Well how's that for a title? This is what happens when you blog as infrequently as I do....very long, rambling posts to make up for time gone by.
Our Christmas started a week early with a celebration with Rocky's sisters and families. As always, the time flies by too quickly and I find myself longing for the Christmas of 2008 when we got snowed in together for three days. Now that was more like it. As the kids get older it's so fun to see their friendships grow and even though we don't see them nearly as often as we'd like, they still seem to pick up right where they left off last.
Maggie and Atti~ all four of our kiddos adore Atti but especially Sam and Maggie. It's usually a contest to see who Atti will choose over the other. He seems pretty darn smitten with his girl cousin.
Our trip to see Santa this year was a bit tramatic and definitely one for the photo album. Josie started giving us the warning upon waking up that morning that she wasn't going to be actually talking to Santa but just sitting near him. She even went as far as to show us pictures from years past where the rocking horse was positioned and that would be her preferred location . Fair enough. Well as time passed standing in line it became apparent that not only was she refusing to converse with the Jolly guy, she wasn't going anywhere near him. We gave it our best effort.......
But after 12 years of being able to stay out of the picture we ended up with a family picture with Santa and Josie wasn't even looking at the camera. Hmmm....maybe it's time to rethink this tradition.
Christmas Eve was such a nice low-key family day. We baked cookies for the neigbors {not seen here} and cookies for ourselves {seen here}. I loved not having an agenda all day and no place to hurry off to until caroling and service at church.
The kiddos all dressed up for service.
Christmas day started early. very early. The kids came running in our room with a shouting whisper "Merry Christmas" at 4:30. I was really trying to get behind their excitement but that is entirely too early for this mama that had only gone to bed a couple hours earlier. We sent them back to bed for at least another half hour but I know Rocky is just as excited as they are so at 5:00 we made our descent to the family room. Grandma and Papa joined us shortly after that and we enjoyed a sweet time together opening gifts and eating yummy breakfast and then off to church. We had lots more family time and more cousin bonding with my side that afternoon.
Just before Christmas we got our December number....
31 on the boys list and just in case anyone is keeping track {that would be me} we were #34 in November and we've moved a total of 43 spots in a year! If I do the math that doesn't give me a whole lot of hope for our timeline but I'm just going to refuse the math at this point and leave it the hands of the One who knows best.
We couldn't have had a more beautiful start to 2012. The sun was shining, it was warm and we spent the entire day outside playing, with the exception of a short break for a bath for Jo who was covered head to toe in mud from digging for worms. It felt like spring and I couldn't think of a more perfect start!
As we move into the New Year of course the list of resolutions run through my head. I could make a list a mile long of the things I'd like to be better at, more organized with, more intentional about but we all know how that ends. I really do love the idea of a fresh start. Taking down the Christmas decor always feels so bittersweet to me. I'm so sad it's all over and it went by so fast, but at the same time I'm hopeful and excited for what the future holds. It feels like a cleansing and simplifying and I guess that's what I want to focus on in this new year. Tonight as we were packing up the last box of Christmas items we all filled out a sheet about our 2011 experiences and what we're hopeful for in 2012. We started this tradition last year and what a gift it was to open up our stockings this year and find those sweet {and funny} notes to ourselves. One of the items on the questionnaire was what was the biggest lesson you learned this past year. Without hesitation Amelia said "That Christmas has nothing to do with Santa Clause!" Right on girl, even with our twisted visit with Santa, she knows the truth! That comment, along with another she made really got me thinking about how I want to live my life in 2012. Her other comment {said in a sad tone}"we're not celebrating Jesus birthday anymore because Christmas is over." But that's not true, we've missed it all entirely if we save the celebration for just one month or even one season of the year. I want her to get, I want all of them to get it. I want ME to get it. Everyday that we walk this earth is a day to celebrate the gift of Jesus. Not by the traditional, holiday festivities but by living as He did. By loving Him and loving others. Whether it's our neighbor next door or the widow and orphan across the globe....simply loving them as they are. This is the desire of my heart and how that looks for our family I'm not sure, but I want to stand with open hands and a willing spirit. And I've got some pretty good ideas where to start.
For fun, I'll finally close this one up with some pictures from day #1 of 2012......
Our chicken wranglers keeping busy.
Just slightly grossed out seeing her pick up the chickens after watching Food, Inc. this past week.
And a crazy game of 2 on 1 where Rock used his hooded coat as his secret weapon. The kids couldn't stop laughing at him. Somehow I got pulled into the last part of the game {Rock and I against the kids} and while I'd like to blame our loss on my rubber boots, I think the kids will tell you otherwise.
Happy New Year!!
{and if I was to have a New Year's resolution, it would be more consistent blogging}
