Guess What I Got For Christmas?

This poor blog has suffered for nearly nine years from not only a lack of good photography skills, but a lack of a real camera.

Not that the dismal skills have anything to do with the ownership or non-ownership of a camera.  But I'll try to stay on track here.

Guess what I got for Christmas??

(Do you find it ironic that I just took a picture of my snazzy new camera with an iPhone?) 

I'm reveling in my ability to have more and better pictures of my people, even if my skills are sub-amateur.  It makes me happy.  See?  

This is what we call 'The Cheeseball'.  He pulls this face out at any random moment of the day, but generally when he wants something (like a snack or your undivided attention) or wants out of something (like picking up his toys or putting on his pajamas).

Just because he was spinning me a fabulous tale and he's little and it won't last forever.

Still trying to figure out how to take pictures inside without getting all those major shadows.  Got any tips?

We celebrated Anna's 6th birthday a bit late, but the finery knew no bounds.  Her sisters set the table with my grandmother's china and served blueberries and string cheese for snack.

We're pretty proper here - tea parties are a part of our daily life. 

Sarah Grace has an amazing capacity to include this little guy in whatever it is she's doing.  He loves the attention!

The Freeman home hasn't evaded the Frozen epidemic.  These adorbs little hats were made by our sweet friend Angel and they get a TON of wear. 

Kid loves his 'heh-mut'. 

New Year's Eve.  It was late....

She makes kitchen chores entertaining!  A spoonful of sugar, right?

Just a few days before we chopped all her hair off - it was also FREEZING outside!

Hot chocolate.  Because I have a new camera and I can. 

That time it took me two days to think to check her ears when she kept complaining about a sore jaw and neck?  Totally used my essential oils and she bounced back in less than 12 hours.

Be Merry

Every year, I set out to decorate my home for Christmas.  Every year, mid-December gets here and all I have is a tree and some scattered tinsel. 

Well, there was the one year I put greenery on the mantle.  That was a fait accompli if there ever was one. 

This year is proving no different.  I'm not as laid back as my sweet friend Lora (who I've referred to a lot lately, but the girl is making bloggy waves, so I'm gonna link to her Fantastic Article for Mamas Everywhere again) and I dream of having one of those homes that magazines trip over to use as their 'this is how your house should look' masterpieces. 

Or at least something that's Pinterest worthy.  I do love me some Pinterest and all the fab ideas I glean from it.  I'm not a hater like some folks.  I know my capabilities and I'm REALLY glad that there are so many who can exceed my abilities.  Otherwise, we'd all have blank walls in our homes for four years before we were brave enough to dent the sheetrock with a nail.

My goal tonight was to get the "Give Thanks" phrase off my chalkboard.  Honestly, Thanksgiving is over, we can quit dwelling on thankfulness and blessings.  It's time to put wrapping paper on everything in the house and shop, shop, shop. 

Ha!  I kid.  I try to avoid every store in town for the entirety of December.

For the past several days, I've been thinking on what I wanted the board to say.  I wanted it to reflect Christ and this special time of year as we celebrate His birth. 

I knew exactly what I wanted.

Obviously, I wasn't part of the pep club in high school.  I can't write in bubble letters or form pretty art from mere letters. 

As you can see, it's not exactly flowery or awe inspiring or even Jesus-y.  I guess it fits in well with the rest of my Christmas decor... not quite what I'd really like, but cozy and fun anyway. 

That's what I tell myself.  And my kids? 

They're just thrilled to search for our Elf on the Shelf each morning and do Jesse Tree each evening.  I'd say it all evens out. 

And So This Was Christmas

We adopted our first Compassion child a few months ago.  It's been an experience, to say the least.  We've talked about him and prayed for him and looked up Ethiopia on the map so we have a better understanding of where in the world our child is.  We wrote to him and waited to hear back from him and while we waited, the children started introducing ours as a family of eight, 'just our older brother lives in Africa.'

You can imagine some of the looks people give because surely you know by now how not-shy my children are.  At first, even though it warmed my heart, it also caused me to stutter for a second or two, if I'm honest with you.  But after I realized how very much they think about their 12 year old 'brother', I just smiled and let them explain away to people.

Not long after we had hung our Compassion child's picture on the fridge and begun praying for him, Christmas stuff started playing across the airwaves.  We were in the car coming home from music class one day when a commercial break hit.  We heard about a local Christmas charity that was raising funds to give children Santa Claus presents and how these sad children lived right here in our town.  The very next commercial was about children in third-world countries fighting to live because of not having fresh water.

Thomas took all of two seconds to come to the conclusion that it was just silly to be worried about Santa Claus when there were bigger issues at stake.

I agreed with him.  And my heart swelled with pride that he got it at the same time it broke a little that he got it.

As December descended, we put up our tree and managed to toss about a few decorations, but we focused on our Thankful Tree and our Advent readings.  We watched a few classic Christmas specials and even took the kids to see Santa because, for the first time ever, they wanted to see him.  They told me after the fact that it was basically just to see if Daniel would scream.  For once, he didn't.

On Christmas eve, I filled the stockings with fruits and miniature cereal boxes, as our custom has become.  We tossed in a few goodies and trinkets for the kids along with their 'early breakfast' stuff and pulled out the wrapped gifts.  There were only two per child and they were far from glamorous.  At the last minute, we opted to put them all under the Thankful Tree rather than the Christmas tree.

Honestly, I was struggling.  I grew up with lavish Christmases and, even though I am usually pretty confident that we are sending the correct message to our children concerning Christmas, I feel bad when I see that scant scattering of gifts under the tree on Christmas.  It's the materialistic, American Dream aspect of my training that rears up and kicks at the simplistic idea of recognizing the season for Who it's really about.

Christmas morning, the kids came after us around 7-ish and we all went downstairs to see the stocking still hung by the chimney with care.  Except for Thomas' because the stocking hanger had over-weighted and fallen to the floor, stocking, stuffings and all.

The kids gleefully pulled out candy and cereal and books and stuff.  They took joy in one anothers gifts. They cheered as Daniel threw his oranges around screeching 'baaa!' (the boy loves a good ball to play with!) and we all giggled as he tried to eat his banana through the peel.

Not much was said about the pile of rocks we'd stacked under the tree.  (I'm still not sure what possessed me to do that...)  They took their little cereal boxes to the dining room and started to dig into their breakfast when, finally, someone noticed the wrapped gifts under the Thankful Tree.

They found the gifts with their names on them and finished up their cereal.  They loved the bible covers, underwear, flashlights, and the big one, a CD player for the girls room.

And we loved knowing that, even after all the gifts from grandparents and aunts and uncles, we weren't overrun with toys or children who believed they were owed these gifts simply because it was Christmas.

My children, I love that you didn't once complain or whine about our Christmas.  I love that you were thankful for each little thing you got and wanted to know about your 'brother' and what he might be doing on Christmas day.  I loved that, in the end, the toys fell to the way side and you all used your imaginations and built forts all day long.  I loved that my girls made the Monkey Bread this year for our 'second' breakfast and that everyone was glad to just hang out in their pajamas all day and snuggle in for a quiet Christmas at home.

Sunshine On A Cloudy Day

I woke up in the wee hours of the day to hear the wind howling around the corners of our home and the streetlight that filters through the crack between the shades and the window sill flickering as tree branches were blown to and fro.  The clock read somewhere between 4 and 5 AM and I buried myself under the covers determined to ignore the storm.

It worked.

Until I got out of bed and started my day.  The kids were a little pent up, and while not horrible, they were still more clingy and whiny, maybe a little more snippy with each other than usual.  I rolled my eyes, gritted my teeth, and pushed through with the necessary routines of our day.

We flew under the radar all day.  Most of the general chores were let slide because I needed peace in attitudes over peace in appearance.  I allowed more television than normal because I was tired from a late night of saying good-bye to a dear friend.  I allowed them to plan and execute the lunch menu.  It was a basically a very relaxed day in an effort to keep everyone as chill as possible since the weather was disagreeable and I wasn't much better.

It's the end of the day now.  Joshua is playing piano as the kids finish up their evening chores and we've all indulged in an ice cream sandwich or two.  I've been flicking through the pictures on my phone, smiling because they just have that effect on me.  The little things that add up to make our lives momentous in their own special way.

Left to right: Daniel scrounged some cookies from a random plate at a holiday party. Brunswick Stew. Thomas as Zacharia in our church Christmas play.  Daniel walked over to Anna and wrapped his arms around her.  My sparkley Keds.  Elizabeth peeking up from her newly made-up flannel sheeted bed.  Daniel was here.  Sarah Grace caught again with a book after lights out.  Peppermint bark. 

This Week In Review

The days fly by so quickly that I forget to take the time to document the everyday hilarities that make up this wonderful life I am living. These growing up and discovering the world around us years makes for some great memories for a Mama who tries her best to forget the mundane fights over whose pretend cooking is prettier and tastier and the battles to maintain clean-ish bedrooms...or living rooms...

Y'all know you know what I'm talking about.  Scenes like this happen.  Embrace it.  Revel in it, even.  One day your house will be clean but there won't be sweet little feet running around and grubby little hands hugging your around the knees.

But let's not dwell on such things right now.  It'll just make us sad or nostalgic, depending on what phase of life you find yourself in.

We've spent the end of the week cycling through mild ailments: Sore throats, fevers, headaches, overly tired children.  Nothing major.  Thankfully, the strep test and flu test were negative, but there is no denying that some kind of laid back plague has descended upon the Freeman home.  There's not much to share concerning the last few days, but the beginning of the week had some laughs.  And a few things that I want to remember, too.

************

I'm running around like a wild woman the other evening trying to get everyone and everything out the door in time for church.  I finally get everyone in the car and we're headed out of our neighborhood.  Sarah Grace, who was peeking over my shoulder out the front window, squealed a little and gasped, "Mama!  Is that the new punch buggy?"

"No, baby.  That's a Lexus."

Tell me this made somebody besides me giggle?

************

Joshua built a fire for us one morning because cold has finally found the Southland.  I was working at not letting it die out when Daniel came over beside me and put his hands on his little knees, squatting a bit to peer at the fire.   

"Backup, baby, it's hot.  Hot!"  I warned him.

He looked at me and wandered off.  A few moments later he was back beside me with oven mitts on his hands.  We all had a belly laugh as he grinned and looked proud of himself.  Smart cookie, that one. 

************

We're really enjoying our Advent readings this year.  The kids have rally been listening and they know the answers to the questions we are asking.  Just as importantly, they are asking some really good questions.  I love seeing the wheels turn and hearing a question at a seemingly random time the day after a reading.  We've been reading Ann's Jesse Tree book for several years now, and I love the simple, beautiful language she uses to relate complex thoughts to a particular passage.

This is our first year to not actually use the Jesse Tree ornaments (I can't find them!) but it hasn't detracted a bit.  In fact, I think it helps the kids to concentrate on the story rather than on whose turn it is to hang the ornament and picking a perfect spot on the tree for it.  I'm thinking maybe next year, we hang the day's ornament in the morning, dwelling on it as the day goes by, then do the reading that evening.  The older kids already relate the image to the story, and I love that they do that, so I want to give the younger children the opportunity to do the same. 

************

It's December 15th.  I still only have a tree and a few scattered things about.  We did get the stockings hung, but not before our elf punked us. (I haven't redone my mantle since Spring and yes, it's making me a little zany.)

I know a lot of folks have issues with The Elf on the Shelf for one reason or another, but we love our Fuzzy Fizzbee.  My Mom gifted us with our elf four years ago, and we have enjoyed him so very much! 

Since we don't toe the Santa line,  the elf was never about flying away to Santa each night, but rather a fun game each day.  Each morning, the kids get up and race around to see who can find our elf first.  Sometimes he 'does something' overnight, but usually he's just hiding or hanging out somewhere. 

I love laying in my bed listening to the whispered giggles as they laugh at the elf peeking in on our frogs or the fort he built from pantry items. 

Despite my lack of preparation for Christmas and the fact that Santa is just a story that is fun to pretend, my kids are totally jazzed about the holiday season and all it has to offer.  Christmas light rides, hot chocolate, family gatherings, making ornaments for the tree, whatever.  To them, it's still magical. 

And the best part is that they understand the true 'magic' of the season.  The Baby born of a Virgin, the Holiness of this time of year that was set aside to celebrate His birth and the impact that perfect plan has on each of our lives.  

In Which I Spew Forth Much Randomness

With five children, it's no wonder I quit dealing in Baby Books and I'm just thankful I never took up scrapbooking or I would TOTALLY feel guilted into taking a mini-vay every few months.

Wait. That doesn't sound half bad, the mini vacation bit, I mean. Maybe it really is a shame I never got into that whole scrapbooking craze...

Ahem.

Anyway. That's what the blog is for. It's faster and appeals to my inner geek. Especially since Christmas. Never did tell you all much about that. Here's the quick version:

I'M BLOGGING FROM MY NEW MACBOOK!!!!!!!!

Woo to the hoo, y'all!

I might even have it all figured out. Until I sit at the desk top PC and get myself all bumfuzzled. But let's just bask in the beauty of the shiny new toy, mkay?

And the kids got toys. And a Wii. So we are officially hip.

What was I here for, anyway? Oh yeah! To talk about what the kids have been up to. It has been unseasonably and wonderfully warm. (especially when there was a foot of snow on the ground this time last year, but let's not dwell on that) The kids are loving the weather, and since we are a good month ahead in school right now, I'm letting them play, play, play and only doing the basics school wise. It's gonna get cold soon enough.

And with them outside, I have more time to pull giblets of various stuff from Daniel's mouth. I totally likened him to a puppy on Face Book today, what with his need to put ev-vuh-ree-thing in his mouth.

However, there have been some inside days. We recently learned embroidery in our Little Keepers group. The kids spend tons of time working their little needles in and out of the cloth they are working on. For my part, I spend more time than I would care to threading needles. So far, no stab wounds, but I've seen how they handle those needles, so it's only a matter of time.

Elizabeth diligently working to finish her flower. A yellow one, of course.

Sarah Grace watching Mimi's hands carefully as the two of them make lovely hearts on Sarah Grace's cloth.

But wait! There's more!

Randomness, that is. We're done talking about needles.

Daniel is all about physical fitness. Kid's got a killer plank.


He's also all about surprises and new accomplishments. This is how he greeted us yesterday morning.


Yep, we lowered the crib mattress. You don't have to worry. As for the floating hand in the lower left hand corner of the picture, I'm not sure about that. That might be worrisome.

Then there is this kid. He was my Kitchen Helper last week and took great pride in making granola bars all by his own self, thankyouverymuch.


We have another child. The Anna girl, but she's hard to catch on 'film'. She's the one in the background cracking jokes and making us laugh with her insanity. She told a fellow at church the other day (out of the clear blue) "Baby Pumpkin Head doesn't like you."

It was several hours before we understood that she has now named her plastic pumpkin pail (you know, the halloween variety) Baby Pumpkin Head and loves her (she clearly informed me that I had called 'her' a 'him' and Baby Pumpkin Head is a 'guh-ruhl') with the same loyalty as Doo-Doo (who has blissfully fallen off the map for the time being).

So, yeah, there you have it. More randomness than you can shake a stick at.

A phrase I never really understood. In my way of thinking, if you've got a stick, you can shake it at pretty much anything.

Right?

Reflections On Christmas Day 2010

It was a year for the Family Records. A real White Christmas! We tried to make the children understand how very monumental this event was. Granny proclaimed it her very first White Christmas in *number she would kill me if I said* but it's a smidgen more than the '69' she likes to tell people.


Just keeping it in perspective, Granny!

They nodded and listened and I totally don't believe they grasped the history they were witnessing. But they are six and five and three and two. Who cares what day it is? There is SNOW out there!


The snow did not eclipse Santa, though.

The children managed to keep to their beds until just before seven, a pretty decent hour in my way of thinking. Thomas came creeping in our room with excitement beaming from his young features and whispered that Santa had come! Santa had come!!


The girls were awed by the doll house and all it's wonderfully fun parts. Thomas was entranced by the train he has been pining after for three years. They loved ripping into the gifts under the tree and delighted in the baby dolls, the nerf guns, and the new pajamas!

Check out that adorable toothless smile!

After all the gifts were opened and taken from their boxes and played with for a bit, we started on breakfast. Monkey Bread is a Christmas Breakfast Must at our house.


Next year, I think the kids are going to be in charge of making it. I'll just put drop cloths all over the kitchen...

Thomas scrambled up some eggs while Daddy cooked some bacon, and we all feasted on the yumminess!


I was out-voted on the 9AM nap, so the kids instead bundled up and went outside to play in the wintry whiteness.


Here's hoping that your Christmas day was filled with as much fun, love, and laughter as ours was!!

The Santa Secret

When the older two kids were about three and four, we put some serious thought into how to handle the whole Santa thing. We spoke with families who had gone before us in this decision. We prayed. We discussed for what seems like ages.

We finally made the decision to just be up-front. We wanted to be truthful with them. In our hearts, it was huge to us to make sure that our kids believed us when we told them about Jesus and the Bible. We had a real fear that if we led them to believe in Santa and all the many books there are about him, they would mis-trust us on the bigger issue: Jesus the Savior.

This isn't an issue for every family. We know that. But we had to follow in obedience what God laid on our hearts.

Santa is just a very fun play-pretend. So is the Easter Bunny. And the Tooth-Fairy.

For a couple of years, I seriously think they doubted us. After all, Santa and the Easter Bunny were out there to be seen! How could you fight that kind of visual proof?

Eventually, they settled into acceptance. To our relief, they (so far) have kept this to themselves. They don't go touting to all the kids they know that Santa is make-believe. They rather encourage other children, stating how much fun Santa is. At some point, we did actually talk to them about how some families choose to play this fun game, and that they should respect that and not ruin it for others. Somehow, it clicked.

Whew.

Despite their knowledge, we still play the Santa game in our own way. The kids look forward to seeing what Santa brought to them on Christmas morning. We tell them, as many other parents do, in the weeks leading up to Christmas that maybe they should ask Santa for this or that or the other.

While Santa remains mostly traditional in our home, the Tooth Fairy is a whole 'nother ball game. When Elizabeth had her teeth pulled due to her trauma back in March, she started a new fad in the Freeman Home. She requested that her Tooth Fairy be Thomas. And so Thomas was the one to replace her two front teeth with two crisp dollar bills. Now the children are all about making future plans as to who will be their Tooth Fairy for each tooth.

It's one of those little things that really makes my heart leap with a special kind of joy.

As for Santa, the kids are busily anticipating his arrival this weekend. I was so afraid of ruining this childhood pleasure for them by being truthful. To our knowledge, it hasn't phased them one little bit.

How does your family handle Santa?

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

It's my first successful year with this whole Christmas decorating thing. There was the colossal failure of 2007. Then in 2008, Christmas all but took a back seat because we had a brand new baby to celebrate! I can't remember much of 2009, just a blur of some kind of activity.

And that brings us to Christmas Present.

I've had fun, y'all. I haven't decorated every little nook and cranny, but I have rejoiced in having children who are old enough to appreciate the season and enjoy the festivities.

Starting with the adorable little Christmas calendar my mom scored for us at a yard sale!

Each ornament is magnetic and has a number (1-25) on it that corresponds to a specific spot on the tree. The kids take great delight in taking off all the little felt ornaments and 'redecorating'. I call it Numbers Reinforcement. Voila! School.

Then there is the wreath craft that I teased y'all with way back when... Turned out pretty cute, if I do say so myself. I'll try to find the tutorial and link to it.

*****EDITED*****
FOUND THE TUTORIAL!

I cut out a few more circles and made this garland for our tree. Good thing, too. Talk about things that get redecorated frequently. The only things that are in the same place are the lights, the garland (mostly) and a few glass ornaments I hung high at the top. The rest of the tree is entertainment for the kids.



Also, take note of our borax crystal snowflakes. Yet another school aspect of our Christmas decor.

Another wreath I made from yet another blog. What would I do without the blogosphere? My house would be naked!


Then there are the stockings hung on the chimney with care...


And the Little People Nativity set that the children adore. I love how everyone crowds in to be a little closer to Jesus. The police lady, the kid in the rain gear, and a couple of princesses for good measure. I think Noah even made it out this year!

Oh, come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!

An Early Christmas Giggle

I love that music is such a part of our home. I love that my husband randomly sits at the piano or pulls out his guitar. I love that my children pull out all manner of percussion instruments and jam along with him. It makes for a cozy, happy home.

Naturally, Christmas carols of all kinds are at the top of the play list right now. For instance, laugh along with me as you enjoy this master piece. Forgive the occasional bounce in the video-ography, as I was desperately trying not to laugh out loud.



While not as cultured, and possibly not at funny as this video, it was considerably less practiced. Add-libs were completely off the cuff and totally their own.



Happy start to the Christmas week!

Deck The Halls...

Do any of you remember this? Well, this girl is already in motion. Hobby Lobby dragged out the decorations and got my mind spinning up.


I won't say what I'm up to (yet), but I will say I have high hopes of actually making my new home look holiday-ish this year! And there just might be, maybe, perhaps a cutie-pie give away involved.

So if you hear me whistling Christmas Carols, don't judge me. I have failed far to many years in a row now. And I have this whole house begging for a big, colorful, festive, family Christmas!

What are some of your favorite holiday crafts? Dish! I need some fresh ideas!!!

It's A Wreck

Given that the current theme of this blog seems to be about mishaps with trucks, I thought I would regale you with yet another minor mishap.

Thankfully, oh sweet mercy, thankfully, this episode does not feature me. This one is all about the kiddos. Complete with some pictures, which I know have been in short supply as of late. You'll forgive me for not bothering with pictorial proof of my incidents. Shame does not photograph well.

Back at Christmas, my parents gifted the kids with these lovely cars. They have been much loved, and somehow, not overused. We were a bit afraid that we would have to force the kids to ride their bikes. This has not been the case, and we are ever so pleased.

Recently, Elizabeth has gotten antsy. Thomas is a professional miniature car driver, and Sarah Grace, though not quite as adept, is still pretty stinking good. It generally goes that Sarah Grace takes the sports car and Thomas takes the SUV, giving Elizabeth the passenger seat. However, Elizabeth is no longer content with the status quo.

In short, girlfriend was ready to be in control!

Yesterday, I allowed Thomas to give Elizabeth a few driving lessons. His job was to help her steer if she needed it, be sure that the car stayed in first gear (turtle speed), and to switch it into reverse as needed. He was awesome! Very patient as he explained over and over again to her to watch where she was going so she wouldn't wreck.

He was careful to only help when needed. Our Elizabeth is a bit independent. Too much help causeth much shrieking on her part. We have all learned to kind of stand back and let her go.

She's my daughter. There's nothing else for it.

Once she got her first round of instructions under her belt, she started off.

Occasionally, Thomas would grab the wheel to keep the two of them on track. Don't you love how neither of them are watching 'the road' in this picture?

For her part, Sarah Grace was enjoying cruising in the larger vehicle. She even allowed me to ride with her for a moment. Another image I will not subject you sweet folks to...unless you happen to be here when I hop in again.

Yes, it was a successful lesson. Elizabeth got her need for speed accommodated and everyone came in for a nap pretty quickly afterward.

I am thinking that Elizabeth didn't file my admonitions away. She was under strict orders to not drive unless A) Mommy was outside with her and B) Thomas was backseat driving. Literally. For after they had been out for just a few moments this afternoon, I heard a blood chilling thud and squeal.

I ran outside and found Lightening McQueen wedged under Granny's truck, and Elizabeth screaming with all her might. Her fingers were stuck between the steering wheel of her car and the under side of the truck. I ran over to her and, after several moments, managed to get her fingers out of the wreckage. Her forehead was red from where I imagine she smacked it into the truck, and her little fingers were squished flat.

I snatched her up and held her close until she finally began to calm down. She stuck pretty close to me as we went back to assess the damage to the vehicles.

Granny's truck was just fine, but Lightening was stuck. No amount of pulling was going to loosen that car without ripping off the steering wheel. On top of being stuck, it appeared that the speaker had been ripped out of the steering wheel. So I had the kids park their bikes and the SUV and took them in for nap.

When Joshua got home this evening, he put the jack in position so the kids could jack up the truck and free Lightening. Sarah Grace started the process, but about halfway into it, I called a halt for dinner.

Sorry, it didn't occur to me to actually take pictures of this until the truck was already six inches or so higher, but just imagine how jammed this little car was and my precious daughter's fingers smashed in all that mess.

After dinner was wrapped up, Thomas finished working the jack to free Lightening.

And the cat, well, he's just a camera ham. Had to settle himself in the middle of things and take a bath while he watched the activity.

Thomas would pump the jack a few times, then walk over to see if the car would slip out yet. Then back to the jack work, check the car, again to the jack, and finally, my muscle man pulled the car out from under the truck.

Here he is flexing it for ya.


I tell you, I think we have had more vehicle excitement this month than should be allowed!