I'll Be Home for Christmas

This year was the first year that we got to stay home and have our very own Christmas. I guess, technically we stayed home for Christmas in 2007 because the twins were less than a month old and had only gotten out of the NICU a week and half earlier so we definitely weren't going anywhere. It wasn't the same though. That year, being home was thrust upon us and I wasn't ready. My Dad was so sweet and sent us a tree so it would feel more like Christmas at our house. It's the same tree we still have, although a little worse for the wear.

This year, we embraced having a Christmas at our home without the hassle of holiday travel. It was simple, and lovely and so fun.

I enjoyed getting our house ready, putting up the Nativity and hanging stockings.

(I've learned the fastest way to get Marc to do something like putting hooks under the mantle is to just start doing it myself. If he sees me with a drill, his danger sensor goes off and he happily comes and takes over to prevent disaster. I always get the job done, it just takes me a few tries sometimes. Marc prefers if there is only one hole.)

The snow had melted the week leading up to Christmas but, like magic, we woke up to this on Christmas Eve morning.

Christmas Eve is doubly special for us because it is also Marc's birthday. We were having too much fun to take very many pictures, but we spent the day with good friends. We had dinner together which ended up consisting of mashed potatoes, asparagus with bacon, jello salad and rolls because the turkey decided that it did not want to cook in a reasonable amount of time. We had the traditional root beer tasting in the evening featuring 12 different kinds of root beer. We also attempted a Christmas puppet show about Christ's birth. Our boys were not terribly cooperative. We all worked on a Christmas puzzle together and sang Christmas carols. For dessert we had Marc's peppermint ice cream birthday cake, some homemade Buckeyes and the turkey which had finally been cooked to a safe internal temperature.

Christmas morning was awesome. The boys waited patiently while Mommy made sure everything was ready and Daddy dragged himself out of bed. They didn't get us up until 6:30. It could have been so much worse.

Just to be mean I made them take another picture or ten on the stairs, but then we finally went in to see what Santa brought.

Again, we were too caught up in the joy of the moment to do much with the camera, but we did get a couple of candids that were too good to pass up.

After everything was done, we had the boys pose with their loot and we took video of them telling us about their Christmas. This is a tradition from my family- one that I hated as a child. (Sorry Dad!)

But I think it will be fun to look back and see what they were interested in each year.

My bet is that there will always be a lot of books in the pictures.

We just can't help ourselves when it comes to the written word.

Every Christmas I always feel like we've gotten them too much that they are going to be spoiled brats, but every year they are so grateful, so excited, so happy.

I still think we should try to cut back but I also feel like we must be doing something right. We loved being home for Christmas.

Random Recall

Here are a few random things I found as I was clearing out my phone in preparation for a new one.

What do little boys do with lacing cards and bike helmets? What any sensible person would do... booby trap the stairs of course. They were planning to fill the bike helmets with water or dirt, or possibly both before I put the kibosh on their operation.

 

The boys love watermelon, but every once in a while we get a really bland one in our bountiful basket. The boys in general seem oblivious to the taste of watermelon, they will gobble it down regardless, but one day Elijah, who was on his fifth piece, suddenly stopped eating and looked up at us. He asked, "Is it possible for watermelon to be.... not... good?"

Gabriel had had a rough day in the ladies department. He had announced my age to the entire church congregation and told a girl that he has a crush on that she was "big". Marc explained to him that you shouldn't talk to women about their age, or their size. You never use the words, "old", "big", or "fat". Gabriel took all of this in and then asked, "Why can't I say anything to a girl without it hurting her feelings?" Marc was proud that his son had come to this conclusion at such an early age. Marc was well into adulthood before he figured it out.

Our boys love to play Plants vs. Zombies 2 on the iPad. There are several different themed areas in this game including what David John refers to as "Agent Egypt" and "Pirate Seasons". (It's actually Ancient Egypt and Pirate Seas.)

Speaking of seasons, David John recently informed me that he could name all of them in order. I said I would love to hear it. I had to stop myself from laughing as he listed them off. "First, Easter. Second, Hallowing. Third Christmas. Fifth Thanksgiving. Last, Fall." Nailed it, buddy.

The boys, like me as a child, do not always love casseroles. Recently, however they became concerned not just by the contents of the pan but the name of the dish. "Why are these called castle rolls?"

One more. Gabriel and Elijah have been learning about parts of speech in first grade. Marc was having a discussion with them and Gabriel correctly defined the word "noun". Marc then asked the boys if they knew what a verb was. David John, who happened to be walking by, said, "I know! Verbs are things that build nest and sit on their eggs." The twins couldn't stop laughing.

Seven-up

Yup. We are up to seven. SEVEN! How can these boys be seven? That's just crazy talk. I mean, they still have all of their baby teeth. I've done the math several times because it just doesn't seem right, but I come up with seven every time. I guess it's time to just accept that another year has gone by despite my pleas with them to stop growing.
Since we were headed to Denver for Thanksgiving, the poor kids spent their actual birthday in the car. I did take treats to their classrooms and they got a book from their school but then we loaded them up in the van for a very long drive.
I think this actually worked to their advantage because then we felt the need to give them some travel-friendly gifts on their birthday and some additional presents the following day when we had cake and sang to them. So, in the van they got the LEGO Movie to watch and some giant activity books. They also got the thrilling experience of hitting a giant patch of black ice in the middle of nowhere Wyoming and spinning off the road into a ditch. Marc did a great job, making sure the van went between two posts instead of hitting them. When he walked up to the road to talk to some good samaritans who stopped to help, he said the road was so slick he could barely stand on it without falling over. Anyway, we called roadside assistance who were having an extremely difficult time finding our location on a map. Welcome to Wyoming. Three separate vehicles stopped to help, all full of North Dakotans on their way home for Thanksgiving. I've said it before but I LOVE NORTH DAKOTANS. Nicest people on earth. Between the three vehicles they managed to pull us out of the ditch before roadside assistance could even get there. We felt very very blessed.
We did make it to Denver safely, and the next day we celebrated their birthday for real. Uncle Marcus made these amazing Star Wars cakes.

In case you can't read it, the Yoda cake says, "A Happy Birthday you must have." Marcus totally free-handed those. Amazing.
Here are Gabriel and Elijah getting ready to blow out their candles. They've got that competitive gleam in their eyes. They wanted to see who could blow out all the candles first.

They got many Star Wars presents including mugs, some awesome chapter books, Lego watches and some markers. I also made them a set of pool-noodle lightsabers. Best time and money investment ever. These kept the boys entertained the entire trip and they continue to be useful at home. I made ten because, you know, there are five boys and they each have two hands so clearly ten is the bare minimum. I don't think they fully appreciate how awesome the handles are or that each one is completely unique but I was pretty proud of myself.

As seven-year-olds Gabriel and Elijah are still loud and rambunctious, but they are also helpful and usually trustworthy. They really helped out with the puppies at Marcus and Rebecca's house. They both love to read and tear through books, although they like to read different things. Gabriel has read the entire Magic Treehouse series and loves fiction. Elijah prefers books about nature, or graphic novels. They both love anything by Roald Dahl. Both take gymnastics and art lessons and both excel in school. We love these boys so much and are so proud to say we are the parents of these amazing people. Happy Birthday Gabe and Elijah!