Merry Christmas 2009

Our standard format, State of Our Union Christmas letter (categories change over the years) for the EIGHTH year!

(Which I am flattered to add, have had a few friends copy for their own Christmas letters.)

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Honesty

To make kind of a long story short...

An old friend recently put as a status update on Facebook, that she was decorating gingerbread ornaments with her children. Though I did not comment on her status, her sister did. Her sister's comment was something along the lines of it making her feel not as good of a mom. I thought the EXACT SAME THING!

WHY DO WE DO THAT?

I love reading this old friend's blog. She is beautiful, a fabulous writer, has a gorgeous family, takes beautiful photos, etc. etc. etc. Sometimes I fall into that thinking trap, "Oh she has it all together."

WHY DO WE DO THAT?

Well, in response to her sister's Facebook comment, my friend did a whole blog post confessing her inadequacies as a mother. It is very well written. So true. So honest. I laughed at some, I almost teared up at others. Her honesty was so real.

It really got me thinking...

Just last week, I had somebody say to me,

"I want my family to be just like yours one day."

I smiled, and graciously accepted the compliment.
Who.Am.I.Kidding?

So, in the true spirit of mothers sticking together, I, like my friend will be a little bit honest. Here is a small sample of last week and then you can really see if you want your family to be like mine one day.

Here you go.

-While playing a game with the children, tweak the money just a bit so mom will soon lose and game will soon end...

-Figure whilst crawling around on the floor, the baby got enough crumbs leftover from last nights meal that it will replace the need to feed him breakfast

-Dig fingernails slightly into child's hand for added effect while dragging child to their room.

-Ignore seven phone calls from children during a Stake Conference meeting...

-Upon arrival home, find out reason for seven missed phone calls, because middle child pulling down underwear and dancing

-Only reason shower finally got cleaned after SIX WEEKS was because child tells me "it looks really gross and really needs to be cleaned"

-D#@$ it could be heard loudly, repeated three times as dirty socks left on the stairs were thrown at guilty child...

-Evening dinner: cheese and crackers

-Tell husband to shut up while he is doing a favor for me

-Feel slight disappointment instead of sheer joy(?) when baby's nap-time is over.

-Allowed two-year old to eat five candy canes in a row before 9:30am

Now. Do you really want your family to be just like mine one day?

Kudos to my friend for so bravely being honest. Women need to be honest far more often. No matter what image we might be trying to portray, none of us have it ALL together!

(Keep up the GOOD work mothers.)

Nostalgia

The Christmas season always makes me think of Christmases of the past. Specifically, Christmases as a child. My Christmas memories are filled with joy, happiness, tenderness and excitement. I was blessed to have magical Christmases, and find myself hoping I am instilling these same memories in my own children.

Christmas time especially makes me think of loved ones no longer with us. I have found myself on several occasions already this holiday season, blinking away tears as I think of them. I thought aloud to my mother the other day, how I wish we could blend past and current generations together. (...one day...)

Nostalgia:

"a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one's life, to one's home or homeland, or to one's family and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time:"

So in my current state of nostalgia, I will return in thought to Christmases past.

*Shopping in the high street with one parent then switching.

*Loving the Band Aid song and Dad buying it on record for me and my brother, Matt.

*Making Christmas crackers with Granny

*Having The Brains over for Christmas Night

*Looking out my brother's bedroom window and KNOWING I saw the lights of a sleigh.

*Always sleeping in the same room as my brother on Christmas Eve

*Granny riding my new bike in the front garden

*Feeling the weight of a filled stocking at the foot of my bed

*Granny snoring on the couch while we played with our Christmas treasures

*A tin of Quality Street under the tree

*Christmas card table at the church

*Mary and Joseph Journey to Bethlehem Advent

These are just a few of my random, favorite Christmas memories. ...Makes me wonder what my children will remember most about Christmas...

What do you remember most?

Happy Day

My baby brother has a baby!!!!

One by one as my kids woke up, I showed them this photo on my computer.

Megan's response was a little dance and a squeal.

Luke's response was a puzzled 'who is that' followed by a big smile as he figured it out.

Joshua's response to Luke telling him it was 'Annie' was "No, it is Dewie."

Ellie's response was a big grin followed by, "Oh, Cousin Baby"

Welcome to the world Baby Annie!!!!

Hungry AND Cold

When a family is used to a homecooked breakfast each weekend, Fast Sunday is not a pleasant day at our house. This being the first Fast Sunday since Luke's baptism, we asked Luke to please participate.

He was not happy. He was MAD! His reaction, in the 'Luke tone of voice' was,

"Fine. If I have to fast, then I'm going outside to shovel the snow."

He was out there for a long time. I went out to check on him to make sure he hadn't frozen to death. (It was 8:30am and well below freezing.)

Now, I know it wasn't a major snowstorm, but still...when I went outside, our driveway was shoveled, the next door neighbor's driveway was shoveled, the sidewalks were shoveled and he was on the second neighbor's house.


I just chuckled, grabbed my camera and thought,

"What a good kid!"

Big deal if he doesn't put his whole heart into fasting when he's eight...

I don't know a single other eight year old kid that would shovel four driveways and the sidewalks at 8:30am in the FREEZING cold without being asked.

And his reward?

When he returned inside, freezing and cold, his mother refused his request for a cup of hot chocolate.

(I'm still second-guessing that motherly decision!?!?)

The Day Is Done

A tipped over Christmas tree...
Meeting with principal and school teacher...
Only 'clean' pants for two year old to wear came from dirty clothes hamper...
Major temper tantrum by child...
Five hour headache...
Piano lamp fell and burned piano teacher...
Crying on six separate occasions...
Phone call that I forgot to send an important email...
Two year old did not take nap...
Computer with PTA information broken...
Two hour dentist appointment...
Dinner eaten standing up...
School lunch balance in the red...


Somebody please tell me tomorrow can only be better.

Ten Little Feet

This is what we found under our Christmas tree this morning.

New socks.

As Luke says, "It's the first day of Christmas!"

December is Christmas!
Merry December.