Christmas!

I'm so happy to report that I loved this Christmas season. The first week of December I was a bit grumpy about kids playing with decorations, but after that I pretty much had Christmas spirit all month long. It really makes me feel relief that I DON'T hate Christmas! 

I also realized that we only have a handful of magical kid Christmases left. I must cherish every year. 

For some reason I have fooled myself into believing that they stay little forever. But the evidence is in the fact that the Christmas pajamas from last year - that they were once swimming in - are now becoming high waters. Evan's belly was peeking out of his buffalo plaid shirt tonight. How can that be?

See these new pajamas G and G got the kids this Christmas? They are huge, right? No way will they ever actually grow out of them. No way. 

Christmas Eve ice cream and Christmas lesson. 

Usually we read Luke 2, but I want to make a new tradition of singing The Nativity Song. They liked it. 

(This picture was actually of Christmas Eve Eve)

Evan kept talking about what a "long night" it was before morning. I told him he couldn't get up before 7:00. He said he woke up two times before that. It's such a hard night to get through!

But at 7:05, he came in whispering "It's Christmas morning!"

We had to wake Andrew. 

Then they waited at the top of the stairs. 

Nettie quilt! I love it so much. I told everyone I want it to be MINE, but today Evan told me I had to share.

So, a few weeks before Christmas, Andrew started saying that he wanted a costume from Santa. 

Santa wasn't totally sure what he meant by that.

"A Lightning Mcqueen costume".

Santa still wasn't sure, so he gave Andrew a wooden Radiator Springs village that connects with the other wooden railroad tracks. Lightning Mcqueen is involved with that toy.

On Christmas day, after a few hours of playing, Andrew said to Jim,

"you didn't get a hammer, and I didn't get a costume."

(I guess one day Andrew was discussing with Jim what he wanted from Santa and they decided on a hammer...)

It just about broke my heart. Surely Santa could have come up with SOME kind of Lightning Mcqueen costume, couldn't he? Dang it.

But Grandma told me she is going to get him one for his birthday next week. 

I love Christmas morning. Every surface is covered with an activity or game or project.

We had to pull out two card tables to house the different projects.

My kids are at a good age where they can work on their things all by themselves and are busy all morning playing and building.

I love Christmas living room. 

In the evening, as we were tidying up and clearing off couches and making neat piles, 

I got such a pang in my heart that the day was over. 

Once you tidy up...Christmas is really over. 

It makes me so sad. 

It also makes me so happy that it makes me sad. It means I have happy feelings for Christmas again! 

This year was such a good season. I loved all the activities leading up to the big day. I loved making molasses cookies for our church teachers. I loved delivering goodies to friends, I loved making and mailing packages, lights on our house, our tree, our solstice party/nativity, reading The Best Christmas Pageant Ever with Avery... All of it made me happy! 

The next day we went to a movie. Us and the Blacks and Grandma went to Coco, and Jim and his dad went to Star Wars.

Evan is the most perceptive child about certain things.

For instance, at the end of Coco, there is a sweet moment that I got tears in my eyes, and Grandma Larsen wiped at some tears in her eyes. 

Grandma was in a seat at one end, then there was Andrew and me and Avery and Bailey and Hunter and then Evan...and it was dark...and Grandma was being discreet about wiping her eyes,

but Evan noticed and whispered so loud, "my Grandma is crying! my Grandma is crying!"

Today it snowed and we were nervous about Jim landing and G and G's flight being on time.

But he did and it was, and they are now safe and sound back in the desert. 

It was such a good Christmas. I loved it all. 

Ps we did two puzzles while they were here. 

Solstice

Last night we had a Solstice party. 

The kids decided to put on a nativity. They were upstairs forever planning and dressing. Mary and Joseph entered riding a camel (suitcase). It cracked me up. 

Cooper and Evan doubled as Joseph/wise men/shepherds.

We are adding this to our Solstice celebration tradition. 

Then we lit our fire.

The kids ran around the yard playing flashlight tag, and us adults listened to/pontificated about Eminem. haha. 

This kind of stuff fills me up: kids running around playing night games, music, food that I ordered from La Gloria and didn't have to cook, kids upstairs planning a performance, standing around a fire with good conversation, apple crisp. But best of all - the fact that this is as dark as it will get! We made it. Every day the sun will shine a bit longer than the last. 

Finally the dads shut the party down since they both had to get up early for work the next day. 

***

Some other happenings:

The other night Jim and Joe went night mt biking. It was about 10:30pm when he came home.

He got a text - a mission mode for work - if he accepts the call, he gets paid double time. So of course he accepts, takes a shower, and heads back out the door to fly to Bozeman - Vegas, overnight in Vegas, then home the next evening. Okey Dokey. 

This year we wanted to do a service project in which the kids actually got to see the "poor people" (that's what the kids called them) that we would be serving. 

We handed out hand warmers and socks to some homeless folk downtown. We drove all around looking for the right candidates. It was a bit tricky because the hobo-bearded look is in style, so we had to be sure not to assume incorrectly. haha.

The feeling in the car as we drove around tent city and found people huddled under tarps in store fronts was...solemn? weighty?

The main goal here was not so much to help out the homeless - most are on drugs and get handouts all the time - but to show the kids what a blessed life we live. And that there are many out there who have little to nothing in their lives. 

So, Evan had been sick, then his fever went away, but he still looked pale and not right. 

He went back to school for the last few days before Christmas break. 

Friday I was subbing in his class and I kept an eye on him. He seemed ok, but something was off. 

We got home from school and everyone was super excited for the ward party. Evan talked about seeing Santa and playing with Logan.

Then his fever spiked and he fell asleep on the couch. I called the nurse and she said to bring him in.

He was so so sad that he would miss the party. He cried and begged, but he was so sick. 

Jim took him to the doctor while the rest of us went to the party.

Strep.

At the party, Avery passed this card around for all the kids to sign.

Evan lamented "I have to wait a whole year for another party."

Poor kid. He's been on amoxicillin and this morning he woke up covered in a rash and hives. So he and Jim are off to the doctor again while we get the house ready for Grandma and Grandpa Larsen to get here for Christmas.

Nettie sent this in a package. Avery was "basically addicted" to it and finished in one day. We all helped, but she did the most. 

With school out, we've been trying to keep busy. Two of the days were spent at Perch and Play slash our saving grace this winter. We spend HOURS there with our friends. HOURS.

I love getting pictures from my missionaries in Salt Lake. They walk everywhere. This is right by their apartment. They are such city folk now. Every Sunday they send us an email and tell about the work they are doing and the concerts they go to and the friends they meet up who are passing through Salt Lake. 

I pulled out this book on Christmas eve eve eve to keep the kids busy. 

They played the game all day. 

This was from last week. Andrew's class party. He was the best singer in his row. 

And finally, last night me and my gals went to the Nutcracker.

It was so fun and beautiful. 

Avery was such a princess with her hair curled. She walked up and down the stairs like a princess. 

December

I always check Jim's phone when he comes home from work because there is often pictures like this in there.

Rainier's all to the clouds: "go around".

Our neighborhood is down there in the land mass between the bays.

I love school concerts.

Mostly the part when Evan hunts and hunts for me, then grins ear to ear when he spots me waving like a lunatic.

My favorite song this year was Land of the Silver Birch. 

Andrew perched atop the table while I was puzzling and said he was going to write his name. I began to help him, but quickly realized he didn't need MY help. 

The first "Andrew" didn't fit, so he tried again below it. This was the first time I ever saw him write his name.

There is an old man in our ward. He is ancient. Every Sunday he comes to church with a different hand carved cane. 

He likes to do wood working crafts with the primary kids. They came home last week with these. 

This was us watching the Christmas Devotional. We lasted a peaceful 20 minutes. 

Me and Avery and our gal friends are going to the nutcracker. Every Christmas season it is on my wish list, but I never get around to it. I can't wait!

Big brother/little brother matching jacket and shoes. 

I reckon since Andrew's Sambas have been through three little boys, they are hardy enough for Evan. He destroys shoes. Let's see how they hold up. 

His old shoes had a giant hold on the bottom - I didn't realize until I asked him, "why is your sock wet?"

"My shoe has holes underneath".

All three kids got this baby polar bear for their ornament this year.

Evan was sick this weekend, so we missed a basketball game, church, and a night in Vancouver with the Blacks. Darn it. He's such a little sweetie pie when he has a fever.

Cut and paste from Instagram:

Ok. So back in 2001 I had to go to a class in Provo, and Nettie and Jeff let me stay in their apartment. They were gone somewhere, so I stayed at their place alone. (Nettie said I could sleep in their bed but I had to shower first lol). 

Anyway, in the middle of the night, a light fixture fell from the ceiling, crashing to the floor, super loud, super spooky. We weren’t married yet, and Jim was living at home in St George for the summer. I was so scared, I called him crying in the middle of the night.

This was before cell phones were invented if you can remember back that far. So his house phone rang, and his mom answered the phone, and I was embarrassed to have woken her up, but more scared than embarrassed. Jim calmed my nerves and we all went back to sleep. 

*** The best part of this whole story is the paper I wrote that note on. Look at the date! 

***Nettie just texted me these pictures.

Andrew spends hours drawing lately.

I love the details kids this age include. 

When he draws Slinky (from Toy Story), the slinky part is just a bunch of dots around the dog's torso.

He is such a character lately. Literally and figuratively.

Last Sunday he was Buzz all day. All three hours of church he talked in a deep, scratchy voice. Anytime we would call him Andrew he would say "I not Andrew. I Buzz."

After church we had tithing settlement. Sitting in the Bishop's office, the Bishop went around to each of the kids to review their names. Andrew introduced himself as Buzz in Buzz' voice. haha 

When the house is clean and no one is fighting or touching the decorations, and the tree is the only lights on in the house, I have "Christmas Spirit" (as my kids say).

Too often I identify with the Grinch or Scrooge. I understand where they are coming from. 

Last Sunday Evan explained what is going on in my heart. When the kids are "naughty" my heart shrinks, but when they obey and don't fight, my heart grows so big it breaks the x-ray.

So Sunday during sacrament meeting, Evan sat with his hands clasped in his lap, still as a statue the whole sacrament meeting! He kept whispering "how big is your heart?" and "my hands are getting sweaty (from holding them clasped together) but I don't care." etc. 

X-ray, broke.