Twinkie

The best things about Christmas, now that I am a parent, is being involved in the process of making my children’s Christmas magical. Today this is what Twinkie brought to E and Z today. For E: Play Doh and an emoji backpack. I’m not sure why he loves emojis so much, but he does. The cars are for Z. I have been feeling lately that she needs some of her own toys. I get that all the toys before her arrival really were E’s, but I hate that she often has toys ripped from her hands and her brother says: “Baby, that’s not yours!”  Twinkie is a tradition that still runs strong in my husband’s family. Each day of December, before Christmas, Twinkie comes and delivers little prizes. I’m still trying to figure out how it’s supposed to work. The balance of trinkets and toys to just treats is hard for me. The other hard thing is falling asleep without setting the Twinkie prizes out. Luckily, E is a pretty sound sleeper because the prizes were in the same room that he was sleeping this morning. Don’t worry, Twinkie is getting wiser and the box is now located closer to the drop off spot!!!

What are some of your favorite family traditions that are unique to your family? Please share in the comments. I know you all are reading, but give me a comment or two to read as well. 

The Christmas Spirit

Sometimes the Christmas Spirit manifests itself in ways that you wouldn’t expect.

Some think it lies in holiday music or in decorated sugar cookies.

Sure, the decor, smell of fresh cut pine trees and sparkling lights add to the feeling of Christmas.

But what about this image?

The crimson color a symbol of the blood of God’s only Begotten. The blood that saves us from our silly mistakes.

The Mohawk which is a symbol of this young man’s rebellion against any type of authority. That same rebellion sometimes seen in the pious of saints.

These lights a bit different than those on the tree, yet still a symbol of the Savior, who we celebrate this season. The true light of the world.

This image, though unique and at first glance not at all what we may label The Christmas Spirit but totally a reminder of what that Spirit should be about.

May we each look to those that need extra care. May we be a manifestation of the true light of the season. May we represent the love of our Savior and turn more purposefully toward Him and his example. (And not just now, in this season, but always!)

Love those who need your love most: the unique and those that wander.

Happy Christmas season. Let your light uniquely shine and light this often dark and scary world.

May the Christmas Spirit be found everywhere, even where it is not expected.

Christmas as a Kid.

I had a pretty good plan for my Christmas list every year. I always only asked for one thing. Sure, that one thing was usually pretty expensive and like most families, we weren’t the richest and I caught on to that pretty quickly. I also was cleaver enough to know that by only asking for one thing, even if funds were tight,  I was pretty likely to get that one great thing.

Whether it was a new electronic etch-a-sketch or another fairly expensive thing, Santa couldn’t resist getting me the one thing that I really wanted. It almost always worked, so I kept at it most of my childhood and truth be told, I might actually still keep this strategy alive today.

The funny thing is that I still would get other smaller presents even if I got that expensive gift. Now, my family thought this was a great way to pick on me and have a little fun. They would always have the little trinkets under the tree but that big and most wanted present was somewhere else in the house.

I always tried to not let them know that I was disappointed after opening all the other presents but the truth was that I always was sad and disappointed that my wish hadn’t manifested. (Funny how they always did this to me, I kept asking only for the big thing I wanted and yet I fell for it every year and was sad when that big thing was missing.) So, I’d be sitting, surrounded by lots of little presents, like socks, lipgloss and other clothes but without the one thing I really wanted. They agony was real but I didn’t want to seem sad on Christmas. They would let this go on for what seemed like forever when one of my siblings, who were enough older than me to know that Santa wasn’t real and who also found it fun to be a part of the scheme, would sneak away and come back with that one last present for me to open and it always was that one thing I had asked Santa to bring.

 I bet they all found it pretty funny to see me disappointed(even though I thought I hid it well) only to fix that disappointment for me last minute. Well played family, well played.

So what things did I ask for as a kid? That’s a tough one because I have a horrible memory. I do remember the year Cabbage Patch Kids were so popular and getting Abner Erich (I named him and my sister really thought that should have been Ellis’(my Son’s) name too.). I also was the kid who didn’t have the video game systems like most of my friends did , so getting the Gameboy one year was very big! And of course there was that Etch-A-Sketch. I made lots of trips from Wausau to Green Bay seem very short because I was creating pictures on that thing!

What are the big things you wanted for Christmas as a kid? Did you always get those things? Any funny family traditions related to the giving of presents? Please take a moment to recollect your childhood Christmases and leave a comment below. I’d love to hear from all of you that stopped by to read this! Have a great day and remember there are only 23 days to the big day. No pressure to buy that big present for those close to you or anything!

31 Days Of Blogging

Hi. I’m here and haven’t been for about a year. Well, I’m busy, get over it.

I’ve decoded to blog for the next thirty days.

I promise to try to be creative. I promise to try and publish before midnight my time. (Except for today!)

So. What’s new, reader? Happy December.

I now start my month of being Santa’s helper elf, Twinkie. He comes to our house everyday in December(until we go to Wisconsin) with little trinkets for the kiddos.

Today the trinket was a Santa statue. He’s always watching.

Tomorrow it is Mickey and Minnie ears and a third Unicom headband. They are labeled: “For Ellis, For Zarah, and Remember...Santa likes it when you share.” Let’s hope they do Remember for more than five minutes!

Well, if you’re reading and have any requests for topics for the next thirty days, please comment away.

And with that, I’m off to dreamland.

Cheers.

Six Months

December 10th, 2016

Six Months

Dearest Zarah-

Here is a list of just who you are right now:

1. A food lover: cereal, bananas, sweet potatoes, squash, anything really. You sit in your bumbo with straight arms and legs, twirling both your hands and feet, dive bombing the spoon and moaning for more.
2. A laughing fool. You think your brother is hilarious. Whatever he is doing, you think it's funny and great.   You love to be tickled, when mom comes home from work and when daddy plays heads with you.
3. An ok sleeper. I think you are better than your brother was as a baby but you still get up once or twice at night. Sometimes you think you need an hour or so to party mid-night(like last night) which isn't mommy’s favorite. Thank heavens for a big bed and Little Einsteins.
4. A roller. I rock, you roll. Soon you will probably crawl but now you get pretty far just by rolling and rolling.
5. A giant. Not really but you are super good at growing out of clothes and your swing is starting to seem a bit small. You're almost into 9 month clothes and wear size three diapers.
6. A girl who knows what she wants. You also tell us by grunting, screaming and by batting or throwing toys you don't want out of the way, so you already a communicator!
7. A lover. You just love people. At first you may play a little bashful when you greet those you don't know well but you always give cute smiles freely. Your charm is irresistible!
8. A talker. You have the cutest little voice. You talk both quiet and loud. You talk both high and low. You just talk and talk and talk.
9. A wiggle worm. You're starting to be pretty squirrelly when held. A definite sign you'll be mobile soon. You can almost sit unassisted and can also almost get up from laying down.
10. A sweetheart, a darling heart, an overall chill baby! Your calm calms me. Your smile lights up rooms. Your laugh energizes.

We love you sweet Zarah Sue. You are growing fast and I keep just loving every moment. It feels like tomorrow you'll be leaving for college but that you also will be my baby forever. Always remember how much I love and adore you and remember to text or call me today. I miss you!!

Love,

Mommy