tired and cranky, but we managed to get through it. They were just ready to be in their beds.

So, they went to bed...and "Santa" went to work. While I wrapped gifts that evening, I thought about God's miraculous plan and how it all played out that first Christmas eve. I can't even imagine what it must have been like for Mary, Joseph, even one of the shepherds. God is incredible. Amazing. Wonderful. Miraculous. I cannot fathom His greatness. Glory to God in the highest......

Thank you, God, for Jesus -- the most precious, extraordinary, most important, life-changing gift any of us will ever receive.

Christmas Cookies. Yum. Yum. Yum.

A week ago, we could hardly wait for Christmas to arrive. Now, we can hardly believe the holiday has come and gone. We had such a great time visiting with family and friends, and even got to see a little snow! It was, indeed, a very merry Christmas.

Jacob and Annabelle were so excited about Christmas...especially Jacob. He looked at the calendar often and every morning he announced how many more days there were until Jesus' birthday. "Just THREE more days 'til Christmas!!!!" he would say, with a grin from ear to ear. He couldn't wait to see if Santa was actually going to bring him the space shuttle he wanted.

I thought it might be fun to do a little holiday baking this year, so a few days before Christmas, I headed into the kitchen with my two eager helpers. Donned in their new Christmas aprons from Papa and Nana, they each ran to get a chair to stand on so that they would be able to see and reach the top of the counter. We made pretzel-Rolo treats and chocolate peanut butter cookies -- both very easy recipes. Annabelle's job was to lay out the pretzels on the cookie sheet. She did very well, but added one extra step -- taking a bite of each pretzel first. I had to replace many of her pretzels with new ones since I didn't think anyone would really want to eat half-eaten pretzel-Rolo treats. Jacob unwrapped the Rolos and stuck one on each pretzel. Then, later, he placed the pecans on top.

We all unwrapped Hershey's kisses for the peanut butter cookies. Again, Annabelle could not help herself. At one point, she had both cheeks full of chocolate. I also caught her licking a few before putting them down on the plate. No, I didn't use any of the licked ones for the cookies...at least...I don't think I did. :)

Our baking days were a success. Jacob and Annabelle made a plate for Santa on Christmas eve. The next morning, Santa had left a note saying their cookies were the best he had ever tasted...even better than the ones Mrs. Claus makes. ;)

Choir Debut

Several months before his fourth birthday, Jacob began telling everyone he came into contact with that when he turned four, he was going to be in the preschool choir. That was the one thing he was most excited about. And why wouldn't he be? He loves music. He loves to play instruments. He loves to sing. And most of all, he loves to perform.

Traditionally, the preschool choir has a public church performance twice a year -- one at Christmas, one in the spring. Last Sunday, Jacob made his choir debut in the church. He couldn't wait. He was so excited. He had really been practicing his songs, singing them in the car and around the house, so I knew he was ready. Although, when he practiced at home, his singing was usually accompanied by a dance. I wasn't sure if he would be able to stand still and sing.

He did a great job or as Jacob would say, he was "awesome!" I was proud of all the kids. No matter how many times you rehearse with children, it's impossible to predict how the actual performance will turn out. I was more than pleased with this end result!!

MUCH to my surprise, Annabelle behaved herself during the performance and, like a little lady, sat on the pew "reading" the bulletin...without either of her parents by her side!

Beautiful Annabelle

We sat on the floor in her room, playing...just the two of us. Jacob hadn't yet awoken from his nap. Annabelle reached over and grabbed her baby doll's sippy cup. "Baby dink! (Baby wants a drink)" she said, as she held it up to the doll. She then changed her baby's diaper and placed her in the stroller after grabbing the diaper bag and throwing it over the stroller handle. Annabelle pushed the stroller around her tiny room for a few minutes, then came to a sudden stop. She climbed up into the rocking chair and said, "wok, wok (rock, rock)." I repeated her words to let her know she was understood. She looked at me and in the sweetest little voice, replied, "Sing...beeful...Adhewl (Sing Beautiful Annabelle)." My heart melted.

That's our song -- Beautiful Annabelle. The morning after she was born, she cried and cried. I held her tightly in my arms and rocked her as best I could while sitting in a hospital bed. Not sure of what else to do, I made up a little melody and began to sing.

Beautiful, beautiful Annabelle.

Beautiful, beautiful baby.

Beautiful, beautiful Annabelle.

You're so perfect to me.

I love you beautiful Annabelle.

I love you beautiful baby.

I love you beautiful Annabelle.

You're so perfect to me.

No, she didn't stop crying instantly, but a few short moments later, she settled down. I've been singing that song to her ever since. It's part of our bedtime routine. Each night, before she goes to sleep, Annabelle sits in my lap, sucking her thumb and clenching Minnie Mouse's leg in her little hand. We rock for a while and I sing a few songs, always ending with Beautiful Annabelle.

It makes me happy to know that song is her favorite out of all the songs she's ever heard me sing. And I love that she, now, specifically requests it. Yes, I certainly do love you, Beautiful Annabelle and these are moments I will cherish forever.

Advent, Christmas Lights, Santa, etc...

Scene: Jacob and Annabelle are sitting on the living room floor by the Christmas tree putting puzzles together. A Christmas Wiggles DVD is playing on the TV behind them. Annabelle reaches over to grab a puzzle piece from Jacob's halfway put together puzzle.

Jacob: Annabelle, DON'T TAKE MY PUZZLES!! Do you want Santa to mark your name off his list???

Annabelle: AAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH! (then, ever so sweetly) No.

Aahhh. Christmas. I love this time of year. Can't you just feel the love?

Four Sundays before Christmas marks the beginning of Advent and every year, our church recognizes this by displaying an Advent wreath. A different family lights one of the candles each week until the final candle is lit Christmas Eve. Last Sunday, our family had the priviledge of lighting the candle and giving the short devotion. When we were asked to participate, Heath and I were both a little nervous. Not about lighting the candle or giving the devotion. We were nervous about how our precious little gifts from God would behave. While our children may be gifts from God, they don't always act like it. I had visions of Annabelle flinging herself from my arms and knocking the candles over; or screaming and running down the aisle. Maybe Jacob would throw a fit because Daddy wouldn't let him light the candle. Oh boy.

All I can say is, "Thank you, God for answering our prayers." Jacob was very well-behaved and I've never seen Annabelle so calm. She remained in my arms, then Heath's arms with nary a scream or (much of) a squirm. Later that morning, several people commented on their excellent behavior and I just said, "Yeah. That was definitely God at work." Then there were a couple people, who know Annabelle well, who asked me, "What kind of drugs did you give her?" No drugs. All God. :)

I don't have any photos of the actual event, but we did take a few when we returned home.

Last Friday we made our annual trip to see the the Holiday Festival of Lights...and Santa. I've always loved seeing the Christmas lights and now, watching and listening to Jacob's and Annabelle's reactions make it even more fun. When Annabelle sees something she likes or something that surprises her, she says, "Wow!" But not "Wow" like you would think. Annabelle's "Wow" sounds kind of like a growl...a dinosaur roar...a tiger. I don't know why she says it that way, but it cracks me up every time. Jacob seemed more into the lights this year than last year, pointing out funny things that he saw and telling us which ones he liked best.

Several days prior, I began talking about our trip to see Santa. I knew Jacob woud be fine. He was all ready to tell Santa what he wants for Christmas -- a space shuttle. Annabelle, I wasn't so sure about. Last year, she cried for quite a while before we were finally able to get a decent picture. I was hoping this year would be different. It was. Although she wasn't thrilled to sit on Santa's lap, she didn't scream. She got all her screaming out while we waited in line. She wasn't really interested in smiling for the camera, but as long as she wasn't crying to get down, I was ok with it.

In line to see Santa -- Annabelle needed a pep talk. Jacob couldn't get there fast enough.

Jacob, as I expected, talked Santa's ear off about how he wanted a space shuttle for Christmas and how Annabelle was too little to tell him what she wanted. Santa greeted Jacob by saying, "Wow! Look how much you've grown!" I thought that was a nice touch. :)

We continued the night with a carousel ride and a few roasted marshmallows - except for Jacob, who likes his marshmallows "plain."

Back at home, Jacob and Annabelle are learning the real meaning of Christmas by playing with the Little People nativity set. It's one of the most popular toys at our house right now. They both play with it all the time. For some reason, baby Jesus seems to get misplaced quite often, so I constantly hear Annabelle saying, "Babe...Desus...go?" (Where did baby Jesus go?) When Jacob plays with it, he sounds like a preacher, telling the story and then ending with a talk about how much God loves everyone. Maybe he'll be a pastor one day. Who knows? A pastor... who also plays the drums in a band. :)

Thanksgiving 2010

Turkey, dressing (two kinds), mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potato souffle, squash casserole, carrots, green beans, cranberry sauce, strawberry salad (a.k.a. the pink stuff), cucumber and fennel salad, pumpkin creme caramel, pumpkin cheesecake, apple pie -- another Thanksgiving dinner down in the books. Yum. I do love Thanksgiving.

This year, we celebrated the holiday at my parents' house for the first time in at least six years, if you can believe that!! I give my compliments to the chef for a fabulous meal. Daddy, you outdid yourself!! The food was absolutely amazing! Seriously, the turkey was the best I have ever tasted.

Jacob and Annabelle enjoyed their meal as well, especially Annabelle. I wasn't sure what either of them would eat because their tastes and appetites change on an hourly basis. I served each of them a sampler platter with a little of each dish on the plate. Jacob hardly touched any of the food, except for the "pink stuff," which is more like a dessert. His sister, on the other hand, ate almost an entire plate full of food -- a girl after my own heart. Annabelle seems to love Thanksgiving as much as I do.

My contribution to the meal was Paula Deen's Southern Cornbread Stuffing and a dessert I had never made before -- Pumpkin Creme Caramel. Heath found the recipe in a magazine and said, "We have got to make this!" Of course, when he said, "we" what he really meant was "you." I'm a sucker for anything pumpkin, so I obliged and tried out the new recipe. It was incredible (if I do say so myself). However, had I actually read the recipe before I decided to make this yummy-looking dessert, I probably would have opted to try something else. It was a little complicated, but well worth the effort.

We spent the better part of an hour being thankful (eating) for all the blessings God has so graciously poured out on our lives. Then, after dessert, came the clean-up -- my least favorite part of Thanksgiving...or any meal for that matter. We spent almost four hours in the kitchen washing pots and pans, storing leftovers, eating leftovers, rearranging the contents of the refrigerator to make room for leftovers, wiping counters, mopping the floor, eating more leftovers, rewiping counters, etc... It seemed like a never-ending cycle.

By the end of the day, we were all exhausted, not to mention, over-stuffed, but I wanted to do some black Friday shopping, so my mom and I headed out to Toys 'R Us. They opened at 10:00 PM. We got there at 11:00 PM. The line to enter the store was still wrapped around the shopping center and we were told it would be at least an hour before we even got close to the door. So, we hopped back into the car and drove over to the outlets instead, which were crowded, but much more accessible. We shopped a little, stood in line a lot, shopped a little more, stood in line a lot more. The lines may have been long, but we came away with some great deals. We went to a few other places afterwards and ended up arriving home around 9:00 AM. Whew. What a night! I'd like to think all the shopping helped me burn at least half the calories of that Thanksgiving meal, though. :)

It's a good thing I burned so many calories that night because the next day, we headed over to the Duncans' for more delicious Thanksgiving leftovers where I stuffed myself yet again. That's another thing I love about Thanksgiving -- the leftovers. Isn't it great to walk into the kitchen at any given moment and know that a whole smorgasbord of all of your favorite foods awaits? Haha...smorgasbord....that word just makes me laugh for some reason. :)

So, another Thanksgiving has come and gone. Now, it's full speed ahead to Christmas!

An Early Start

Every year, retailers push Christmas on us a little earlier. And every year, I complain about it. Ever heard of a holiday called T-h-a-n-k-s-g-i-v-i-n-g? Yes, I realize Thanksgiving may not be as big of a money maker as Christmas (except for grocery stores), but, c'mon. It's the pre-cursor to Christmas. It's the holiday that gets us thinking about family and friends and how much we love them. It's the holiday that makes us stop and think about how blessed we truly are...about how God has graciously given us so much. Counting our blessings leads us into the Christmas spirit. It makes us want to give back. God has blessed us with so much, why shouldn't we want to bless others? We need to take note and recognize this special holiday for what it is, giving thanks to God for all that we have and all He has done in our lives.


That being said........I've actually found myself "pushing" Christmas this year...just a little. I guess I'm just ready. Now, don't get me wrong. I am ALL ABOUT Thanksgiving. We are not forgetting Thanksgiving at our house. All month long, Jacob, Annabelle and I have been talking about Thanksgiving -- turkeys, pilgrims, Indians (Squanto, in particular), the Mayflower, being thankful, traditional Thanksgiving foods, etc... We LOVE Thanksgiving. But for some reason, I just couldn't wait to put up the Christmas tree.


So, our tree is up and decorated. It's the earliest it's ever been up at our house. I usually wait until the Thanksgiving festivities are over, but not this year. We set it up over the weekend and added decorations yesterday. I thought it might be fun for Jacob and Annabelle to help decorate, so I pulled out all the boxes of decorations and waited for naptime to end. Jacob was very enthusiastic about trimming the tree and immediately tore open boxes searching for his favorite ornaments to hang on the bare branches. Annabelle.....well......Annabelle's enthusiasm rivaled Jacob's, but she didn't care anything about hanging ornaments on that silly tree.



First, she dumped out several storage containers -- red, green, and silver Christmas balls...everywhere. Then she began taking them apart, one by one, removing the hooks and throwing them onto the floor where they got lost in the carpet. I attempted to divert her attention by showing her an ornament. She walked over to the Christmas tree and I taught her how to properly place an ornament on a branch. Jacob gave her a little lesson as well. Annabelle immediately ripped several ornaments off the tree and took off down the hall, laughing and squealing with delight. As I chased her through the house, hoping I could salvage at least a couple ornaments before they were destroyed, Jacob took off after me. "ANNABELLE!!!!!! WHY are you MESSING UP Christmas???" he yelled. "Can't you just be HAPPY???" My frustration level was at its peak, but hearing the complete exasperation in Jacob's voice made me giggle. His sister was "messing up Christmas" and he was going to do something about it!


As the afternoon progressed, the situation only got worse. Annabelle was dead-set on pulling off every ornament within her reach and Jacob was on a personal quest to save Christmas. The tone at our house was less like Christmas and more like World War III. After Annabelle climbed up onto the counter and broke the lid to my cherished snack jar (it came from my grandparents' house), I decided to call it a night...in terms of decorating. Whew.


As I swept up a million tiny shards of glass from the kitchen floor (the remains of my snack jar lid) and Jacob cried because "...now we don't have anything to keep our snacks in!", I debated even putting out anymore of our Christmas decorations. The tree has lights. Does it really need anything else? What about that Nativity set? Maybe it should just stay in the box this year. And that glass snowman platter? There's no way I'm setting that on the counter.


Well, today was a new day. I got up early and put the finishing touches on the tree. Jacob helped. Let's get real. Having a Christmas tree with no decorations was out of the question. I set up the nativity and put out that snowman platter (along with several other things). Annabelle slept until almost 11:00 this morning, allowing me plenty of time to decorate and store away all the now empty containers, not to mention, pick up all the hooks that she threw all over the floor.


Jacob couldn't wait to show his sister what we had done. He couldn't wait for her to see all the decorations, but he was also worried she would "mess up Christmas" again. Much to his surprise (and mine), we are well into the afternoon, and "Christmas" is still intact. A couple ornaments have disappeared throughout the day; we had a minor incident with some Christmas bears; and the time out corner has been visited several times......but don't worry, Jacob. Christmas is NOT messed up!


Besides.....it's not time for Christmas...yet. It's Thanksgiving. REMEMBER??? :)