Christmas Eve

 Even though we've had quite a bit of company, it's been a long six days with Mark working all but 15 hours of the last week.  In the morning the kids dug into their stockings that Santa left the night before.  They also got to play with the one gift each that Santa left since it wasn't wrapped.  Luke and his roller blades are not getting along.  It turns out that they make him very angry and then he starts yelling at Brooke who is a self proclaimed roller blade expert. 

In the afternoon Mark's mom came over to babysit a sick Nash and Stella so Brooke, Luke and I could go to Christmas Eve Mass. Mark, who landed early at the airport, walked in the door from work, changed his clothes, and we were off.  It's crazy crowded on Christmas Eve because all the people that call themselves Catholics but don't go to Mass on a weekly basis, show up in their finest Christmas clothes.  It's sad really that they miss out on Jesus except for His birthday and probably Easter.  We got there 45 minutes early and sat in the reserved early childhood education section (because of Luke's Sunday School class singing) and we almost didn't get a seat.  I wish I had taken my camera because our church is decorated so beautifully for Christmas and I could have taken a picture of Luke singing on the alter before Mass started.  Maybe next year!

After Mass, Luke's Sunday School teacher from last year, Cathy and her daughter, Anna joined Mark's parents, Uncle Poodle, and our family for dinner.  We started this tradition when Luke was born 10 days before Christmas and we liked it so much, we kept it.  What's not to like about Mark's mom bringing and cooking dinner at our house?  We opened presents and had a very relaxed evening.  Well, I suppose some of us more than others since I didn't have to cook.  :)

 This is our little friend, Anna.  Stella and Anna are both four and after they were playing up stairs after dinner, Stella came down and said that Anna was asleep on her bed.  I grabbed my camera and ran up stairs and sure enough she was sound asleep.

 Her mom was suspicious and called after they arrived home to say that Anna had a 103 degree fever.  I made sure to change Stella's pillowcase before she got in bed.  Poor little thing!  'Tis the season for germs!

 Brooke was even more excited than I had anticipated when Santa left her a "For Wizards Only" chemistry set.  I am thrilled because she can read the directions herself and it has provided hours of entertainment.  It's actually not been as messy as this picture shows.

 She's made special glow in the dark potions and invisible ink.  She ran out of vegetable oil and vinegar so she raided the pantry so she could "bubble" more things.

 I know you probably haven't noticed, but I decided after a few stressed out years of trying to take photos of the kids opening presents and then yelling because they weren't waiting for me to take their picture, that I would take a break this year and just enjoy the moment.  I had to give myself a mommy/photographer time out on account of bad behavior in the past. :) It was very freeing and that's why there are no pictures of anyone opening presents.  I liked it so much, I might have to do it again next year.

Above, Luke is playing with Nash's new toy a "ball popper".  We used to own one of these but had to throw it away because when Stella was little people kept putting other things besides the balls down the hatch and it broke.  It's really fun because it blows the balls out the top and then they run down a little slide and do it all over again.  Sometimes they even pop out onto the floor which just adds to the pleasure.

 One really unexpected gift is the new flat screen TV Mark's parents gave us.  We had a 27 inch Sony from college and now we've been catapulted into the 21st century with this awesome gift.  The funny thing is I could have lived happily with our little, old dinosaur, but I am surprised how much I enjoy the new one.  I've watched a few cheesy Netflix Christmas movies the last two nights and LOVE it.

Mark hooked up the new TV before bed and then had to get up at 4 AM to head back to the airport on Christmas Day for a 6 AM check in.  Yes, he had a four day trip, 15 hours at home, and then a two day trip.  If it weren't for Christmas and grandmas, I may have lost my mind.  Poor Mark spent the majority of Christmas in a hotel room in Dallas, TX watching it snow.  There was a huge group of Muslims from Malaysia who have never seen snow and Mark said it was a sight to see them experiencing snow probably for the first time ever.

 Since we went to Mass the day before and we already opened our presents, we had the whole morning and much of the afternoon to pass until my parents and family came over around 3 PM.  We bundled up and headed outside for a bit and before we knew it, company arrived.

 This was the first time in almost a week that Nash had been outside.  He was feeling well enough to swing with Brooke only to face plant on the driveway on his way in and scrape up his face.

Unfortunately, that boo-boo on his chin was a few days old, so add in a busted nose and a scrap on his forehead and you can imagine what he looked like. 

Nash didn't so much care about opening his own presents, he was happy to let the other kids do the work.  I was so thrilled that he seemed occupied by some new toys only to find that it didn't last for more than five minutes.  The one thing that has captivated him is the stick pony my dad bought for him.  Ride 'em cowboy!

We did a White Elephant gift exchange where we got rid of some junk taking up space.  My sister brought her old knitting stuff that she doesn't use anymore and Brooke was more than happy to take that off her hands since she was taught to knit by my cousin's 13 year old daughter during Luke's birthday party.  My mom got rid of some unused golf balls and accessories.  Brooke calls it the "Silly Gifts" game which I think is pretty accurate.  Who knew getting rid of some crap could be so entertaining! 

 My nephew, Jamie (pictured below) wrapped up a new, but huge, older style computer monitor.  Of course when it was Stella's turn to pick a gift, she couldn't resist the biggest one.  Luckily, we didn't end up with it.  :)

 My sister's coffee table book (above) somehow ended up on my coffee table at the end of the night.

 My niece brought her BF (he goes by Brian, Skeeter, Skeet-Skeet or Scooter) this year.  Ah, nothing like young love birds!  When Mark and I were that age, we'd been married for 2 years which just seems absurd to me now.  They are too cute.

My niece Stephanie insisted I take her picture with my sister because she didn't get her picture taken at Thanksgiving like her younger sister did.  She's almost 24 so I'm not feeling very encouraged that sibling rivalry will fade with age.  :)  It was a good day minus Mark missing.  Maybe he'll be home next year.  Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Six Year Old in the House!

 With the coming of our colds, everything else went out the window, including the photos of Luke's 6th birthday on December 15th.  It was so nice to not have two weeks of "birthday-palooza" like with Stella and Brooke's birthdays.  Nope, we were able to celebrate Luke's birthday on his actual day because it fell on a Saturday and we had a little party that night.  I wish it could always be so, but the calendar doesn't consult me. 

 Luke opened our presents before breakfast.  Brooke bought him a $6 car and a box of M & M's with her own money and we gave him a Leapster game and a remote control helicopter.  The helicopter was a hit!

 The more excited everyone got watching Luke, the farther they climbed onto the table.  That or Nash just wanted an excuse to touch our Advent wreath. :)

 He's thinking, "I dare you to say no to this face!"

 In the years past we'd always have cinnamon rolls from the tube, but since we don't eat those anymore I wanted something that was really special which turned out to be Cinnamon Rice Chex cereal.  It makes me giggle to think that this is the special treat when we used to eat boxes and boxes of cereal every week.  I had some, it was pretty tasty.

 Luke was telling Mark that he should shave for his birthday. :)

 Nash enjoying his first bowl of cereal ever.  He loved it as you can tell by his face.  I won't buy it because the kids (like most kids) love it so much they'd stop eating the eggs, bacon, and sausage I'd rather them eat given the choice.  Cereal, even if it doesn't have gluten in it, burns off in an hour or two and I like that the kids aren't hungry for lunch at noon. We'll keep it for special occasions though.

 Luke and his Leapster.

 Vanilla almond flour cup cakes, buckeyes, and Graeter's ice cream.  Yum!

 Every mother loves the faces of her children and thinks they are the most precious people ever.  You'd never think that they were rotten for even for a minute.  This is of course is not true.  Luke is so passionate that when he is sweet, he could melt the coldest of hearts, but when he's upset, you'd better hit the deck and wait for the mood to blow over.  He's a negotiator and in a sweet, soft voice he says..."If you let me play Roller Coaster Tycoon, I won't ask for a couple more days." Being charming can definitely work to your advantage.

 We had Mark's family over and my family and my cousin's family that was from out of town and then one really special guest...

Luke's Sunday School teacher, Ms. Jessica.  I am not kidding.  Luke invited her to his party like lots of children do.  Since my college days of being a day care employee, I've been "invited" to countless parties, but none have I ever attended.  Luke asked her two weeks before his party and when I asked him if he told her our address he said no, but that he told her we live by the Kroger.  :)  The following week when I was picking him up I thought I'd better say something because he was convinced she was coming.  I didn't want him to be heart broken so I invited her myself and gave her our actual address.  Sure enough she came and Luke said when she got there, "I knew you would come."  It was possibly the sweetest thing she could have done for him.  Jessica has a heart of gold to show up at a family party by herself not knowing another soul besides us. FYI, we are very good friends with Luke's teacher from last year and she and her daughter came over for Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. What can we say?  Luke makes friends wherever he goes.  :)  We ended up having a great time with her and we "partied" until after 10 PM.  The  kids were in bed of course, which was part of the fun.  :) 

Our Big Tree From Big Tree

 I have a few minutes thanks to Nash sleeping in (poor sick little buddy!) and Netflix so I thought I'd put the pictures of our Christmas tree on this here blog so someday when I print my blog book on Blurb, we'll remember the year we cut down our tree from Big Tree Plantation.

I posted the pictures in reverse order, but since Christmas tree season is almost over, I figured I could break from tradition.  :)  The picture above was taken last night after I put the presents out.  Surprisingly, Santa came last night after I went to bed and filled the stockings and left roller blades for Luke and Stella, a "wizard" science kit for Brooke and some play tools for Nash.  Being a pilot's family is very complicated and I decided that I'm not going to any great lengths to "protect" Santa.   Brooke and Luke are hot on his trail, but if that's the way it goes down, then so be it.

 Friends from our home school group own a Christmas tree farm about 15 minutes from our house.  I knew of it last year, but we just never ended up going since we were happy with our mostly pre lit tree.  If you have a troublesome pre lit tree then you know the disappointment when you plug in the "ready to go" tree and it's not ready to go because some of the lights aren't working.  Yes, we are so over that which is why we decided if we were going to be putting lights on a tree it may as well smell good.

 On the weekends at Big Tree Plantation they have volunteers dress up to be Mary and Joseph.  Mark and I volunteered the Sunday after Thanksgiving.  Part of the job is taking a pony around and visiting with the customers.  The pony was a hit of course and we had a pretty good time too.  Unfortunately, we didn't get a picture because we don't own an iPhone and Mary and Joseph certianly wouldn't have had a Canon 7D.  :)  Maybe next year...

After we completed our shift, my mom who was watching the kids, brought them all to meet us.  We walked through the field searching for just the right tree. Mark was after a tall thin one and I didn't care just as long as it was pretty.  Did you know that it takes 10 years for a Christmas tree to mature?  That's a long time.  Our tree is older than Brooke.  :)

 The farm provides saws and little sleds to drag your tree to the place they shake all the "extras" out of the tree and bundle it up to take home.  I wonder how many people pick out a big tree and think it's the perfect size in the field, but once home it seems a little bit bigger than before.  I think this happen to us, but luckily we've got a really tall ceiling in our living room.

 Nash got let out of the backpack carrier and was happy to wander around where ever he pleases.  Oh and he is a wanderer.  The other kids to this day hardly ever leave my side, but not this one.  That's how I lost him at Kings Island this summer.  :)

 We got one!

 At Big Tree they even have a few animals...

Who me? These alpaca's crack me up.  I can't decide if it's their buck teeth or the hair.  These two got crazy when Mark and I were doing our loop as Mary and Joseph with the pony.  We thought this one was going to get out of it's enclosure.  Needless to say we didn't stick around long enough to find out.

"It's Christmas, we're all miserable!"

 I am so sorry once again for leaving you hanging.  It has been a pretty miserable week with 4 out of 6 people being sick in our family.  Mark and I were both down (at the same time!) and I'm not even sure I'm entirely over the gunk that I picked up.  Maybe that's while I feel slightly ill right now as I'm typing.  The only reason I'm not in bed is because Santa is visiting us tonight after the kids are asleep and I need to have a few words with him about the pony situation.

 I feel like I've lost a week of my life being sick and when I came up for air, I started panicking that Christmas is almost here and Mark left for work and I'm so, so tired.  My mom came to my rescue again and spent the weekend at my house picking up the slack while I was off my game.  Let me just say that Mark left for work on Thursday will come home tomorrow afternoon on Christmas Eve and then leave again by 6 AM on Christmas day.  I had no presents wrapped, we are having people over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day,  I'm not 100%, and Nashy Boy is miserably sick for the 2nd time in a week. Is it any wonder that I want my mommy?

 You already know that my mom is the best, but when I tell you that she went with us to Dollar Tree after Mass today so the kids could buy presents with their allowance, she should get a medal.  Actually she admitted before hand that she thought this might be one of the more painful things she's been through in her life, but it turned out fine.  Before we left, we made lists of the people they were buying for and had an envelope of money to match.  I love the dollar aspect of this whole deal because it makes things very simple.  I assigned Luke to my mom.  I took Stella (with Nash on my back pulling my hair!) and Brooke got her own basket and roamed free.  We met at the cash register and shopping was complete.

 Just like the years past, there are some pretty special gifts under out tree.  I don't want to spoil the surprise, but just to let you know what we're working with here, Stella bought Nash a squeaky dog toy.  Yes, that's the joy of the dollar store.  :)

 My mom earned double medals today because she not only shopped, but helped Luke and Stella wrap.  That was the hardest part wrapping random shaped gifts.  She will sleep well tonight.

 Since Thanksgiving it seems that things have moved in fast forward and I haven't taken the time to take some photos of our ordinary life.  I think someday those will be the real treasures and so I walked around some of the rooms and just snapped a few photos to remember this week.  This first one if Luke's room.  We got a real tree this year (that was supposed to be another blog post!) so we decided to put up our old tree in Luke's huge palace of a room.  He was thrilled and then Stella got our other little tree and Brooke got a new smaller tree from Hobby Lobby that was on sale.  They were so excited, it made all the extra work so worth it.

 Stella's tree.  Notice the lavender lei necklace on the top?  She's got flair.  :)

 Luke lost some toys this week on account of some behavior issues and don't you know that didn't stop him from having fun.  Nope, he just took piles of paper and made a "hotel" in one corner of his room.

 He spent quite a lot of time and is very proud of his hard work.  He keeps making additions so thankfully he bought some more tape for himself at the store today. So cute!

 Since her riding lesson this past Wednesday, Brooke has had horses on her mind even more than usual.  She realizes that Santa most likely isn't going to bring her a real one so she settled for her American Girl horse instead.

 She also make a "stable" out of some bins she had in her room.

I wanted you to experience a little bit of Brooke's room so I took this picture of her desk.  Yes, there is a desk under there.  Brooke is a pack rat.  A hoarder.  The opposite of a neat freak.  She told me tonight that I looked "distressed" when I was staring at the junk treasures on  her desk.  If you want to know what freaks me out besides persistent, loud yelling by small children, it's messes like these.  I find my heart starting to race and my mood turn sour.  Our house, while not necessarily clean, is usually pretty organized or I'll just go right over the edge.  Needless to say, Brooke's door is usually closed. 

Tomorrow afternoon Brooke, Luke and I are off to Mass while Mark's mom keeps Nash and Stella at our house.  We're hoping to save Mark a seat if he lands at the airport on time.  We head home to open presents.  Eat dinner with Mark's parents and Uncle Poodle and open more presents.  Mark will leave in the early AM on Christmas and then my family will come over for dinner and more presents.  I love Christmas, but with all these germs, it's just not the same.  For the first time I can't wait to move on to feeling better, and returning to our regular schedule.  I hope Jesus doesn't take this the wrong way, but I suppose "Bah, humbug" is is in order for the way I'm feeling.  :)  Gotta go talk to that Santa guy and hit the sack. Stay tuned...