{santa}

We made our annual trip to the Santa House this afternoon. I firmly believe in Santa Claus, however, I do know that since he can't be everywhere, especially this close to Christmas, there are helpers that fill in for him. Sometimes these helpers don't quite fill his shoes, but our kids are always excited nonetheless. Just the fact that they are able to sit on his lap, whisper their secret wishes, and feel the excitement in the air makes it worth the frigid temperatures, long lines, and the occasional lack-luster Santa Claus.

This visit was different though. He was jolly. His eyes twinkled, and his dimples were merry. His belly shook when he laughed. He had very real hair, with a very real beard, both as white as snow (Ryan even tested it!). He put his head close to theirs, spoke about Christmases past, and the Christmas yet to come. He carefully placed candy in their pockets, and happily smiled for pictures. Kate and Emma each climbed up eagerly into his lap (which I didn't think Emma would do), and told him what they wanted when he asked (a dolly). He even drew in Ryan, who had asked me earlier if he had to sit on Santa's lap.

As we left, we all turned to each other, and wondered if maybe...just maybe...we had been lucky enough to cross paths with Santa himself.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

{one week}

I'm not ready for Christmas.

It's not that my presents aren't wrapped (okay, they're not--Rick and I wrap them together on Christmas Eve, per tradition), or that I have 2 unfinished projects (almost done!). It's not even that I have peppermint bark and English toffee to make and deliver, or that I still need to make one last trip to the post office.

I'm not ready for Christmas, because that means it will be over. The best part of Christmas comes before the day even arrives. It comes in the form of making gingerbread houses, rolling out sugar cookies, cutting down a Christmas tree, decorating the house, visiting the Santa House, shopping for just the right gift, Christmas caroling, parties with friends and family, lights on every corner, advent calendars, nightly Christmas stories, Christmas music on the radio, candy canes, and friends stopping by. It's service projects, sharing trees, nativities, and special traditions.

I don't know why I'm feeling more this way this year than other years, but perhaps it's that life seems to be going so quickly. It's like I blink my eyes and the fall is over, and then one more blink and it's the week before Christmas!

Does this mean I'm getting old?

Never mind. Don't answer that.

{the apple and the tree}

Do you ever have those moments with your kids, when you look at them, and it's just like looking at yourself?

Reading has long been a passion of mine. I have always been a voracious reader, and even since I was a small child, I could never get enough. I read everywhere--in the car, at the kitchen table while I was eating (I would even resort to the phone book or the cereal box in times of desperation), literally anywhere and anytime I could. My junior library card allowed me to check out 10 books at a time, and I would read those in a day or two. We usually went once a week, and I would end up either reading those books over again, or pulling some of my favorites off the shelf until I was able to go again. Even now, whenever we move to a new town, the first thing I check out is the library. Once it passes the test, I know I can live there!

I have always hoped that this love of books would pass on to my children, and while all of them have a keen interest, Emma is the most like me of all. She is fascinated by any and all books, and has to carry them around everywhere she goes. She doesn't limit herself though, and has even acquired a taste for magazines, catalogs, and the occasional cookbook.

Recently I had her with me at the library, and I happened to be in the Young Adult literature section looking for a specific book. Emma pulled down a book from the shelf to look at, and it happened to be a teen suspense novel--not a picture to be found. She insisted on checking it out, and I (not wanting to cause a scene with a 2 year old about checking out a teen book, and after quickly perusing the pages for any unseemly material) let her. Over the next few days it traveled with us to the grocery store, church, and anywhere we needed to be. She would open the book, look at the words on the page, then turn to the next page, seemingly soaking up every bit of it. We even found her early one morning in the rocking chair, sitting all by herself, turning page by page, and totally absorbed.

So, when she insists on reading my sewing magazine over her morning bowl of Cheerios, hefting 10 books to read in church, or is begging me to read "one more", I just smile--because I know just how she feels.

{vintage family nativity...circa 2006}

We have a tradition of acting out the Nativity on Christmas Eve. For a long time it was just the three of us, and then when we had the girls, all of a sudden our available actors doubled! The year of 2006 is hands down our favorite--we love to watch it over and over. We were in the townhouse we lived in while we were building our house, and Kate and Emma were 8 months old.

We decided that Mary would be played by Kate (thus freeing me to actually film it), and that Emma would be baby Jesus. Now strategically, we should have had Kate be baby Jesus, because she wasn't crawling yet (and a little more calm). But her little round face just exuded the feeling of Mary, so we went with it. Lo and behold, Emma actually stayed where she was supposed to stay!

Please don't mind my narration--I was laughing so hard at some points that I could barely get the words out, but really, I'm just lucky that I made it through. This is certainly not a perfect video, nor are our costumes or acting, but I will always treasure it. It captures a moment in time that I never want to forget.


Merry Christmas!

{week in review}

This week...

-I don't think I sat down between the hours of 6:30am and 2 or 3am, with the exception of a couple nights.

-I went without a shower at least 3 of those days (okay, please don't tell me I'm the only one--there has to be other busy moms out there that also have those days!).

-I made more food in 4 days than I usually do in twice that amount of time.

-I bought more than 30 yards of fabric to be used over a 2 day span.

-I got 9 children up, ready, and to church on time--at 9am. (okay, so it was really like 9:02am, but I am counting it!) I could barely see Rick way down at the end of the 11 chairs we took up.

-The community Christmas concert I organized turned out beautifully.

-I didn't get one thing done for Christmas.

Why you ask?

First of all, our good friends went on a 4 day trip this week, and their six kids stayed with us while they were gone. Yes, that makes nine children! They are really great kids, and were very well-behaved (just the normal kid stuff!), and I can't say enough good things about them. But nine kids is nine kids, and let's just say I have a much greater appreciation for mothers that do it on a regular basis. I was so happy to help, and to have them stay (and I would do it again too!), and of course my kids thought they were in heaven. I also now know how much spaghetti to make to feed that many people. :)

This week was also our church's annual Nativity Exhibit, where we set up, display, and take down over 500 nativities and corresponding decorations in every room of the building in 6 days. I am one of the organizers of it, which means every day and every night is dedicated to making sure it's successful. It's a lot of hard work, and a lot of late nights, but it's something I believe in very strongly, and I love it so much, that it's completely worth it.

Next week's gotta be a lot slower, right?

{o christmas tree}

One of my favorite family traditions is cutting down our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. For years we were in school, and it was both frugality and necessity that required an artificial tree. I was grateful and happy we had it, but I knew as soon as we could, we would have fresh ones. There is something so homey about the smell of fresh pine permeating your home--I love it!

The tree farm we like has a huge barn, filled with sample trees, saws for you to cut down your tree with, and beautiful green wreaths for sale. We always decide which type of tree we want (I like the softer, longer needles...my favorite is Concolor Fir, but since they didn't have them this year, we went with White Pine), then we hop on the hayride that takes us to that particular section of trees. Of course this is the kids favorite part, and they love that the tractor is so huge!
Now the hard part. I take forever to choose which tree I want, and Rick is very patient as he helps me go through the options. Tall and skinny? Short and plump? What's a girl to do?! In the end I always realize that imperfection is charming, and I find a tree that is just right for us.

This year we are going to be famous--as famous as being in our little town's paper gets you! We were approached by a young reporter as we arrived at the tree farm, and he said he was looking for a family to follow as they cut down their tree, then decorated it at home. He asked if we would be willing to be that family, and frankly, I couldn't think of a reason not to. If anything, it would be fun to have someone take a lot of pictures of our family (hopefully he'll give me the ones he doesn't use too), and document this tradition. We were supposed to act natural, but really, who can act totally natural when there is a camera two feet away snapping picture after picture? The girls were oblivious of course, and the rest of us just did our best. He will becoming to our house on Sunday afternoon for decorating the tree and making sugar cookies, and since we extended the invitation to his wife, hopefully she will come too. I hope he's ready!

{once there was a snowman}

{my sister}

We were riding home today from the Santa Parade (yes, before Thanksgiving), when I heard a little voice from the back say "my sister is asleep". Sure enough, I looked back and Emma was totally out. That might not seem like anything big, but it's the first time I heard Kate refer to Emma as her sister, and it was adorable.

Circumstances have thrown them together since birth, and since the beginning they have been on the same schedule--eating, sleeping, and playing. Clothes have been no exception--they have dressed exactly alike (including their hair) minus a very few occasions (due to sickness a couple times, and Halloween 2008). They are always together, and life as a twin is certainly not lonely. With a built in playmate, they have lived this life together at almost every moment.

There is nothing sweeter than hearing a little voice call out to her sister when she first wakes up, when she's hurt or sad, or when she doesn't see her in the room. If I give one a snack or treat, she automatically wants another one for her sister. Now of course, it's not smiles and sunshine ALL the time (shocking, I know). They can love with the best of them, but they definitely have their moments. Breaking up little squabbles is now a part of my life, but thankfully they are short-lived and they are soon on their way to loving each other again.

As their mom, I have realized that there are things I need to do that will not only cultivate their relationship, but the relationship I have with them together and separately: 1. buy everything in twos :); 2. encourage their differences, and celebrate their similarities; 3. spend time individually with them; 4. never compare one to the other; 5. love them each for who they are.

They are a delight, and I am so happy I get to see them grow up!

{the first step}

so, can you tell we've been potty training?

{I'll take what I can get}

Early Monday morning I was all snuggled up in bed, with a warm blanket that someone had just tucked all around me. I was curled up on my side (one of my favorite sleeping positions), and I was just so comfortable. Within one minute I had drifted off to sleep, there to stay for the next three hours. I hadn't felt this relaxed in a long time. When I woke up, someone was there to greet me, bring me some ice water, and ask me if I needed anything. It was heaven.

Okay, so I was in the hospital having a minor procedure done (outpatient), and received some anesthesia, but hey, I'll take what I can get!

{a first day of snow tradition}

A couple of months ago, I read about a family's tradition that I just loved. Each year, on the eve of the first snowfall, they would get together and make "snowflake doughnuts". What a yummy way to mark the beginning of our white and snowy winter, and a kickoff to the holiday season!
I let the kids know what the plan was, and although the girls had no idea what snow even was, they sure knew all about doughnuts! Ryan was especially looking forward to it, and Sunday morning, when we woke up and found a light sprinkling of snow on the ground, he declared it was the day!

It snowed off and on all day, and was the perfect backdrop to our doughnut-making festivities. I looked online for doughnut recipes, and found one that looked good, and relatively straight forward.

I had lots of help with the dough, and then after they were fried, we rolled some in powdered sugar (for the snowflake effect), and others in cinnamon & sugar (everyone's favorite). They were delightful--so warm, while crispy on the outside and soft in middle---yum! It was a wonderfully cozy day, and it will definitely be a tradition that we continue.

{overheard}

"Once upon a time, there were best friends named Debit and Credit, and they loved to swim in the LIFO pool. They were splashing, and splashing, and then Net Loss showed up. He wasn't very nice, because he liked to make big waves. They were joined by Cash Flow. He made nice, soft waves, and Debit and Credit liked to play with him. When they were finished, they got out and dried off with the Balance Sheet."

And that my friends, is a bedtime story CPA-style.

(Rick, telling Kate a story last night, trying to get her back to sleep. It worked.)

{curiosity killed the cat}

For a long time I could have any conversation I wanted to have, and not worry about little ears. Even when Ryan was out of the toddler stage, he couldn't have cared less about who I was talking to on the telephone, or what our conversation was about. As long as I didn't talk about S-a-n-t-a, I was safe.

Well, times have changed. I'm not sure when it all started, but in the last couple of months I have become increasingly aware of an ever-lingering presence. Ryan has developed a very keen curiosity for anything I am talking about, and with whom I'm talking to. It doesn't seem to matter if I'm on the phone, talking to a group of friends, or trying to have a conversation with Rick, I will inevitably hear, "what?", "who?", "what did you say?". Sometimes though, he doesn't always say anything. Instead, he uses his stealth-like-super-power-hearing to just listen.

To be fair, I remember perfectly wanting to know everything my mother said and did. When she tried to speak quietly or privately, it made me even more curious. Being a grown-up seemed so...I don't know, grown up! I was fascinated by that mysterious world, and just getting a glimpse of it was exciting to me.

I suppose it won't hurt to let him in on the conversation--sometimes. It's all just a sign that he's growing up, and I think that's the hardest part.

{it's that time}

As soon as November 1st hits, I'm all business. I love every aspect of the holidays, even the preparations. It wouldn't be the same without my lists, lists, and more lists. I look forward to carefully creating and choosing gifts for friends and family, making new Christmas decorations, enjoying traditions, and baking delicious holiday treats, but first comes the planning.

There is something so cozy about making homemade gifts and immersing myself in holiday projects. I have quite a few of them on my list this year, and I think they are the gifts I am most excited about.

So, what's on my list? Here are a few of my favorites.

-Rick is building the girls a kitchen, stove, and sink, and I am loving the design phase. I can already picture little stainless steel fixtures, sink, and knobs, a gingham curtain to hide the cupboards under the sink, and maybe even a french door style fridge. I found the most delicious vintage baby beds at a garage sale that I'm going to refinish, and then sew bedding for (with fabric that matches the curtains of the kitchen). I also decided to make ABC books for them, so I'm hunting down pictures for every letter of the alphabet--if you have any ideas, let me know!

-For secrecy's sake, I cannot divulge any family projects, but just know, they are going to be good! (this includes Ryan, since he can read.)

-There are always so many ideas floating around in my head for neighbor/friend gifts, that's it's usually a matter of whittling it down to one. Right now I'm vacillating between two of them, but either one will be yummy!

-Two years ago I decided to completely re-do my tree decorations (for the third time). Last year I had very good intentions to decide what I wanted to do, but having two BUSY one year olds didn't help my cause. In fact, we ended up with just lights on our tree, and even that was pushing it! So, this year I have big plans. I am going to have to add to the tree in phases, but there are a few things I'm working on for this year. I found these fantastic pieces of metal that had been cut into Christmas shapes at a nearby boutique, and immediately pictured them on my tree. I will be drilling holes into the top, and tying ribbon (cranberry reds and this really great green) through to make a loop. Apple slices will also be dried, with the same holes and ribbon. Berry garlands are on my list to be purchased (Target's Home brand has a 9 ft. berry garland--just the right size and color), and will add the final touch. I already have a large metal star for the top, and I can't wait to see how it all comes together.

-Oh, the baking. Really, is there anything that smells better than some delicious holiday treat baking in the oven? I look forward to both the tried and true traditional recipes, and also experimenting with new ones. I'm compiling a list...

I have discovered that when you really take joy in the planning and preparation, it makes the celebration that much sweeter.

{glad to be home}

After two days and nights in the hospital with Ryan, it is so wonderful to be home again, with him safe and sound.

He was pretty sick all through Sunday night, into Monday morning. For a kid who rarely throws up, he was certainly making up for lost time. Unfortunately, what probably would just have been a stomach virus to most of us, actually ended up being pretty serious for him.
When you are diabetic, being ill and losing fluids can result in Diabetic ketoacidosis, and that's exactly what happened with Ryan.

I took him into the ER on Monday afternoon, and he was admitted later that evening. I was really scared that first night, but thanks to a top-notch doctor, wonderful nurses, staff, and hospital, he is home and doing well. He is still being monitored very closely, and we will be continuing hourly blood sugar checks through the night, but it could have been so much worse.
Having a Nintendo 64, plenty of DVDs, and a well-stocked menu at his disposal almost (but not quite) made up for the dozens of pokes he got over his stay there. To be honest, he was extremely brave, and I am so proud of how he handled everything.

Despite the circumstances, we had some great moments together, and as a family. Playing Sorry and checkers, watching movies together in his bed (including the whole family one night, minus dad...he was on a chair next to us), and talking walks up and down the hall will remain some of my favorite memories ever.

-They take a picture of all the patients and their parent to keep in their chart during their stay, and this is ours. Poor Ryan--you can tell he doesn't feel good, and there I am, smiling away!