Christmas is Coming

Christmas is coming....

I have patience for so many things in this life. To a fault, in fact.
The Christmas tree is not one of those things! I loathe putting on Christmas lights. You should have seen my sister's face last week as she saw, for the first time, how I put on lights. It was a mix of confusion and disgrace.
I circle and stuff, circle and stuff....and then I tell people that the kids helped! As if that is why the lights look as if a two year old put them on.
Seriously, I do. How awful is that?! Where is the "fingerprints/coloring on the wall"-type poem for mothers that reads how wonderful it is to spend time on other meaningful, special things in life rather than putting lights on the tree correctly? Surly I am not alone in this and there are others. : )






Maybe my favorite....
Megan bought us this to hang from our tree weeks after we found out I was pregnant. Who could have known I was pregnant with TWO GIRLS!





Liz got this after her first year performing in the Nutcraker at the Terrace with LB Ballet.




The girls' 3rd grade teacher had them make ornaments using their school photo from that year. I was grateful to have it then, and I am even more grateful now that the two years have passed and they are looking so old.
Last year Kate got the New York ornament to document her obsession.






Jack's first Christmas ornament and one done in preschool.
The deer was done by him two years ago at our caroling and hot chocolate party. So fun and we will definitely host it again next year. I remember my girlfriend Wendy installing a ceiling fan on her front porch and announcing that she was "bringing front porch living back, y'all!" My caroling party was an attempt to bring caroling back, y'all! After the girls asked me what caroling was I was determined to show them .... and my neighbors weren't quite sure what to make of the group of 52 of us caroling the neighborhood! So fun!





After her trip to the OR two weeks ago, Liz chose this from the hospital gift shop. A butterfly, of course!





This was a favor handed out to guests at the Long Beach Ronald McDonald Ribbon Cutting Ceremony/Party last night. It is a "bag of Christmas"...Pine, Cinnamon, Clove and Peppermint. Can you get over how sweet it is?! Alright, maybe most of you see it as a bag of leftovers, but my inner Martha meets Laura Ingalls thinks it is so perfect (and it does smell like just Christmas!). Girls, if you come to my next party, don't be surprised if you get one of these handed to you.





I LOVE the art done by the kids from their preschool years!





The kids get so excited to check for Christmas cards each day! We have a tradition of packing them away for the year and looking at them each December when we decorate, usually smiling at how much people have grown or changed.




And....
Today is my sister's birthday! When I was only 14 months old, she came into this world and stole my show as an only child. We have been friends and enemies (can you picture the duct tape down the center of our bedroom, dividing it? Great idea until we realized we both would have to cross it to get out of the room.). We have kept each other's secrets and even spread a few about one another. We have dated brothers...that didn't turn out so well.
She was my very first friend and will always be my best.
Happy Birthday To You- kind, giving, beautiful, always-have-had-a-twinkle-in-your-eye (literally!),serving, faithful, praying, amazing mommy, loyal friend, fun, learnedevrythingfromhersister, Megan!

Talk about stealing the show.... Travis, Travis, Travis. I don't even have a picture from the last decade of Megan and myself without him in it, so this will have to do. Just put your thumb over his big head. I know, even a thumb doesn't cover that thing!