Since the children were small, we have decorated a lighted garland with 24 treat filled mittens to use as a countdown to Christmas morning. Every January, the children give their leftover candies to a sibling. This year, while the middle child explained to me what he currently does and does not like to eat, the […]
My siblings and I exchange homemade gifts every Christmas. It is much more fun than trying to shop for the perfect thing with a limited budget. This year, Doug made wind chimes and I made cat toys. Last year we made decorative bottle lights and paired them with a matching unopened bottle of adult beverage. […]
Every year, I ask the children to make wish lists. The wish lists vary greatly in usefulness when holiday shopping. They are also priceless captures of each child’s personality at that moment in time. The 10-y-o’s list is a compilation of whatever he is currently playing with and any commercial he has recently seen. The […]
Because I wandered aimlessly from chore to chore yesterday, the tree takedown took the entire day. I removed the ornaments and wandered off to load the dishwasher. I pulled the light strings down and sat down to fold a few baskets of laundry. I separated the tree sections and went to organize the kitchen pantry. […]
Last year, it was clear that Evan was wise to the Santa game, but he didn’t say anything too obvious. Maybe he was hedging his bets just in case. All of his older siblings reached an age where they went from believing to playing along without any acknowledgement of the change. This year, Evan is […]
Three days before Christmas, our basement flooded. Since the gifts were sorted into plastic bags instead of wrapped, no gifts were lost in the flood. Our bedroom furniture is probably ruined, but that’s okay since all we really need in our room is a mattress that floats during flood season. Two days before Christmas, I […]
Actual phone conversation: Her: “I seriously need to finish the crafting and shopping today.” Him: “Why? Christmas isn’t until Wednesday.” Her: Her: “Christmas is Tuesday.” Him: “No, it’s not. Stop messing with me…” Him: Him: I seriously need to start my shopping today.”
Dear, Santa For Christmas I would like a Friends Lego House, a Magna Color Dots 3-D thingamabob, art canvases and paints and lots and lots of DUCKTAPE!!! That is all that I wish for this Christmas. As usual I would like for the rest to be surprises. I would like to ask for my family […]
For an assortment of reasons, we will no longer be doing a Christmas card picture. The pictures, and the photo session attached to each and every one, are priceless memories to me. Thank you for allowing me to share those moments in time.