Yes, I realize it’s April. I just can’t bring myself to skip over Christmas and Della’s birthday (which I’ll write about later) just because it has long since come and gone. This blog is first and foremost about our adventures and these are moments I want documented in this little corner of the world wide web. It was our last Christmas as a family of four!
I say this every year but it was by far my most favorite one yet. Christmas in the desert is a totally different experience. The weather is so mild, we were able to be outdoors for most of the month of December, sometimes without even needing a coat! Because of the mild weather, people really get into decorating their houses so it was always fun to drive around town after dark. Several parks around town had decorated Christmas trees, too and the kids loved stopping to check them out. And we went to a town tree lighting, which was pretty much the scene from the movie Elf when everyone is singing and believing in Santa – I may have even cried when Owen burst out singing Santa Claus is coming to town when the jolly fat man arrived, and we went to a couple Christmas night parades where the floats and trucks are all covered in Christmas lights. I mean, Christmastime is always magical no matter where we live, but all of this seemed to add a extra spark to the season. As always getting to see it all through my kids’ eyes was the absolute best.
We prepared for the birth of Jesus by doing an advent calendar called the 25 Days of Christ (we also did their Easter Story Egg this past week). Owen really got into it and enjoyed painting the ornaments. We’ll save these and pass them onto him someday. I plan to do this calendar every year with the kids and I’d like to get another set for Della and Greta to paint when they’re older, too so each kid has a set. Through school and our conversations at home, Owen has developed a very strong interest and passion for Jesus and His life, death and resurrection. It was such a fun way to teach him about our Savior and the Bible!
We also brought back out the Giving Manger, which is something I sort of started with him last year, though he was just a bit too young for it then. He was able to grasp the concept of giving and doing kind things for others this year better. For each good deed done, he got to place a piece of straw in baby Jesus’ manger. We mostly used it to encourage good behavior, acting the way Jesus teaches us to so he’d get to add a piece for helping pick up his toys, putting dishes away or helping Della with her yogurt at dinner. But we also talked about giving to those who don’t have as much and donated food, handed out “blessing bags” to the homeless and donated some of our lesser used toys and clothes to a thrift store.
One of his favorite acts of giving was the Toys for Tots. We let them pick out a toy to donate and went to the big collection event put on by none other than our local fire department. Owen proudly handed over the donations and was obviously tickled pink when Santa arrived via helicopter. And as usual, he sweet talked his way into his own personal tour of all of the trucks and was personally invited to visit the station by the firefighters who enjoyed showing him the trucks as much as he loved seeing them.
The kids picked out their own mini-Christmas trees at Lowe’s to care for. Della didn’t care too much for decorating the big tree, but Owen pretty much did the entire thing by himself and was so proud.
They had so much fun helping decorate for Christmas. They made a gingerbread house…Owen did most of the decorating and Della ate the candy.
On Christmas Eve day we had donuts for breakfast, read stories about baby Jesus, Rudolph and Santa, baked cookies and watched the Polar Express before the kids turned in for the night. The sunset that night was fabulous, as most are here. We have a fantastic view from our backyard.
Christmas morning was fill with so much joy for everyone. I put together a video of all the goodness. 🙂 Turn up your volume and enjoy.
Later that afternoon we loaded up the car and headed to the freezing tundra (Iowa) to spend the holiday with our families. It was so nice to arrive without the usual jet lag. We were able to really get the most out of our short time there since we weren’t cranky and tired.
Alex’s parents started a new tradition with the kids of letting them decorate their own Christmas tree. Owen and Della loved doing this and I love the memories they’ll create doing this every year! We all got a kick out of bossy little Della telling gramps to be careful and not to drop the ornaments. I think only 3 or 4 ornaments were sacrificed during this process, which isn’t bad considering.
It was the first Christmas in quite a while that the whole family was together. Iowa’s weather was bitterly cold that week (we’re talking negative temperatures with negative double digit wind chills) so we spent most of the time sitting around the fire place watching Owen play with Alex’s old toys. It was so cozy and nice to spend the time together.
We spent the second part of the week with the Circus, that is, my family. Once again it was so nice to have everyone together! It always make me so happy to see Owen and Della spending time with their cousins whom they adore so much.
My family is divided…half are Iowa Hawkeye fans and the other half are Iowa State Cyclone fans. The next photo was taken during a suspenseful ISU basketball game. Can you tell who are Cyclone fans and who aren’t?
At the time, Maddie and Della were the only granddaughters. Greta makes three!
My family has a tradition of passing along a gag gift…they’re Kermit footie pajamas. The rule is that the recipient HAS to put them on. Owen got them last year and chose to give them to Blake. Everyone watched him open the present but had no idea what was in it until he pulled them out of the box!
I love the memories made. 🙂
A (now outdated) picture of all the grandkids.
In our attempt to get a group photo (which isn’t exactly easy with this crew, not even a selfie stick will do) we were photobomed by Boji, a dog my parents were babysitting while his family was out of town. It was hilarious and the photos are priceless. We laughed til we cried at this!
We’re a crazy, loud crew but we have the most fun together.
I can’t imagine life without these people. I love them all so very much. Family is everything!
I’ll be back at you soon (I hope) with a post about Della’s SECOND birthday celebration! Until then…
Carol Hathaway says
I loved reading your blog. What neat ideas you have for sharing Jesus with your kids, I loved the Christmas morning video which will be a priceless memory.