I expected this December to be as busy as ever, but surprisingly our calendar has not been too full at all. There was one less Christmas party to attend because I'm not working anymore and a few things got canceled because the boys have been sick most of the month. It's been a lot slower than I anticipated and I think that's okay!
We spent the first weekend of the month in Petaluma. Chris had a programing conference to attend for two days so we tagged along. Another friend of ours was attending the same conference so his wife and kids also came along. Beth and I spent the days with our friend Leah (and her daughter) who bought a house there this year. We never get to spend that much time together so two days of just hanging out was awesome. The kids were there too and did really well for the most part. The guys stayed with the kids in the evenings so we had two girls nights too -- no kids! Honestly, it felt like a friend-vacation in the best way. Petaluma was having their Christmas festivities around town so we enjoyed a horse and carriage ride, fake snow, classic Christmas music and a fire so delightful.
(when mom gets in the picture)
On December 1, we started our advent calendar. I had stayed up late the night before finishing it . . . well actually I only finished the first 10 days! The rest of it got done on December 10. I made envelopes out of Christmas scrapbook paper and put slips of paper inside with a daily reading out of the Jesus Storybook Bible and then an activity to do together. Some of the activities were regular things like "go to the library" but I added "and get 3 books about Christmas" and others were special outings or projects like "see the Zoolights" which got canceled because we had a scheduling conflict. We made peanut butter cups to give to friends, we sang songs, we colored a Christmas tree cutout on the wall. Decorating sugar cookies with a friend got canceled because we were sick and so did another outing.
William actually loves our little calendar. And asks every morning if we can read our Bible story! I'm glad he's getting it this year. Last year we read the entire Bible multiple times in the month of December because he didn't understand the "one story a day" idea. (Not complaining, really!) He also likes the little activities we've done so far. Stephen doesn't really notice what's going on yet.
We debated for a while whether we should get a tree or not. We knew it would be challenging with our limited space and our over-active toddler. And we're traveling this year for Christmas so was it worth it? We decided not to. I unpacked a few decorations and hung up the Christmas stockings. And it just wasn't good enough. It felt weird. We went a few more days without a tree and then we decided it was worth it. We didn't get a 6 ft tree as we are used to doing. Instead we got a little 4 foot one and it was perfect! It fit in our space and changed the whole feeling of our home. And then after we put our ornaments on it, Stephen ran straight into it and knocked it down. He was really scared and cried while Chris
patiently put it all back together again. Then he reconfigured our baby gate around it. (Not exactly the holiday feel I was hoping for, but I still love it.)
William's preschool had a Christmas program on December 6. He was really excited and kept telling me about the songs they were practicing to sing to the parents. We got all dressed up and brought homemade cookies for the potluck. As the program started I could tell I had missed something. All the kids were wearing Santa hats or reindeer hats . . . except William. The teacher handed him an extra one and all was well. They sang "Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer" and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" with such cheer and happiness, it was really fun to watch! Somehow William always gets a kid to stand in front of him so we never actually get to see him sing, but I know he was there!
And then Santa appeared with a huge bag full of gifts. The kids sat down and waited patiently for Santa to call their name and get their presents. Again, I felt like I missed something. All the packages were different shapes and sizes so this wasn't a "teacher-funded" gift . . . oh no. Santa's bag emptied and said "That's everyone! Merry Christmas." A teacher looked at me and said "Didn't you bring something?" I shook my head and mouthed "nope." Another mom had brought an extra present so Santa quickly grabbed it and declared it to be Williams! (Whew! Thank you Super-Mom!) The teacher later came up to me and said, "Didn't you receive a note from us last week?" I said "No . . . but let me guess, I was supposed to bring a hat and a present!" She looked at me very apologetically and said, "Yeah, I thought we got the notes to everyone!" William loved his toy car from Santa and I don't think realized anything was amiss. The program really did go well and all was fine in the end. But I could not stop thinking about it. How could I screw this up!! (And I didn't even know about it . . . so clearly I don't blame myself . . . except I do.)
A friend of mine heard me share this story and said, "You know, this will not be the only time you miss something." And has hard as that is to accept, I know it will be true. And I need to be okay with that. I can't have everything all together all the time . . . cause even when I think I do, apparently there were a few things I didn't know about!
Last Friday we all went to Chris's work Christmas party. I was told families and kids were invited but we were the only ones that showed up. So, we didn't get to meet wives/kids as I had hoped. It was still a great party and the kids did really well through the whole evening.
On Sunday, the kids sang during the church service. "Go Tell it on the Mountain" and "Jesus is Born." William does really well singing. It reminds me of how much I enjoyed singing in Sunday School and church!
That about does it for the month-long celebration leading up to Christmas! We fly out to MN on Friday and I'm just praying the boys get healthy and stay that way for the rest of the year!
I expected this December to be as busy as ever, but surprisingly our calendar has not been too full at all. There was one less Christmas party to attend because I'm not working anymore and a few things got canceled because the boys have been sick most of the month. It's been a lot slower than I anticipated and I think that's okay!
We spent the first weekend of the month in Petaluma. Chris had a programing conference to attend for two days so we tagged along. Another friend of ours was attending the same conference so his wife and kids also came along. Beth and I spent the days with our friend Leah (and her daughter) who bought a house there this year. We never get to spend that much time together so two days of just hanging out was awesome. The kids were there too and did really well for the most part. The guys stayed with the kids in the evenings so we had two girls nights too -- no kids! Honestly, it felt like a friend-vacation in the best way. Petaluma was having their Christmas festivities around town so we enjoyed a horse and carriage ride, fake snow, classic Christmas music and a fire so delightful.
(when mom gets in the picture)
On December 1, we started our advent calendar. I had stayed up late the night before finishing it . . . well actually I only finished the first 10 days! The rest of it got done on December 10. I made envelopes out of Christmas scrapbook paper and put slips of paper inside with a daily reading out of the Jesus Storybook Bible and then an activity to do together. Some of the activities were regular things like "go to the library" but I added "and get 3 books about Christmas" and others were special outings or projects like "see the Zoolights" which got canceled because we had a scheduling conflict. We made peanut butter cups to give to friends, we sang songs, we colored a Christmas tree cutout on the wall. Decorating sugar cookies with a friend got canceled because we were sick and so did another outing.
William actually loves our little calendar. And asks every morning if we can read our Bible story! I'm glad he's getting it this year. Last year we read the entire Bible multiple times in the month of December because he didn't understand the "one story a day" idea. (Not complaining, really!) He also likes the little activities we've done so far. Stephen doesn't really notice what's going on yet.
We debated for a while whether we should get a tree or not. We knew it would be challenging with our limited space and our over-active toddler. And we're traveling this year for Christmas so was it worth it? We decided not to. I unpacked a few decorations and hung up the Christmas stockings. And it just wasn't good enough. It felt weird. We went a few more days without a tree and then we decided it was worth it. We didn't get a 6 ft tree as we are used to doing. Instead we got a little 4 foot one and it was perfect! It fit in our space and changed the whole feeling of our home. And then after we put our ornaments on it, Stephen ran straight into it and knocked it down. He was really scared and cried while Chris
patiently put it all back together again. Then he reconfigured our baby gate around it. (Not exactly the holiday feel I was hoping for, but I still love it.)
William's preschool had a Christmas program on December 6. He was really excited and kept telling me about the songs they were practicing to sing to the parents. We got all dressed up and brought homemade cookies for the potluck. As the program started I could tell I had missed something. All the kids were wearing Santa hats or reindeer hats . . . except William. The teacher handed him an extra one and all was well. They sang "Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer" and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" with such cheer and happiness, it was really fun to watch! Somehow William always gets a kid to stand in front of him so we never actually get to see him sing, but I know he was there!
And then Santa appeared with a huge bag full of gifts. The kids sat down and waited patiently for Santa to call their name and get their presents. Again, I felt like I missed something. All the packages were different shapes and sizes so this wasn't a "teacher-funded" gift . . . oh no. Santa's bag emptied and said "That's everyone! Merry Christmas." A teacher looked at me and said "Didn't you bring something?" I shook my head and mouthed "nope." Another mom had brought an extra present so Santa quickly grabbed it and declared it to be Williams! (Whew! Thank you Super-Mom!) The teacher later came up to me and said, "Didn't you receive a note from us last week?" I said "No . . . but let me guess, I was supposed to bring a hat and a present!" She looked at me very apologetically and said, "Yeah, I thought we got the notes to everyone!" William loved his toy car from Santa and I don't think realized anything was amiss. The program really did go well and all was fine in the end. But I could not stop thinking about it. How could I screw this up!! (And I didn't even know about it . . . so clearly I don't blame myself . . . except I do.)
A friend of mine heard me share this story and said, "You know, this will not be the only time you miss something." And has hard as that is to accept, I know it will be true. And I need to be okay with that. I can't have everything all together all the time . . . cause even when I think I do, apparently there were a few things I didn't know about!
Last Friday we all went to Chris's work Christmas party. I was told families and kids were invited but we were the only ones that showed up. So, we didn't get to meet wives/kids as I had hoped. It was still a great party and the kids did really well through the whole evening.
On Sunday, the kids sang during the church service. "Go Tell it on the Mountain" and "Jesus is Born." William does really well singing. It reminds me of how much I enjoyed singing in Sunday School and church!
That about does it for the month-long celebration leading up to Christmas! We fly out to MN on Friday and I'm just praying the boys get healthy and stay that way for the rest of the year!
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