Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Christmas 2013

If you read my previous post, you know that this Christmas Eve was an unusually quite one spent at home, just the four of us.  The main reason for that was because this Christmas was quite extraordinary...

Our Christmas morning began with the most wonderful sounds of pure excitement from two very happy boys who awoke to presents galore, and Santa's Surprises!  I remember being a child on Christmas morning, and thinking there couldn't possibly be anything better...until becoming a parent and getting to experience it through the eyes of my own children!   Santa brought Jaden a Power Wing scooter (which Santa would tell you "she" did absolutely everything in her power to make sure that scooter would be under the tree Christmas morning, including 20+ phone calls and $100 in extra shipping fees!), a set of mini skateboards, and a Lego Chima set.  Elijah got the orange "big boy" bike he requested, a Hot Wheel track, and a Lego set.  They were thrilled that Santa knew just what they wanted!! 












That afternoon, our family from El Paso joined us for our annual gift exchange and Christmas lunch.




So you're probably wondering what was so EXTRAORDINARY about it all...well, after our Christmas morning/afternoon festivities, and a very non-traditional Christmas lunch, the boys and I (minus Sam) loaded a 15-passenger van, along with with my mom and dad, my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew, and my sister, brother-in-law, and two nieces (not to mention 5 car seats, 3 strollers, 30 kid's CD's and DVD's, 20 bags and suitcases, and 500 snacks and juice boxes) and began our adventure to enjoy the holiday at the most magical place on Earth...that's right, we were headed to DISNEYLAND!!!  (The bummer part was Sam couldn't take the time off of work, so he didn't get to come with us ;( ).

Monday, December 30, 2013

Christmas Eve

This year, Christmas Eve was a quiet one spent at home, which is very unusual for us!  Our Christmas Eve tradition has always been to get together at my aunt's house for Christmas Eve dinner and our big family gift exchange.  But because lots of us will be traveling during Christmas this year, we did our Christmas Eve dinner and gift exchange a week early.  So this year we spent a quiet Christmas Eve together, just the four of us!  I absolutely love traditions, so it felt a little strange having different plans this year, but we all loved spending the time together.  We spent the day doing some things that were very special to us...
We went to baby Caleb's spot and sang some of our favorite Christmas songs to him.  It was so joyous to be there with him, but I was overcome with so much sadness at the thought of how much he would have loved Christmas this year, as a 1-year-old.  The baby section at the cemetery, sadly, is filling up so quickly.  Each little spot represents a precious life that was gone too soon, and a family who is missing their little one this Christmas, just like we are. 
Later that day, we got some hot cocoa and drove around to look at Christmas lights.  When we came back home, the boys each opened a present -- their annual Christmas pajamas!!  I also decided to start a new tradition.  The boys got to open another present together, which was a new family board game that we spent the evening playing together!  This year's game was Boom Boom Balloon.  It was definitely a hit!

Saturday, December 28, 2013

The Adventures of Arthur...Our Elf on the Shelf

This was the second year that we added a tiny little guy all dressed in red to our family for the month of December.  Our Elf on the Shelf's name is Arthur, and all year long the boys remember him, talk about him, and look forward to his arrival after Thanksgiving.  Our elf made his big return on December 1st, and provided a month-long of fun, memories...and extra good behavior (along with a few middle of the night panic moments, when I woke up realizing the little guy forgot to hide in a new spot)!

I have to admit, I was hesitant about the whole Elf on the Shelf thing when it first became popular a year ago.  I debated whether or not to get one for the boys, because I didn't want their sole focus to become presents instead of the true meaning of Christmas; and I didn't want their kindness to become ungenuine.  But I have to say, our elf is one of our new favorite holiday family traditions, and it has little to do with his nightly "report" back to Santa.  I think that when our elf arrives, somehow it instantly becomes Christmas time.  We have found ways to use our elf to incorporate the true meaning of Christmas, and the importance of being kind, giving, and loving to others at all times of the year.  But what I love most about having our elf come visit us each year is that he brings along with him the spirit of Christmas, and a sense of joy and wonder that I absolutely love seeing in my little guy's eyes.    

This year, our elf made his grand entrance with a North Pole Breakfast surprise!  The breakfast included donuts, cookies, pancakes, fruit, hot chocolate, and cotton candy, of course!  He also brought the boys both a box of Christmas treats!



Here are some of Arthur's adventures from this year...



Sunday, December 22, 2013

12 Days of Christmas for Teachers

I absolutely love giving special little treats to the boy's teachers throughout the year.  Being a teacher myself, I think I have an enhanced appreciation for all that teachers really do, much of which goes unnoticed, and not a penny extra is earned (like staying at school till 5 pm working on ways to enhance instruction; developing and preparing our own curriculum and activities; spending countless hours and weekends working on lesson plans; spending more money than we make buying items and supplies for our classrooms and treats for our students...).  The demands on teachers are greater than ever, and I believe that the majority of teachers go the extra mile because they have a genuine love for the students.  I so appreciate all that my boy's teachers do for them.  They both absolutely love school, and I couldn't be more grateful for that.

At Christmastime, we give the teaches a little gift each day for the last 12 school days before the holiday break.  I found some really cute ideas on Marci Coombs blog, and just adjusted them to work for us!  Here's what I came up with for this year's 12 Days of Christmas for our favorite teachers!
(P.S. - For some reason I don't have a picture of day 10)