Christmas

Merry Christmas! 
 

 This was before Christmas.  The kids had fun shaking presents and trying to guess.  It makes me laugh seeing this picture with Joel's smaller present and his face while looking at Colin's.  Everything has to be fair with Joel - but the present Joel's holding is from Norah and Colin has one from mommy and daddy and our budget is higher than Norah's! ha!

 Here he is unwrapping that gift from Norah.

 And then this happened!  Love.  That tiny present wasn't to bad after all. 

 I was woken up Christmas morning around 2 or 3am (after going to bed at midnight) by Norah asking why there was a castle fort in the other room and it took her a while to go back to sleep.  I told her Santa must have come but that it wasn't time to get up yet  Then at 5am Colin woke me up jumping up and down saying "its Christmas Its Christmas!!!!"  So I got up with the boys for a few hours before Brent and Norah got up.  I did send the boys into wake Brent up with these screaming flying monkeys Santa left them two hours later. 

 Colin kept trying to figure out what the package that had the bacon shirt in and I told him it was something to wear and something he loved and if he guessed it correctly I would give him $10.  He tried for a week to guess it right.  And never got the $10 but he loves the shirt.  It was fun having him guess all week. 

It was so fun watching them open presents.  At one point Joel was trying to help Norah open one of hers and she kept yelling at him "Don't tell me!" she wanted to be surprised and to see it herself. 

 After we opened presents Joel went into his room and started putting legos together. 

 Then Ma-ma-Maa, Grandpa, Ant Ant and Uncle Jeff came over for the rest of the day.

 It was a wonderful day and we are so blessed and thankful for everything. 

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve we went to see grandma and then met mom and dad and Sarah for their Christmas Eve service.  I also got the secret for how to make Grandmas Christmas Cherry Bourbon cake.  Its always my favorite every year and I tried to make it - and while it tastes good it wasn't like grandmas.  Thankfully she remembered and I have to chop the cherries with the bourbon and leave the cherry juice in (putting it here for me to remember next year) 

Then we went to Pop's house for Christmas with him. He lives right on the beach and the kids were dying to get out on the water. I couldn't blame them with the really warm weather. We've had our air conditioning on the past few days. We pried the kids from the dock (his condo has a lock on the steps to the beach that residents need a key to open and Pops didn't have the key so that helped drag the kids upstairs)

After dinner we came back home and the kids tried so hard to go to sleep so Santa could get here.  Also for the first night I didn't have to reassure Norah that Krampus wasn't coming. Grandpa taught the kids about Krampus over thanksgiving and Norah had to be reassured every night that Krampus is only in Germany and that Krampus doesn't swim or ride a boat - I told her he was scared of the water and didn't have Santa's flying reindeer.  She would have to look at a world map to make sure Germany was as far away as I said.  Then after a while she started having to be reassured that Isaiah was a good boy and Krampus wasn't going to eat him.  It was sweet how worried she was about her cousin. 

 

Joel was also a little worried about being on the naughty list.  He told Brent one night before bed that it would be ok if he got coal in his stocking.  He could use the coal to make Frosty the snowman's eyes when it snows.  Sweet boy - he was preparing himself I think for it. He also fully admitted at times he should be on the naughty list.  At dinner with Pops I downloaded a naughty/nice app that scanned your finger so that you were either naughty or nice.  Joel's always came up nice and I wish I had taken a picture of the relief on his face.  He was so excited that he was yelling at all of us the whole way home because he was trying to sleep so he wasn't missed by Santa and we kept talking so he couldn't sleep.  Haha!!  I wish he had been that easy to fall asleep but he had such a hard time falling asleep and Norah had slept the whole way home so that was a quick nap for her and she was wired until real late.  So Santa didn't get to our house until much much later.

 

Colin this year wasn't so sure about Santa.  We didn't make a big deal about it - Santa fills our stockings and the rest of the presents are from us. We didn't get to go see the real Santa by the farm this year and I think next year we need to make that trip.  Colin came home from school one day after library and asked if Santa was real then why were all the Santa books in the fiction side of the library and not the nonfiction.  I never thought of it like that.  We did get to "catch" Santa on my phone that night in our family room and have a few videos of proof this year. 

Recital

Norah's ballet class had a Christmas recital before Christmas. Norah's teacher quit halfway through and the new teacher was awful (this new girl didn't even bother to learn the kids names) but Norah still wanted to keep going to ballet class. 

This was Norah's thoughts on the new teacher. Sadly all the parents were in agreement with her too! 

But she loved her tutu ballerina class and her friends.

So we weren't sure come recital day how she'd do. But she wanted to go out with her class and dance the whole thing. 

She cried the whole time. But she did her whole dance and we were so proud of her. she didn't miss a step in her dance but sobbed the whole time. We are so proud of her.

Her love of dancing out weighed her fear of all the people watching her. 

Dog

Norah got a stuffed dog for christmas one year from my grandma that you wind up and play music.  She loves this dog and takes it everywhere.  I accidentally sucked up the tail in the vacuum once but Norah doesn't care.  She loves this dog.  The music part has been broken for a long time but Norah still loves loves loves this dog.  She has a few other dogs that she takes places but nothing like this one.

So one day this week we took Dog to target with us (she doesn't name her stuffed animals yet.... although a baby doll has recently been named Baby Jesus and its really funny when she looks all over the house for Jesus)

Halfway through shopping Norah had to pee so of course we had to walk all the way to the other side of the store to use the bathroom.  I took Dog out of the cart and shoved it in my purse.  Then we went on shopping and got to the checkout and I reached into my purse to get my wallet and found baby doggie but not big Dog (she had a baby dog too)  At some point Dog must have fallen out.

So we pay and then retrace our steps.  For over an hour.  We asked every employee, every person we saw, back and forth and even searched the isles of stuffed animals.  Didn't find Dog.  Finally we had to leave and gave them our phone number in case they found dog.

No phone call.  Brent called the next day and nothing.  We were sure Dog was lost forever.

Norah was convinced Dog was playing hide and seek all over the store.

Then today after Colins christmas party at school he and I went to Target.  Just to see.  And customer service knew who I was before I finished explaining.  (We've been calling) No Dog.

So Colin and I walked all over the store and checked shelves and finally on our way out we find Dog. Part of me wonders at the person who put Dog on this shelf with all the other new stuffed animals.... then this ratty well loved dog next to it without a tag and part of a tail.

We called Brent and when he told Norah he said she was so happy she was teary eyed.

Dog hasnt left her side since.

Our own personal Christmas Miracle.

History

Colin loves history. He almost always picks a civil war or World War Two book out of the library each week. 

He saw a sign advertising the battle of great bridge months ago and since then has reminded me of the weekend and begged to go watch the reenactment. I grew up with my dad always going to reenactments so it was fun to go to one with Colin. Although this was was really small so I think grandpa needs to take Colin to a real civil war one soon. 

This was a revolutionary war reenactment and they had a narrator talking during the entire battle telling us what went on. Pretty fascinating and fun to learn a little more about this area. 

Colin thought the tents looked fun to sleep in. I told him grandpa has one in the shed he could use. 

Dandelion wishes

I wish for a 

Bird

A bunny 

And a dog named Lovie