Merry Christmas!

Ornaments this year were turtle doves.

All month long, Andrew talked about how much he wanted a turtle dove (because of Home Alone 2).

He asked about my turtle dove my mom gave me when I was a kid.

Then one day we were doing homeschool -  making BIRD FEEDERS! - and the package of turtle doves arrived at our door. 

They petted them as if they were real, and named them.

Andrew said, "I can't wait to give my kid a turtle dove when I'm a dad."

Turtle doves represent love and friendship. They always come in pairs: you have one and I have one, so we will always be friends. 

**CHRISTMAS EVE**

Lately Andrew has been turning into a dog. 

It happens if you snap your fingers. 

Then you have to spank his bum to get him back to human form.

Here he is eating his kibble.

Human form. 

Dreaming about Christmas morning. 

Christmas eve is such a fun day! It's sooooo close! The kids were just beside themselves. 

We went on a walk down at BP to pass some time and spend some energy. 

I'm still trying to nail down a Christmas Eve meal - something that's easy, but special.

We had pot roast this year. It still turned out to be a lot of work and a lot of dirty dishes.

I think next year will be soup and sourdough. I always love that meal.

Finally we opened Gma Larsen's PJ gifts. 

There was SO much hugging. 

We sang the Nativity Song, played with Christmas Eve gifts, watched The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,

then FINALLY the kids went to bed. They couldn't wait to go to bed. They lay there squeezing their eyes shut, trying to sleep. 

And then Santa came!

**CHRISTMAS MORNING**

There are so many fun gifts, games to play, things to put together, items to try on, plug in, read, eat. 

I love Christmas Day. It makes the whole crazy month worth it. 

But then I also miss the whole crazy month when it's over.

Here are the handmade gifts the kids made me.

I don't even know how to feel about this gift Jim surprised us with. 

Later we tried out new boots and coats and hoodies in the forest. 

We ended the beautiful day with some cake for Bailey's birthday. 

Taking down Christmas is the best and the worst. 

Each kid came up and told me how much they love Christmas and how much they are sad it's over.  

Solstice

We didn't get to see the Christmas Star on Solstice because we had a giant snowstorm instead. 

It started out as rain - as forecasted - and then out of nowhere it turned to snow. It snowed and snowed.

Such a Solstice treat. The kids played in it all day. 

Koda ate it. She tried to catch it out of the air by jumping up and snatching her giant teeth at it. 

The dogs raced around and around. 

Finally Koda came inside the warm house and passed out on her rug by the door. 

The next day I went to the forest to see how it looked in Solstice snow.

The lighting was so beautiful!

It was both icy and wet. 

The puddles turned to ponds. 

Ponds turned to lakes. 

That night we celebrated the return of the sun. 

Light all the candles, torch all the creme brulee,

play the guitars, make a fire in the back yard. 

A Solstice fire will get us through the long, dark winter. 

Friends will get us through the long, dark winter. 

We also had a read aloud: Lisa read Andrew's book to us all. 

It is the origin story of Laser Beam and The Sassy Sassy Weener. 

It is a silly story. 

We may have a best seller on our hands.