No, no. That's just a flour spot on our Thai chicken pizza crust tonight....
No, no. That's just a white piece of lint in her hair....
No, no. That's just bird poop on the sidewalk.
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54 Month Clinic - 4 1/2 Years in Remission
10 years ago
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Is that a flake I see?
No, no. That's just a flour spot on our Thai chicken pizza crust tonight....
No, no. That's just a white piece of lint in her hair....
No, no. That's just bird poop on the sidewalk.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Hair Styles by Heather
Somehow I never published this back in October....
One of my girls' most favorite parts about cool Aunt Heather coming to visit is her awesome hairstyling talent. She's seriously the best tax attorney / braider you've ever met...
She even got Ellie's wispy hair into beautiful braids...
My girls have to take advantage when Heather comes to town, since I do NOT have the patience for this kind of detail...
Thanks Aunt Aitch!
One of my girls' most favorite parts about cool Aunt Heather coming to visit is her awesome hairstyling talent. She's seriously the best tax attorney / braider you've ever met...
She even got Ellie's wispy hair into beautiful braids...
My girls have to take advantage when Heather comes to town, since I do NOT have the patience for this kind of detail...
Sunday, January 9, 2011
A Glimpse into a Typical Family Home Evening...
Who's in charge of conducting? 5-minute discussion about who did it last week compared to what the job chart says.
Executive Decision: Mommy's turn.
Welcome, song choosing: 2 kids dancing to "High on the Mountaintop"
1 person accusing another of "stealing" their song.
Lesson: Given by Mommy and Daddy, based on sacrament meeting topic of "Reverence"
1 person stomps out of room crying because we won't let her page through the Friend magazine during the lesson.
1 person argues about how sporting a mohawk could possibly reflect on someone's personal reverence. Good thing the whole argument was only hypothetical.
1 person forcefully pushes brother out of way to make room for dog.
1 person keeps wandering out of the room randomly.
1 person curls up in my lap and continually tells me how tired she is.
2 people have a slight difference of opinion on what the focus of the lesson should be.
4 people (3 pictured) sprawled out in whatever position they deem most comfortable.
<Sigh>
*************
And that's why I'm feeling a tad bit hypocritical to be teaching an Enrichment night on family home evenings this week.
On the bright side, our quality may be fleeting sometimes, but consistency we've got down...and that's got to count for something.
**************
"Each family prayer, each episode of family scripture study, and each family home evening is a brushstroke on the canvas of our souls. No one event may appear to be very impressive or memorable. But just as the yellow and gold and brown strokes of paint complement each other and produce an impressive masterpiece, so our consistency in doing seemingly small things can lead to significant spiritual results. “Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great” (D&C 64:33). Consistency is a key principle as we lay the foundation of a great work in our individual lives and as we become more diligent and concerned in our own homes." Elder David A. Bednar
************
Executive Decision: Mommy's turn.
Welcome, song choosing: 2 kids dancing to "High on the Mountaintop"
1 person accusing another of "stealing" their song.
Lesson: Given by Mommy and Daddy, based on sacrament meeting topic of "Reverence"
1 person stomps out of room crying because we won't let her page through the Friend magazine during the lesson.
1 person argues about how sporting a mohawk could possibly reflect on someone's personal reverence. Good thing the whole argument was only hypothetical.
1 person forcefully pushes brother out of way to make room for dog.
1 person keeps wandering out of the room randomly.
1 person curls up in my lap and continually tells me how tired she is.
2 people have a slight difference of opinion on what the focus of the lesson should be.
4 people (3 pictured) sprawled out in whatever position they deem most comfortable.
<Sigh>
*************
And that's why I'm feeling a tad bit hypocritical to be teaching an Enrichment night on family home evenings this week.
On the bright side, our quality may be fleeting sometimes, but consistency we've got down...and that's got to count for something.
**************
"Each family prayer, each episode of family scripture study, and each family home evening is a brushstroke on the canvas of our souls. No one event may appear to be very impressive or memorable. But just as the yellow and gold and brown strokes of paint complement each other and produce an impressive masterpiece, so our consistency in doing seemingly small things can lead to significant spiritual results. “Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great” (D&C 64:33). Consistency is a key principle as we lay the foundation of a great work in our individual lives and as we become more diligent and concerned in our own homes." Elder David A. Bednar
************
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Start at the Bottom
˙ʇɥƃıu ʍoɹɹoɯoʇ ʞɔılɟ ʞɔıɥɔ ʎsǝǝɥɔ ʎllɐǝɹ ɐ ɥɔʇɐʍ uɐɔ ǝʍ os 'ʇǝq ǝɥʇ uıʍ ı ʇɐɥʇ ǝdoɥ puɐ ǝɯɐƃ llɐqʇǝʞsɐq ʌlun-nʎq ƃıq ǝɥʇ sǝɥɔʇɐʍ uǝlƃ ǝlıɥʍ ƃolq ʇsnɾ ll,ı ssǝnƃ ı
˙ʍou sʇɹnɥ ɟo puıʞ pɐǝɥ ʎɯ ˙oƃ ɐʇʇoƃ ı ¡puıɯ ɹǝʌǝu
¡¡¡¡plɹoʍ ǝɥʇ ɹǝnbuoɔ uɐɔ ı ˙ʎpɐǝɹlɐ ɹǝʇnɔ puɐ ɹǝʇɹɐɯs lǝǝɟ ı ˙ƃuıʇɐuǝʌnɾǝɹ ǝɹɐ sllǝɔ uıɐɹq ʎɯ˙˙˙˙ɥɐǝʎ ɥo
˙ƃuıɥʇǝɯos ɟo ʞuıɥʇ ǝɯ dlǝɥ llıʍ uıɐɹq ʎɯ oʇ poolq ǝɹoɯ ǝlʇʇıl ɐ ǝqʎɐɯ˙˙˙˙ɯɯɯɯɯɥ ˙pooƃ ʎllɐǝɹ ƃuıɥʇǝɯos ˙ǝɹoɯ ƃuıɥʇǝɯos ǝlʇʇıl ɐ pǝǝu llıʇs ı ʇnq
(ǝuo sıɥʇ uıʍ oʇ ƃuıoƃ ɯ,ı ǝɹns ʎʇʇǝɹd ɯ,ı) ˙ʞǝǝʍ ʇxǝu ǝɥʇ ɹoɟ ǝʇoɯǝɹ ǝɥʇ sloɹʇuoɔ sn ɟo ɥɔıɥʍ sǝʌloʌuı ʇɐɥʇ ʇǝq ɐ ɥʇıʍ 'ʇı pıp ı os ˙spuǝıɹɟ ʎɥs ʇuǝɯɯoɔ sıɥ ɯoɹɟ sʇuǝɯɯoɔ 0⇂ uǝʌǝ ʇǝƃ uɐɔ ǝɥ ɟı ǝǝs puɐ ʞooqǝɔɐɟ uo snʇɐʇs s,uǝlƃ ǝʇɐpdn ll,ı 'ǝɯ uo pǝuʍɐp ʇı uǝɥʇ
˙ɹoɟ ƃuıʞool sɐʍ ı ʇɐɥʍ ɹoɟ ǝlqɐʇɔıpǝɹd ooʇ ǝlʇʇıl ɐ sɐʍ ʇı 'ǝɯ ɹoɟ lɐnsnun ǝq plnoʍ ɹǝɥʇıǝ ǝlıɥʍ ʇɐɥʇ pǝpıɔǝp ʇnq 'uǝɥɔʇıʞ ǝɥʇ ƃuıddoɯ ɹo ǝuop ɹıɐɥ ʎɯ ƃuıʇʇǝƃ ʇnoqɐ ʇɥƃnoɥʇ ı ˙ʇuǝɹǝɟɟıp ƃuıɥʇǝɯos ʎɹʇ oʇ ɥɔʇı uɐ ʇǝƃ ʇsnɾ ı ǝlıɥʍ ɐ uı ǝɔuo ʎɹǝʌǝ
˙ʍou sʇɹnɥ ɟo puıʞ pɐǝɥ ʎɯ ˙oƃ ɐʇʇoƃ ı ¡puıɯ ɹǝʌǝu
¡¡¡¡plɹoʍ ǝɥʇ ɹǝnbuoɔ uɐɔ ı ˙ʎpɐǝɹlɐ ɹǝʇnɔ puɐ ɹǝʇɹɐɯs lǝǝɟ ı ˙ƃuıʇɐuǝʌnɾǝɹ ǝɹɐ sllǝɔ uıɐɹq ʎɯ˙˙˙˙ɥɐǝʎ ɥo
˙ƃuıɥʇǝɯos ɟo ʞuıɥʇ ǝɯ dlǝɥ llıʍ uıɐɹq ʎɯ oʇ poolq ǝɹoɯ ǝlʇʇıl ɐ ǝqʎɐɯ˙˙˙˙ɯɯɯɯɯɥ ˙pooƃ ʎllɐǝɹ ƃuıɥʇǝɯos ˙ǝɹoɯ ƃuıɥʇǝɯos ǝlʇʇıl ɐ pǝǝu llıʇs ı ʇnq
(ǝuo sıɥʇ uıʍ oʇ ƃuıoƃ ɯ,ı ǝɹns ʎʇʇǝɹd ɯ,ı) ˙ʞǝǝʍ ʇxǝu ǝɥʇ ɹoɟ ǝʇoɯǝɹ ǝɥʇ sloɹʇuoɔ sn ɟo ɥɔıɥʍ sǝʌloʌuı ʇɐɥʇ ʇǝq ɐ ɥʇıʍ 'ʇı pıp ı os ˙spuǝıɹɟ ʎɥs ʇuǝɯɯoɔ sıɥ ɯoɹɟ sʇuǝɯɯoɔ 0⇂ uǝʌǝ ʇǝƃ uɐɔ ǝɥ ɟı ǝǝs puɐ ʞooqǝɔɐɟ uo snʇɐʇs s,uǝlƃ ǝʇɐpdn ll,ı 'ǝɯ uo pǝuʍɐp ʇı uǝɥʇ
˙ɹoɟ ƃuıʞool sɐʍ ı ʇɐɥʍ ɹoɟ ǝlqɐʇɔıpǝɹd ooʇ ǝlʇʇıl ɐ sɐʍ ʇı 'ǝɯ ɹoɟ lɐnsnun ǝq plnoʍ ɹǝɥʇıǝ ǝlıɥʍ ʇɐɥʇ pǝpıɔǝp ʇnq 'uǝɥɔʇıʞ ǝɥʇ ƃuıddoɯ ɹo ǝuop ɹıɐɥ ʎɯ ƃuıʇʇǝƃ ʇnoqɐ ʇɥƃnoɥʇ ı ˙ʇuǝɹǝɟɟıp ƃuıɥʇǝɯos ʎɹʇ oʇ ɥɔʇı uɐ ʇǝƃ ʇsnɾ ı ǝlıɥʍ ɐ uı ǝɔuo ʎɹǝʌǝ
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
***
The mission: Make this garbage bag full of old important papers disappear from our bedroom.
The options:
1. Spend hours and hours hovered over an obnoxiously loud paper shredder that overheats every 20 minutes or so.
OR
2. BURN THEM!!!!!
So we chose option #2 and made a fun day out of it. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows to glorious perfection. Ran, climbed, and chased. Ate s'mores. Got covered in mud. Explored in the woods. And burned our entire bag of papers to a pile of worthless ashes.
Then we went home and slept in our own beds...which made it the best camping trip....EVER!
Mission Accomplished!
The mission: Make this garbage bag full of old important papers disappear from our bedroom.
The options:
1. Spend hours and hours hovered over an obnoxiously loud paper shredder that overheats every 20 minutes or so.
OR
2. BURN THEM!!!!!
So we chose option #2 and made a fun day out of it. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows to glorious perfection. Ran, climbed, and chased. Ate s'mores. Got covered in mud. Explored in the woods. And burned our entire bag of papers to a pile of worthless ashes.
Then we went home and slept in our own beds...which made it the best camping trip....EVER!
Mission Accomplished!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
A Real Life Story of Sweetness Gone Too Far
Once upon a time there was a woman who got an idea in her head that although her family had been making and enjoying graham cracker gingerbread houses for years, that it was time to become a real woman and bake gingerbread from scratch. A week of being snowed in right around Christmas last year provided the perfect opportunity to try it. It was fun. Everyone liked it.
This Christmas vacation she decided to try again. Never mind that this year they were not snowed in so instead of leisurely days at home, her days were being spent as a chauffeur, errand runner, housemaid, and really lousy Mario Kart driver.
As she raced through entire bags of flour and molasses by the quart, she soon realized that the gingerbread baking squeezed in between picking Spencer up, refereeing another quarrel, trying to make dinner, and dropping Cami off, just wasn't as much fun as she had remembered it being.
By the time the houses were decorated with 8 lbs. of royal icing and an assortment of colorful candies, her entire dining room was caked with a sticky film that brought curse words to the woman's tongue.
The woman's husband assured her that the extra work was worth it for their increased beauty over the easier graham cracker version, but alas the woman is sure that although the memory of the hardened icing footprints leading out of the dining room will be slow to fade from her memory, that eventually the memory will fade.
So in an effort to prevent the pain of birthing gingerbread from scratch from slipping from her mind in a fog of sugary memories, the woman decided to write all about it in a public forum along with a vow. A vow that she will never again judge her own womanliness by whether she uses graham crackers, homemade gingerbread, or even no gingerbread at all.
The End.
Notice the ornate house front and center in our little village? That would be the woman's husband's house. Who knew he was so artistic?
******************
This Christmas vacation she decided to try again. Never mind that this year they were not snowed in so instead of leisurely days at home, her days were being spent as a chauffeur, errand runner, housemaid, and really lousy Mario Kart driver.
As she raced through entire bags of flour and molasses by the quart, she soon realized that the gingerbread baking squeezed in between picking Spencer up, refereeing another quarrel, trying to make dinner, and dropping Cami off, just wasn't as much fun as she had remembered it being.
By the time the houses were decorated with 8 lbs. of royal icing and an assortment of colorful candies, her entire dining room was caked with a sticky film that brought curse words to the woman's tongue.
The woman's husband assured her that the extra work was worth it for their increased beauty over the easier graham cracker version, but alas the woman is sure that although the memory of the hardened icing footprints leading out of the dining room will be slow to fade from her memory, that eventually the memory will fade.
So in an effort to prevent the pain of birthing gingerbread from scratch from slipping from her mind in a fog of sugary memories, the woman decided to write all about it in a public forum along with a vow. A vow that she will never again judge her own womanliness by whether she uses graham crackers, homemade gingerbread, or even no gingerbread at all.
The End.
Notice the ornate house front and center in our little village? That would be the woman's husband's house. Who knew he was so artistic?
******************
Friday, December 31, 2010
Our Year in NUMB3RS
Here's the non-edited version of our Christmas letter this year. We decided not to include Ellie's epilepsy diagnosis at all, just to keep it upbeat. The other things were cut for space issues, since we all know that I have a rambling problem.
1 Olympic triathlon PR for Glen. (1500 meter swim, 40k bike, 10k run)
2 new countries for Glen (South Korea and India).
3 goals in one high school lacrosse game for Spence—a hat trick!
3 times per week, on average, that we have to pick Ellie up from school due to her medication side effects.
3-1/2-years of blogging and it’s still Lara’s main creative outlet.
4th child—Adam—is baptized in October.
4 front teeth all lost a few weeks before Christmas for Ellie!
5th child—Ellie—goes off to kindergarten. Yay!
6 days at Bethany Beach, Delaware with family.
7 months of Glen & Lara eating sugar only once-a-week. Time to start it up again!
8th grade homeschool for Cami—a family tradition.
9-times-per-day—that Lara wonders what alien possessed her long enough to sign up to be the PTA Vice President at the elementary school this year. (okay, maybe it’s not THAT bad) °Ü°
10-years-old—Emma finally hits double digits.
11- years in Virginia means that Lara is now officially more Virginian than Minnesotan.
12-week fitness challenge leaves Glen & Lara a little more svelte...too bad it took 12 days to fall right back into old habits (and clothes).
15 miles per week on average for Glen’s running regimen + daily exercise classes.
15-1/2-years-old for Spencer means he’s officially old enough to get his driver’s permit (just got it this week). Yikes!
17-years of marriage this December! ♥♥♥♥♥
20 kids—the approximate number of kids Lara takes care of in the church nursery each week.
22nd day of September, the day we first notice Ellie is having petit mal seizures all day, every day.
43, the approximate number, of non-gray hairs Lara has left on her head
60+ inches of snow last winter gave the kids a taste of my childhood winters in MN.
1000 pictures, on average, that Lara takes each month….mostly of food and kids.
9,614--the number of hits on the Recipe Shoebox this month. Too bad 10,000 is out of reach though, since there's no way on earth I'll post as often ever again.
Thank you for sticking with me this year through my blogging identity crisis
and Ellie information overload! Love you!
Happy New Year to all of you!
*********************************************
Our Year in NUMB3RS
1 Olympic triathlon PR for Glen. (1500 meter swim, 40k bike, 10k run)
2 new countries for Glen (South Korea and India).
3 goals in one high school lacrosse game for Spence—a hat trick!
3 times per week, on average, that we have to pick Ellie up from school due to her medication side effects.
3-1/2-years of blogging and it’s still Lara’s main creative outlet.
4th child—Adam—is baptized in October.
4 front teeth all lost a few weeks before Christmas for Ellie!
5th child—Ellie—goes off to kindergarten. Yay!
6 days at Bethany Beach, Delaware with family.
7 months of Glen & Lara eating sugar only once-a-week. Time to start it up again!
8th grade homeschool for Cami—a family tradition.
9-times-per-day—that Lara wonders what alien possessed her long enough to sign up to be the PTA Vice President at the elementary school this year. (okay, maybe it’s not THAT bad) °Ü°
10-years-old—Emma finally hits double digits.
11- years in Virginia means that Lara is now officially more Virginian than Minnesotan.
12-week fitness challenge leaves Glen & Lara a little more svelte...too bad it took 12 days to fall right back into old habits (and clothes).
15 miles per week on average for Glen’s running regimen + daily exercise classes.
15-1/2-years-old for Spencer means he’s officially old enough to get his driver’s permit (just got it this week). Yikes!
17-years of marriage this December! ♥♥♥♥♥
20 kids—the approximate number of kids Lara takes care of in the church nursery each week.
22nd day of September, the day we first notice Ellie is having petit mal seizures all day, every day.
43, the approximate number, of non-gray hairs Lara has left on her head
60+ inches of snow last winter gave the kids a taste of my childhood winters in MN.
1000 pictures, on average, that Lara takes each month….mostly of food and kids.
9,614--the number of hits on the Recipe Shoebox this month. Too bad 10,000 is out of reach though, since there's no way on earth I'll post as often ever again.
Thank you for sticking with me this year through my blogging identity crisis
and Ellie information overload! Love you!
Happy New Year to all of you!
*********************************************
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Conquering the World....
One cake at a time...
When Cami heard that one of Spence's best friends was having a sixteenth birthday party today including an afternoon of playing Risk, she insisted that she be the one to make the cake for him.
Of course, neither Ryan, nor his mother minded Cami's insistence at all.
It didn't turn out quite the way she'd originally envisioned, but it didn't seem to bother the sixteen-year-old boys at all who had an extra sweet game board should they spill soda on the original.
Now that Cami's getting so creative with her cake making, I'm thinking I should start planning ideas for my birthday cake, which, by the way, is coming up in only 4 more months.
I'm thinking chocolaty, tall, and really cool...you know, like me. Maybe this one will do...
***********
When Cami heard that one of Spence's best friends was having a sixteenth birthday party today including an afternoon of playing Risk, she insisted that she be the one to make the cake for him.
Of course, neither Ryan, nor his mother minded Cami's insistence at all.
It didn't turn out quite the way she'd originally envisioned, but it didn't seem to bother the sixteen-year-old boys at all who had an extra sweet game board should they spill soda on the original.
Now that Cami's getting so creative with her cake making, I'm thinking I should start planning ideas for my birthday cake, which, by the way, is coming up in only 4 more months.
I'm thinking chocolaty, tall, and really cool...you know, like me. Maybe this one will do...
***********
This Christmas vacation...
I will....be patient when Ellie has her daily hour-long crying fit. (another side effect of the medication)
I will....start cleaning up the messiest room in the house (
I will.....finally give the guitar a try on Band Hero.
I will....NOT be try the singing part on Band Hero.
We will....find places for all of our new presents or get rid of things to make room for them.
I will....help Adam with his Scouts, Cami with her Personal Progress, Emma with her Faith in God, and Spencer with a preliminary Eagle Scout project plan.
I will....finally send out the last few straggling Christmas cards.
I will...enjoy the fresh air and take a peaceful walk at least once a day.
I hope hoping that by writing this all down, that it will help me to remember a few things that I am committed to accomplish (or not accomplish) this Christmas vacation. If you have any great ideas of something I should add, please feel free to enlighten me. :)
*********************
Monday, December 27, 2010
Traditions: Old and New
Ever since Glen and I were married 17-years-ago, we've been working on developing traditions that are meaningful to our family. Back when we were first married, we simply parroted what we'd done in our respective homes growing up, but as the years have passed we've honed those old traditions and added many of our own. I could take up an entire blogpost and talk about some of the traditions we have throughout the year, but this post is going to be specifically about our Christmas traditions.
First, I don't know if you can really call it a tradition, but each Christmas we like to focus a lot on the symbolism of Christmas. We have family home evenings and read stories that help us to see the true meaning of Christmas in the lights and decorations that surround us. This year we focused the whole month of family home evenings on service, including a family service project and a service chain which we are still frantically trying to elongate before the New Year.
In addition to the more serious traditions of learning together, we also have a few seasonal traditions that we try to do sometime during the month. These include making gingerbread houses (which we still haven't done yet this year, but plan on doing this week), drawing names for presents, seeing the light/international nativity display at the DC temple, and sending out our Christmas cards and letters.
Our Christmas Eve is still an ever-evolving set of traditions. This year we tried something new and different by going to a movie and out to eat during the day. We saw MegaMind and enjoyed Christmas Eve dinner at the Olive Garden! We totally loved the low-stress nature of going out instead of cooking and cleaning all day, but it still remains up for the jury about whether we do this again.
Here's our crew this year: Our family, plus my brother Matt and family from Maryland, plus my sister Heather visiting from Minnesota.
And to prove that I was there too, here's a picture of Ellie and I while we waited for our food.
My nephew Lincoln, kept us entertained with his cute facial expressions and funny comments. It kind of made me miss having a toddler in the house.
The one part about Christmas Eve that we've been doing ever since we got married is that we each open a pair of pajamas on Christmas Eve night. It's a combination of traditions from the family Glen grew up in and my own. They always got new pajamas; we always opened one present. This year it was these comfy cozy matching pajamas....and a Santa hat. We pretty much rocked.
After everyone's in their pajamas, we gather in the living room for our Christmas Eve devotional filled with songs and scriptures. We use a booklet with songs, scriptures, and pictures. I like the structure that the booklet gives to our devotional and I love that it's got the pictures which makes it more visual and interactive for the kids. After the devotional, we have a family prayer, put out treats for Santa, and the kids go to bed as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, the adults in the house settle in for a long night of "helping" Santa wrap presents and do some assembly on some of the toys.
On Christmas morning, we have a pretty strict rule that no one's allowed to awaken any other person or open their stockings until 7:00am. The rule, since we instituted it a few years ago, has been a godsend for all of us Santa helpers that are usually a little on the sleep-deprived side. After 7:00am, they can open their stockings and in general run around and be excited, but they're not allowed to touch the presents under the tree until after breakfast.
Glen declared himself "King of the Breakfast Table".
This year we had a sausage casserole (assembled the night before) and orange-breakfast bread (super easy to prepare) and ended up eating at about 8:30am. After cleaning up from breakfast, everyone is good and ready to get started opening presents, where we go through the rounds opening gifts one-a-time, oldest to youngest, until we get tired of taking turns (usually when a few people start running out of gifts).
Here is a little glimpse at our present opening rounds:
Here is Spence sporting his new found favorite hat, as opposed to the striped Jamaican looking one he's been wearing the last several months (including the summertime). He's admiring his prize gift this year--a lacrosse helmet, so he can stop wearing his friend's helmet which sports the logo of a rival high school on it.
Here is Ellie with her beloved gift from Santa....Barbie with a horse. It's the only thing she asked for this year.
And here is Adam with his theme toy of the day.....Legos!
Cami got mostly clothes and was quite happy about that...
Aunt Heather came from Minnesota and the kids were THRILLED!!!!
Lincoln (and his Mommy and Daddy) stayed the night, so they could join us for Christmas morning. Every present he opened was exciting, but I'm pretty sure that Santa could have just brought him this one truck and he would have been totally content.
Our sweet little Emma was the drama queen of the day with her screams of joy with almost every present! If I'd been more thoughtful, I would've pulled out the video camera to document the shrieks of delight and ensuing jumps around the room, but then again I wouldn't want to be held responsible for anyone's eardrums getting pierced, so perhaps it's best that I didn't.
We didn't get to eat our second annual "Christmas in Bethlehem" until tonight, but, boy oh boy, did we love it. The middle-eastern lentil soup was perfection, the flat bread soft and delicious, and the baklava totally sinful. It's definitely going on to our list of traditions to keep.
And now all the guests have returned home, Cami's talk has been given, the house is starting to recover from its wrapping paper/ new toy inundation, and Glen heads back to work tomorrow.
I think I'll take a nap.
*****************
First, I don't know if you can really call it a tradition, but each Christmas we like to focus a lot on the symbolism of Christmas. We have family home evenings and read stories that help us to see the true meaning of Christmas in the lights and decorations that surround us. This year we focused the whole month of family home evenings on service, including a family service project and a service chain which we are still frantically trying to elongate before the New Year.
In addition to the more serious traditions of learning together, we also have a few seasonal traditions that we try to do sometime during the month. These include making gingerbread houses (which we still haven't done yet this year, but plan on doing this week), drawing names for presents, seeing the light/international nativity display at the DC temple, and sending out our Christmas cards and letters.
Our Christmas Eve is still an ever-evolving set of traditions. This year we tried something new and different by going to a movie and out to eat during the day. We saw MegaMind and enjoyed Christmas Eve dinner at the Olive Garden! We totally loved the low-stress nature of going out instead of cooking and cleaning all day, but it still remains up for the jury about whether we do this again.
Here's our crew this year: Our family, plus my brother Matt and family from Maryland, plus my sister Heather visiting from Minnesota.
And to prove that I was there too, here's a picture of Ellie and I while we waited for our food.
My nephew Lincoln, kept us entertained with his cute facial expressions and funny comments. It kind of made me miss having a toddler in the house.
The one part about Christmas Eve that we've been doing ever since we got married is that we each open a pair of pajamas on Christmas Eve night. It's a combination of traditions from the family Glen grew up in and my own. They always got new pajamas; we always opened one present. This year it was these comfy cozy matching pajamas....and a Santa hat. We pretty much rocked.
On Christmas morning, we have a pretty strict rule that no one's allowed to awaken any other person or open their stockings until 7:00am. The rule, since we instituted it a few years ago, has been a godsend for all of us Santa helpers that are usually a little on the sleep-deprived side. After 7:00am, they can open their stockings and in general run around and be excited, but they're not allowed to touch the presents under the tree until after breakfast.
Glen declared himself "King of the Breakfast Table".
This year we had a sausage casserole (assembled the night before) and orange-breakfast bread (super easy to prepare) and ended up eating at about 8:30am. After cleaning up from breakfast, everyone is good and ready to get started opening presents, where we go through the rounds opening gifts one-a-time, oldest to youngest, until we get tired of taking turns (usually when a few people start running out of gifts).
Here is a little glimpse at our present opening rounds:
Here is Spence sporting his new found favorite hat, as opposed to the striped Jamaican looking one he's been wearing the last several months (including the summertime). He's admiring his prize gift this year--a lacrosse helmet, so he can stop wearing his friend's helmet which sports the logo of a rival high school on it.
Here is Ellie with her beloved gift from Santa....Barbie with a horse. It's the only thing she asked for this year.
And here is Adam with his theme toy of the day.....Legos!
Cami got mostly clothes and was quite happy about that...
Aunt Heather came from Minnesota and the kids were THRILLED!!!!
Lincoln (and his Mommy and Daddy) stayed the night, so they could join us for Christmas morning. Every present he opened was exciting, but I'm pretty sure that Santa could have just brought him this one truck and he would have been totally content.
Our sweet little Emma was the drama queen of the day with her screams of joy with almost every present! If I'd been more thoughtful, I would've pulled out the video camera to document the shrieks of delight and ensuing jumps around the room, but then again I wouldn't want to be held responsible for anyone's eardrums getting pierced, so perhaps it's best that I didn't.
We didn't get to eat our second annual "Christmas in Bethlehem" until tonight, but, boy oh boy, did we love it. The middle-eastern lentil soup was perfection, the flat bread soft and delicious, and the baklava totally sinful. It's definitely going on to our list of traditions to keep.
And now all the guests have returned home, Cami's talk has been given, the house is starting to recover from its wrapping paper/ new toy inundation, and Glen heads back to work tomorrow.
I think I'll take a nap.
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