Christmas 2013

Liz:  It has been awhile since I have been the one writing and posting on our blog.  It's been a difficult time the past several months I just haven't had the time or desire to come up with words to write.  So thanks to my marvelous husband who catches all the balls I drop for taking the time to post about some of the major events that have occurred around here.

These two keep our hands full.  Now they are crawling/rolling all over each other. And liking each other more.

Our Christmas was simple and lovely in many ways.  We had to omit some things this year like putting up outdoor Christmas lights because we just haven't had the bandwidth.  We had to choose carefully what we did do and try and make it count.

The kids got one night this year to sleep by the Christmas tree. 

Babies at Christmas time are just the best.  Brooke is rolling around now and frequently found herself under the tree.  Once she even got a bow stuck on her head like she too was a present to our family this year.

Four-year-old Spencer really got into Christmas this year.  I'd frequently find him playing with our Playmobil Santa.

Tim went caroling with his friends and they stopped at our house one of the nights.  Here are the kids peaking out the window as Tim's group was off to spread good cheer and song to other families.

One night we acted out the nativity.  Tim read the story from Luke 2.  Whitney was the angel, Sarah was Mary, Spencer was Joseph, Brooklyn was baby Jesus, and Michael was the donkey/shepherd/wise man.  None of the kids but Whitney wanted to dress up and I guess that's partly because I don't have good dress-ups for the nativity yet.  We had them use their woobie blankets to cover their heads.  The girls had drawn straws for the parts and then we spent 15 minutes trying to convince Sarah to play Mary because she thought Whitney looked prettier as an angel.  Girls.  Sigh.

Christmas morning coming down the stairs

Whitney got a doll for Christmas

Sarah got fairies

Spencer got some of Lighting McQueen's friends

Michael got this kitchen.  One day I will write the miracle of how this came to our home.  It was truly a blessing and answer to prayers.  His therapists will be so proud to see him reaching for those drawers.

Seriously, Christmas babies are the best. 

A Tablet was no where near in the budget this year and was just a dream present I didn't even ask for so I was so excited to open one Christmas morning.  I totally got teary-eyed when Tim told me he had been secretly saving small bonuses from his job for quite a while so he could buy me one. 

One of the best memories from Christmas was our dollar-store adventure.

This year I noticed my kids were very much into the "getting" side of Christmas and had no clue about the "giving" side.  It was really weighing on my mind.  I realized that Tim and I have been stretched so thin over the past several Christmases, we just haven't had the bandwidth to teach the children as much about giving as we should.

Even this year, I purchased their "Christmas buddy" presents for them with the intention they would do chores to earn them, but then I didn't even have the time or ability to come up with extra chores for them to do.  I know that probably sounds crazy, but really, I'm not kidding when I say things have been crazy around here.

So one Saturday before Christmas I decided to take the 3 oldest kids to the dollar store to purchase a present for each member of the family.  I didn't have time to have them earn the money, but I thought if I could at least get them thinking about and learning how to give a present to someone else, it would be a good place to start.  I gave each of them $6 - one for each member of the family - in an envelope with their name on it and told them to keep it in a safe place or let me keep it safe for them.

When we got in the store, Michael - who also came along - started screaming and crying and kept it up for the entire hour we were there.  The kids were fascinated by the dollar store as we don't go there often and immediately began filling their baskets with presents for themselves.  I told Spencer he needed to get things for other family members and not for himself.  He looked up and smiled and said, "Mom, this gun is for you!  And this ball is for Dad! And Spiderman is for Brooklyn!  And Michael gets this car!"  Whitney decided she was going to get 3 presents for daddy because she likes him best.  Eventually, I was able to convince them to pick things a little more fitting for each family member.  It took the children awhile to get their minds wrapped around the idea, but after awhile, they got the hang of it.

Then we went to check out. The cashier must have been having a bad day.  She rolled her eyes as I was helping Spencer count out his money (Michael was still screaming) and Whitney started having a fit and saying, "Mommy!  Mommy!  Mommy!" She managed to kick/run into the cashier behind us, which elicited a mean, "Excuse me little girl!" from that cashier.  I finally said, "Whitney, hold still, I'll be with you in a minute."

Then Spencer found the balloons and started begging for one.  It was Whitney's turn to check out and I said, "Okay, what do you need sweetie?"  "I lost my money, Mom."  The line behind us was getting really long.  The cashier rolled her eyes again and sighed loudly.  We set her presents aside and had Sarah purchase hers.  Then we searched the store for her envelope, which thankfully was in the toy isle, and she was able to purchase her presents.  We walked out to the car where I discovered the reason Michael had been so upset the whole time:  he had tinkled down his leg, soaking his pants and socks and pooling in one of his shoes. Poor guy.

I think we came out alright in the end.  Tim got socks, a screwdriver kit and razor blades.  I got kitchen gadgets.  The kids got some toys or crafts.  Even Brooklyn got a stuffed animal and baby rattle.  It was sweet to see how excited the kids were to give these things to each other with genuine hugs and thanks.  I once heard it said that sometimes Christmas is not for the faint in heart.  But I'm starting to think the time and patience it takes to teach our kids just about anything important is not for the faint in heart either.