Merry Christmas 2011

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas! 

We will be celebrating the birth of Christ...remembering that He showed up in the most unexpected way.  And, celebrating that He continues to "show up" in our lives everyday. 

Christmas is coming...kind of.

Christmas is my favorite time of the year.  It's magical!  I like Thanksgiving too, but mostly just because it marks the day when I can start the Christmas festivities.

We visited with Santa, and much to my surprise delight, everyone made the "nice" list again this year! Natalie still wasn't sure of the big guy, but she didn't scream in terror this year, so we call that a win.  And, as you can see, she was even willing to stand near his chair.   The boys rattled off their Christmas wishes, and Santa is so cool that he didn't ask for hugs, but instead gave them "knucks."  Luke told me that he was looking really close, and when he saw that Santa's beard was real, he knew that it was actually Santa! 

Our tree is up, and well protected from the little hands that are constantly pawing at it.  It is also tied to the wall with fishing line...doesn't everyone that has kids do this?  I was shocked to learn that they don't.  Oh well!  We'll see who's laughing in the end.  Aaron could do a trapeze act from a branch on our tree and that sucker isn't going over.

My Christmas decorating and festivities came to a screeching halt on the day that I bent down to fix the baby gate and noticed water trickling out of a downstairs electrical outlet...Panic..Panic..Panic.  I ran upstairs to find a small pool of water coming from behind the kids' toilet and obviously running down the wall, which happens to come down into the kitchen.  And that's where I noticed that the hardwood floors were warping, and I knew the fun had just begun.  Let's just say that our house has been completely torn apart, and is in the slow process of getting put back together.  Hopefully by Christmas, it will be back to normal.  Not that cooking on a single burner hotplate isn't fun, cause it is, but I'd love to have my kitchen island, actually in my kitchen.

So, in honor of this holiday event, I wrote a poem...

Twas the season of Christmas and all through our house

water was falling, first a drip, then a douse. 

The plastic sheeting was hung by the ceiling with care

In hopes that the contractor soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While the droning of fans swirled dust 'round their heads.

And daddy was calling to file a claim

While I canceled all plans for us to entertain.

Out came the ceilings, the bathroom, the floors,

The kitchen, the pantry, the carpet, the doors.

So instead of decorating with lights and the glitz,

I booked a few nights for us to stay at the Ritz. 

The insurance adjuster  came to look at the scene

And wasted no time letting us know what kind of idiots we might be. 

But what to my wondering eyes did I find

A check to cover the damages arrived just in time.

So, our season will be filled with our traditions and fun,

But the decorating scheme is a slightly new one. 

Drywall and sanding and many repairs

Are happening all over the up and downstairs

So instead of a gift that comes from Fred Meyer,

I'll have some new hardwood floors to admire.  

We like to keep life interesting, and live without regret.

But, the year of the leaky toilet, we’d like to forget.


***I'm not really a poetry kind of girl, so I hope you see the humor in this!

Merry Christmas 2010...

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas! 


We will be celebrating the birth of Christ...remembering that he showed up in the most unexpected way. And, celebrating that he continues to "show up" in our lives everyday. 

***Just in case you're wondering...this is our Christmas card for this year.  It looks strangely similar to my blog header...that's because once I created the card, I liked it so much I had to make it the header.  My creativity only goes so far!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...

Don't you love Christmas?  If you don't, go away, and don't ever come back....kidding...mostly!

We decorated our Christmas tree, which is one of my favorite traditions.  We always get a Noble, and even though I don't like stringing the lights on the tree, you won't find an artificial tree in our house anytime soon.  The smell of our tree is amazing and I love the way it greets me every time I walk in the front door.

This year Aaron added a train under our tree.  It's been fun watching the boys learn to "drive" it, and they play tackle interference anytime they even think Natalie might be trying to knock it off the track.  That's not as fun, but I appreciate their dedication.

This year I have seen several gorgeous trees that are decorated with a theme, beautiful ornaments and decorations, etc.   That's NOT our tree.

Our tree is a trip down memory lane.  It's kind of like Christmas-past threw up on it.  And while I add some ribbon, beads, and white lights to try to "class it up" a little, it really is a reflection of the things we love.   Aaron and I both have our childhood ornaments.  And our children receive, and make ornaments every year.  So, our tree is over-flowing with beloved things from the past and present.

I especially love the way our kids proudly hang their ornaments in the front of the tree (in a clump of course.)  And if you come over, get ready for a tour of the kids' favorite ornaments.

Speaking of favorites...here are few of mine that caught my eye this evening.

This sweet ornament is Natalie's from last year.
It was the last year I got to choose what she "liked."  2010 brings
an obnoxious Dora ornament...and she LOVES it!

This is the 4th time this ornament has graced our tree!  My mom
found this and gave it to me when I was pregnant with Luke.
I love that she is holding an ice cream cone with a pickle in it.

I might not say this is one of my "favorites."  But it was given to me in 1977 and
I love that it still graces my tree.

I'm posting this one with my sister in mind.  We were each given one of these by a "great aunt"
that wasn't actually related to us.  It has to be one of the ugliest ornaments EVER made.
It's hard to tell, but it's a plastic plant, inside a plastic prism, hung with an old pink curling ribbon.
I smile every year when I hang it on the tree. 

Aaron's mom gave me 12 of these ornaments and I treasure them.  Each ornament has a different name for God written in Hebrew on the front and English on the back.   They are filled with white feathers.  Like I said, I treasure them!

There are so many others.  I could go on and on and on.  What are your some of your favorites on your tree?  Create a post on your blog or Facebook and let me know. I'd want to see them!