'Tis the Season for . . .

Trimming the tree
Untrimming the tree . . .

Making Christmas goodies (and eating plenty along the way) . . .Making gingerbread men . . .

Making Christmas cut-out sugar cookies . . .

Christmas class parties . . .

(Abby wearing her pajamas to school and loved making her Santa mask)

Millie with her beloved first-grade teacher.


"Tis the season of Christmas, of course, and I am desperately trying to make it feel like such. Of course, this is hard to do if the weather happens to be 75 degrees and the air sticky with humidity, which it was last week. I am, therefore, grateful for the colder temperatures we've been experiencing the last few days. I can only hope they will last. I know I'm a little batty in this regard, but for Christmas, I like it to be cold! There is just something so un-Christmasy to me about warm weather in December. We have had some fun, though, getting in the spirit of things.

The Joys of Giving . . . Getting?

Tonight for FHE we drew names as a family and went to Wal-Mart so that each person could pick out small gifts for each other and hence, learn more fully the joy of giving rather than merely getting. Millie and I went off together to pick out gifts for Daddy and Abby. Daddy, Abby, and Jane went to pick out gifts for Millie, Jane, and Mommy. We made a big deal about picking out something that the other person would like and keeping it a surprise.

For the first 1o minutes we managed to keep the two groups apart (only occasionally passing each other in the toy aisles). Millie desperately wanted to get Abby a large My Little Pony stuffed baby (one of the ugliest toys I've ever seen) that she desperately wanted and Abby had picked out a game that she longed for to give to Millie. Jane just tripped up and down the isle pointing out any and all Barbie items (she is obsessed!). After that, somehow the two groups merged into one and the girls began an excited campaign to convince each other what to get for them, hence no more focus on giving and no more element of surprise (aside from Jane who, I believe, will still be surprised when she opens her Magnadoodle on Christmas morning). It was in this moment that the whole FHE experience fell flat and we entered the world of gift-getting frenzy. Even though we made each of them carry the gifts they were giving to the checkout counter, they spent the whole ride home talking about what they were getting and wanting to play with it when they got home. Hopefully, we'll have better luck next year.

Recent Millie-isms: While making gingerbread cookies: "How did you even make this dough? It's terribly good!!"

Pointing to the Catholic church accross the street from our church building: "I know that church. It's the Cadillac church."

Coming in from church: Millie: Mommy, can I help you with anything? Mommy: Thanks, Millie! That's so nice!
Millie: That's what Christmas is all about! (matter-of-factly)

Jane-isms (or should I say Queen Jane-isms? She's going through a commanding phase these days):

While listening to Christmas music on the radio in the car:
Jane: "Momma! I want "Anise Dabidab!"
Mommy: "What?"
Jane (louder and more demanding): "I want "Anise Dabidab!!!"
Mommy finally realized that she is referring to "Feliz Navidad", but can't quite get her to understand that Mommy cannot control what they play on the radio.