December 23: A Full Bulletin Board

Dear Reader,

I decided to use our nice bulletin board this year for Christmas cards and photos. Well, the board is more than full by now. It's a wonderful experience to have more greetings than space to display them, and so many amazing people who share in this celebration of the Savior's birth.

I set out at the beginning of this month to share about our Christmas festivities, and this has been a time rich with preparation and anticipation of Christmas for our family. I have so enjoyed watching our son's introduction to some Christmas activities, which may even become traditions over time. And I love that we have taken some moments each day to talk about Jesus and about His coming as a baby in a manger.

Since this will likely be my final post before Christmas, I would like to conclude tonight with the final verse of "O Little Town of Bethlehem" (which my dad often uses as a Christmas prayer):

O Holy Child of Bethlehem!
Descend to us we pray!
Cast out our sin and enter in,
Be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell;
O, come to us, abide with us,
Our Lord Emmanuel!

Merry Christmas!

Sincerely,
Abi

December 22: The Final Trimmings

Dear Reader,

Today has been a day of running errands and making the final preparations for our Christmas holiday. My son and I spent the better part of the morning in the grocery store stocking up for Christmas dinner and for the week between Christmas and New Year's (as I would love for this next week to be a bit of a break from the normal routines - including grocery shopping!)

This afternoon we did the last of our baking and tried out a recipe for toffee (a recipe that honestly took 15 minutes to complete - amazing!) I had thought by now that my son would be rather done with wanting to help out with baking, but his help continues to be offered. Between the rather long morning of errands and baking this afternoon, I am struck by the patience my son is developing. He really has been a trooper today.

I have thought often of the opening lines from the poem "The Night Before Christmas." Yes, Christmas is almost here, and, I think, we're about ready.

Sincerely,
Abi

December 21: Christmas Pizza Slices

Dear Reader,

My husband and I are trying to make the start of this week very calm as we are so aware that extreme excitement will likely follow on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. So tonight we made another little craft project with our little boy.

This time we cut paper plates into six pieces (like pizza slices), and my son glued the slices onto a piece of red construction paper. He continued to layer the pieces until the slices formed a Christmas tree shape. The directions for this craft then suggest decorating the tree, but my son wanted to just keep on with the gluing. We made enough trees for both grandmas, his aunt, and one for me to keep. A very easy activity to do together, but we had a lot of fun creating the trees as a family.

To continue with the pizza theme, my son asked to play with his new pizza set - an early Christmas present from my parents. We love watching him decide on the toppings and serve up the slices. Pizza is his dad's all time favorite food, and my son certainly follows in his father's footsteps on this one! (We're hoping to do homemade pizzas some night between Christmas and New Year's. My husband is working on perfecting a thin crust.)

We topped off our evening by sharing a few slices of a smores dessert pizza. What a yummy treat - the first of many this week, I would suspect!

Sincerely,
Abi

December 20: Christmas Shopping

Dear Reader,

I have been almost done with Christmas shopping for a little while now. The "almost" part of that sentence is because I needed a little something more for my mom. She's an all round wonderful mother and lends a hand in my life more than I would have ever anticipated. However, she is not an easy lady for which to find a perfect gift (and she would say the same about me.)

This afternoon we took some time to go Christmas shopping - for each other - with each other. I loved it. We were honest and efficient, and we both found a nice item of clothing which we wouldn't have allowed ourselves to purchase but would easily purchase for the other. (And everything we bought was on sale.) Yes, I think we may have stumbled upon a new way to handle Christmas shopping as mother and daughter.

We all approved of this afternoon. I spent time with my dear mom, and my husband and son were spared from a trip to the mall. Everyone wins.

Sincerely,
Abi

December 19: Appreciating our family

Dear Reader,

Yesterday I posted about friendship, and this morning I had the joy of sharing time with my dear friend at her lovely condo. I felt quite refreshed after our morning together.

We received an unexpected phone call at around noon from my father-in-law. My mother-in-law was returning from a trip to their church, and on their icy country road she lost control of her car which rolled over into a ditch. My mother-in-law was able to contact my father-in-law and emergency response. She came out of this accident with no injuries besides feeling quite sore. Thanks be to God for His protection of her.

We spent this evening all together as a family at my in-laws. We brought some pizza over and sat around talking and just sitting together. Each of us was very much the same as usual and yet also fully aware of the gift of my mother-in-law's presence, unharmed by the events of the day. My husband and I have been reminded yet again this holiday season of the gift of relationships with friends and family, and we have been encouraged to live each day with delight and celebration. We have much for which to be grateful this Christmas.

Sincerely,
Abi

December 18: In the company of friends

Dear Reader,

We had the pleasure of decorating cookies with our good friends yesterday. This morning my son had a playdate with the neighbor kids. I had the delight of enjoying a good cup of coffee with their mom while her three kids (together with my son) checked out our toy selection. And this evening we hosted some great old friends (who my husband has known all of his life) and their three kids. Lots of activity. Lots of great moments. The fun continues tomorrow with coffee and cinnamon rolls with a dear friend of mine.

In my estimation, getting together with friends is one of the joys of the holiday season. Because I come from a small family and our extended family never lived close to us, my parents made a point of developing annual Christmas events with a few families from our church. We would celebrate Christmas and Epiphany each year with the Franzens, and Christmas Eve morning was reserved for the Eickemeyers. The traditions stuck with us for many years.

These days seem to suggest that we are developing new traditions with our family friends. Fun!

Sincerely,
Abi

December 17: Decorating Cookies with Friends

Dear Reader,

The cookie baking last evening prepared us very well for a morning of decorating Christmas cookies. My son had a cookie decorating playdate with his good friend this morning, a very sweet two year old little girl. I will admit that I wondered how the decorating process would work with these two active toddlers, but they did great.

We had a lot of decorating supplies out. The kids each got going on adding icing and then special touches to each cookie. Sampling the decorations was a must. And the word "snack" was used rather often as in "I want to snack on the icing, marshmallows, chocolate chips, etc."

And when the decorating was done, the routine play activities and snacktime commenced. My son had some tears towards the end, and, actually, his tears resulted in one of my favorite moments this morning. We read together the new book that my son received from his good friend. Tears stopped for that moment. His friend helped us along with the pages given how well she knew the story, anticipating the conclusion of it. And I was reminded of the gift of these wonderful friends of ours.

Sincerely,
Abi

December 16: Sugar Cookies and Gingerbread

Dear Reader,

My son and I have a playdate planned with our good friends tomorrow morning to decorate Christmas cookies. This evening my husband and son prepared sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies. I'm just getting over a cold, so I stayed clear of the kitchen and left the baking to the guys.

My husband doesn't usually get in on baking time at our house. I loved watching the two of them at work on this important task. My son is very clear on his role in the process - naming and then adding the ingredients, stirring the dough, and licking the spoon when everything is in the oven. My husband did such a good job of keeping the process moving, and I kept hearing him say, "OK, now, ..." Baking with a two year old certainly keeps you on your toes!

At the end of the evening, the house smells fabulous. And my husband kindly told me that he appreciates all that I do (as he is quite tired after the baking endeavor with our little boy.) Thanks, dear husband, for your kind words and for going the extra mile tonight.

Sincerely,
Abi

December 15: Christmas Tree Decision Revisited

Dear Reader,

We took the plunge. There has been so much debate this year on the topic of a Christmas tree. My husband and I love the real deal, and we've always elected this option for our home. However, this year the pro/con list tipped to the other side, the side of buying a fake one.

We have browsed around for an artificial tree for the better part of a month and had come to the conclusion that we would wait for an after-Christmas sale. On a shopping trip this evening, we spotted a 50% off sign by the tree selection. And the store had one tree left in the style we like. Ironically, this is the same tree that I considered picking up about a month ago. I enjoyed the spontaneous purchase of the tree though.

When we arrived home, my son became adamant that the tree be placed in his room (as the other Christmas tree resides there.) Rather than setting up the tree together as a family (which would have resulted in a tearful few minutes for our little boy), we waited until he was sound asleep, and my husband unpacked the tree. Good decision all around. Miss the pine tree smell though.

Sincerely,
Abi

December 14: Christmas Cards

Dear Reader,

Yes, the Christmas cards are rolling in by our house these days, and I absolutely love getting the mail given the photos and the updates that you find inside these envelopes! Tonight our family activity centered around a ride to a nearby community where many residents display Christmas cards in their yards.

Sounds funny? When my husband first described the concept to me, I first thought of those large cardboard cards you find at greeting card shops (cards meant to be signed by a hundred people or more.) The Christmas cards in the yards are actually wooden signs painted with a Christmas theme and then placed in the center of the yard with a spotlight.

We took a drive to see the town with the Christmas cards tonight, and we all enjoyed. We sipped hot chocolate (and apple juice for the two year old), listened to Christmas music, and slowly drove up and down the streets to take in the holiday experience. My son's favorite part came when we passed the house with at least ten blow-up figures in the yard. I would not envy being a neighbor to this house and the bright glow that it emits on the block (sunglasses required?) However, my son could not take his eyes off this home where decorations abound.

Sincerely,
Abi

December 13: Baby Jesus in a Hammock

Dear Reader,

One of my son's favorite evening activities these days is a game called hammock. Developed by his grandparents (thanks so much Mom and Dad), the game allows one wonderful two year old boy to swing in a sturdy blanket while two adults hold the sides of the blanket and gently rock him back and forth. Yes, our boy lives a great life! (I think he just needs to bring his juice sippy cup with him, and this little guy would be entirely in paradise.)

I posted last evening about the tp roll nativity that we crafted together with my son. After spending some time playing with the nativity this evening, my son pulled out the Baby Jesus and brought him over to the blanket used for our hammock activity and asked to rock Baby Jesus in the hammock.

My husband, son, and I spend the next few minutes rocking Baby Jesus and singing "Away in a Manger" (a very memorable few minutes.) Then, of course, my son wanted to join Baby Jesus in the hammock. And the game continues.

Sincerely,
Abi

December 12: TP Roll Nativity

Dear Reader,

Yes, you read the title correctly. We have been working on making a toilet paper roll nativity set with my son this weekend. Where in the world did I get this idea? Well, I myself own a tp roll nativity which I handcrafted in preschool, and actually it's one of my favorite decorations.

All of the figures in the nativity set are made of an empty tp roll which my son painted. We then glued on a circle with a face, added a paper head covering using a rubber band, and gave the Wise Men tin foil gifts to bring. The Baby Jesus is also made of a tp roll along with his cradle. There are sheep made with half tp rolls with cotton balls glued on. And finally the figures are placed in a shoebox which is wrapped on the outside to represent the gift of Christmas.

I so enjoyed creating this set with my son, and he had quite a bit of fun painting, gluing, and now playing with the figures. He right away made the connection to our other nativity set, stating that they are the same. While the look of these two sets is a bit different, indeed, he is right as they both point to the celebration of the Savior's birth.

Sincerely,
Abi

December 11: Family Party

Dear Reader,

Before I moved to this neck of the woods for college, I was quite unaware of extended families who get together to celebrate Christmas (and need to use a church multipurpose room to fit.) My husband's family is an example of this phenomenon, and because both sides of my extended family live all over the country we never enjoyed the holidays as one big family.

Tonight we celebrated Christmas with my mother-in-law's family - her siblings, their children and grandchildren. We ate together, played a few games, took a family photo, and the grandmothers (my mother-in-law's generation) provided small gifts for the grandkids. My husband has a really great extended family, and we rather enjoyed our time with them.

My favorite part in the evening came with the grandchild gift opening. When my son's turn came, he had just spotted a music stand in the room. Instead of opening the gift, he ran over to the music stand and wanted to conduct (even requesting a baton.) What child actually abstains from gift opening? And we really had to convince him to open the gift later in the evening. I'm preparing myself for the possibility that Christmas Eve and Christmas Day may not exactly follow the flow of past years, specifically as it relates to gift opening. Who knows, maybe we'll still be opening presents (or waiting to open them?) in April.

Sincerely,
Abi

December 10: Gingerbread House

Dear Reader,

My husband started out our evening tonight with some serious snowblowing action, which our son watched through his bedroom window with complete interest and awe. As soon as my husband had a chance to warm up a bit, we started in our project for tonight: a gingerbread house.

I usually prefer to organize and plan ahead. However, I occasionally have a spot of spontaneity, and, well, tonight was one of those evenings. I hadn't bought a kit or thought ahead about decorations, candy, etc. I pulled out a box of graham crackers (with an expiration in 2008), made some icing using confectioner's sugar, and pulled out any sprinkles that I could find.

The three of us just started building (using the form of the empty graham cracker box), and before long we had a graham cracker sided house. Our son spent rather a lot of time licking icing instead of using the icing to stick the graham crackers to the box, which is exactly as it should be. We then added square pretzels for windows and cracker sticks for a walkway. Next we added more icing, and then my son sprinkled the house with red and green tiny dots. For an added bonus, I found some coconut, which we sprinkled at snow.

Overall, it is a fine looking house. We'll see how it holds up. My husband (the engineer) quickly qualified his work at the beginning of this endeavor by saying, "I'm not worrying about the structural strength of this house." I'm hoping it at least lasts until morning.

Sincerely,
Abi

December 9: Pajamas

Dear Reader,

I hope this next post does not cross the threshold of being too personal. Here we go: I love to wear Nick and Nora flannel pajamas and own three pairs. They are comfortable and well-made (and Nick and Nora didn't even pay me to say this.) My dear son loves the prints, particularly my pair with penguins on them.

Over the last few weeks he asked for his own pair of flannel pjs with penguins. I located the pair of flannel penguin pajamas my son wore last year (size 18-24 mo.), and he started changing into them immediately. The pants sat just below the knee on him (flannel capris?) The shirt fit equally well. And he has been insisting on sporting this look each night for the better part of a week.

This evening we found a pair of Nick and Nora jammies for my little boy. Yes, they are flannel. No, they do not have penguins. Instead, he opted for dogs with reindeer ears on their heads. He looks entirely adorable in them, and I think these pjs will be perfect for some pajama time over the holidays.

Sincerely,
Abi

December 8: Christmas/Winter Books

Dear Reader,

This evening the snow is falling, and it's feeling a lot like Christmas. When I pulled out our Christmas decorations a week or so ago, I also pulled out some books about Christmas and wintertime that I had packed away. Our nightly bedtime ritual with our little boy includes stories in bed before being tucked in for the night, and so we have been reading about the arrival of Jesus and about snow and snowmen and mittens.

Interestingly, some of my favorite children's books are about winter. The Mitten and The Snowy Day are certainly toward the top of my list along with the story Brave Irene. I love to read to my son, particularly at bedtime when he is a bit more willing to sit and take in the story. And it's a joy to share these books that I have fond remembrances of reading with my own parents, and now I have the pleasure of turning the pages with my little boy.

While we are reading these books most nights right now, I choose this as our special family activity to highlight today. With the cold winds and blowing snow, reading a few classic tales of wintertime together seems just right.

Sincerely,
Abi

December 7: Christmas crafting

Dear Reader,

My son worked on a special project for one of his grandparents for Christmas. (I wish I could be a bit more descriptive, but the item is a Christmas gift after all.) He took care of painting the thing to the max. Before this project my son has only done paint-with-water pictures, and he enjoyed this much more. (And we had no significant messes - amazing!)

We started by only using one color at a time, and once we had exhausted those options we started with the color mixing (the fun part for my little guy.) Throughout the painting process, my husband and I would make comments like "great job" or "it's looking so nice" to which my son would reply, "I'm not finished yet." He clearly took this job seriously, and I'm quite pleased with the end result.

I've really tried to focus my gift giving this year on buying what is practical and trying to be creative. I've actually even made a few Christmas gifts this year, which for me has been quite satisfying and an enjoyable outlet.

Sincerely,
Abi

December 6: Beach trip

Dear Reader,

This afternoon we finished up work on the Oreo truffles with my husband managing the white chocolate dipping process. I am most appreciative of his help as I had forgotten how quickly I need to move when trying to dip white chocolate before it becomes too thick and lumpy.

My son was ready for something more fun (than watching his parents complete a fast-paced assembly line of Oreo filling dunking), and so I suggested that we take a pretend visit to the beach. We pulled out an ivory chenille blanket (our sand), a sand bucket and toys, sun hats, and sunglasses. We built pretend sandcastles and made sure to put on pretend sunblock to avoid a pretend sunburn. Pretend seagulls were even flying around us. Our life has become full of make-believe, and we love the imagination that our little boy expresses.

So for today, instead of having Christmas in July, we experienced some July in Christmas.

Sincerely,
Abi

December 5: Nativity Set

Dear Reader,

There has been a great deal of debate at our house about Christmas trees. My husband and I would both consider ourselves real tree enthusiasts, but we're wimping out this year with the extra effort and mess that goes into it. Neither of us is excited about purchasing a fake tree though. And while I selected a location in our living room where I had intended for a tree to go, we instead moved our sideboard table to this spot and have placed a nativity set on the table.

My husband and I received this nativity set when we were engaged, and quickly it became my favorite decoration. At our old house, I would place the set on our mantel where it fit perfectly, and I loved how much of a focal point Mary, Joseph, and Jesus became in our home during the holidays. I am happy with the location of the set for this year. I even placed a step stool by the sideboard to allow my son easy access to enjoy the nativity.

My son was first excited about the animals, particularly the sheep and the donkey. Then attention turned to the wise men and the shapes of the gifts that they each brought (as my son would describe it, "a circle, a triangle, and a rectangle.") When asked to point to baby Jesus, my son replied that Mary was just holding a baby and pointed to Joseph and explained that he was Jesus. Later in the day my son took pictures of the nativity (a rare treat to use Mom's camera) and said "My take picture of Jesus. Say cheese!" There is a quote.

I plan to continue talking with my son about this nativity, maybe even convincing him that Mary is holding baby Jesus. This nativity set is a bit breakable, and even so I'm encouraging my little boy to enjoy these figures and the story that they tell. So far only a sheep has lost an ear.

Sincerely,
Abi

December 4: Holiday Baking

Dear Reader,

This afternoon I decided to begin work on some holiday baking with my son. My son loves to help in the kitchen. He explains which ingredients we are adding as if we are on a cooking show, stirs up dough with the best of 'em, and can't wait for his favorite part - licking the spoon when we're done.

We are making Oreo truffles for the neighbors as a holiday treat. I got this great recipe from a friend, and it's simple (three ingredients: Oreos, cream cheese, and white chocolate!) and a kid-friendly crowd pleaser. This afternoon we assembled the inner portion of the truffle, which we then freeze. Perhaps tomorrow we will tackle dipping them in white chocolate.

I made these truffles with our son last year, and I have been reflecting on the progression in my son's development over this last year. He was mostly an observer of the baking process a year ago, and now he could not be more of an active participant. I think these truffles have the potential for becoming an annual tradition!

Sincerely,
Abi

December 3: Snow

Dear Reader,

I loved the unseasonably warm and sunny weather this past November. I had to pinch myself that we received the gift of an extra month of fall weather, the weather to which I look forward so much. Even so, I have been anticipating the first snowfall of the season. We had a bit of snow the weekend following Thanksgiving, but tonight we received our first real snow. It's beautiful.

The weather tonight made for an easy decision of how to use our time as a family. We bundled up the boy and headed to our front yard to take in the snowflakes as they gently fell onto our grass. My son is falling in love with the snow, and I'm completely in love with watching him take in the wonder of falling snow. Almost every time I looked his direction I found his tongue sticking out to try to catch snowflakes.

We spent our evening in the yard making tracks in the snow, playing follow the leader, and finally fitting in a brief game of tag. I caught my husband's eyes a number of times, and we just smiled at each other. In my estimation the smiles are both because it's such a delight to watch our son's joy and because we maybe appreciate this great life we lead a bit more these days.

There were many tears when we had to come inside and warm up. I assured my son that this was only the first of probably many wonderful times in the winter wonderland.

Sincerely,
Abi

December 2: Christmas Movie

Dear Reader,

Curious George is my son's favorite show by far. He loves the books as well, but not as much as the PBS television series. And my little boy is now the proud owner of Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas.

Tonight the three of us got into our pajamas a little early and watched this movie together. We munched on Christmas pretzels (our local grocery store offers pretzels in the shape of trees, stars, and bells which are a hit with our family) and snuggled in on the couch. After an intense week, this evening felt just right - very calm - very bright.

I have a feeling that another Christmas movie may enter into our plan for the weeks ahead.

Sincerely,
Abi

December 1: Decorating the tree

Dear Reader,

I am looking towards Christmastime this year with an extra shot of anticipation. I started preparations already in November because I would like this season of Advent to be rich with enjoyable family experiences. I read an article about a family who used an Advent calendar to schedule fun activities with their kids for each day of December. My plan is to do likewise.

I hope to make this month memorable as I would imagine this is the first Christmas my son will recall. My goal is to post about the Christmas festivities of each day. I may entirely fail to keep up, and I apologize in advance if that occurs. If, however, I manage to keep up, may our Christmas experiences bring you, dear reader, cheer and joy in this holiday season.

So for today, we had the delight of decorating a small tree, a very small tree. I have used this 12" tree as a tabletop decoration for years, but my son had the delight of decorating it this year with the ornaments from his great-grandmother and the treasured decorations from my childhood which my mother kindly saved. My son put the twenty or so decorations on very carefully and then proceeded to take them off the tree. This sequence of events was repeated three times before the tree was fully prepared for the evening. What a great way to start the month!

Sincerely,
Abi