Christmas 2011 savorings

The last few Christmas' have been a whirlwind.  In 2009, Annette was 12 months old and I was 9 weeks away from having baby #2. My little sister was in crazy, crazy pain. So much pain that we met at the ER late that Christmas night to find out she had leukemia. Hard moment to say the least.

In 2010, PRAISE the LORD!, we had much to celebrate with two healthy babes and my sister being in remission. Even with all the blessings of last year, when I reflect and look at those photos, I remember feeling happy yet worn out. Tired from carrying two kids at once much of the day, hundreds of sleepless nights, double diaper duty, nursing, rocking, and all of those mommy jobs that made for a serious survival-mode phase.

All that to say, this Christmas in 2011, has been even more savored. I have been more capable of reflecting, enjoying, and just being. Ahhh, to just be. I'm thankful for the non-eventful Christmas we had this year. I loved that Annette and Charlie are at such a fun age with all the Christmas traditions and joy. I am so hugely thankful for the health of my sister and the rest of our family. Thankful to celebrate the reason for the season... that a baby was born so many years ago to save me. That baby Jesus that brings me the only true joy and the only true comfort in all times and phases of life.

Here are some of the savored moments from this Christmas.

Christmas Eve Eve ice cream fun

Charlie only likes the sprinkles. He is seriously silly.

Christmas Eve at my parent's house, celebrating with my Dad's side of the family.

To get ready for Christmas morning, Isaac and I watched Love Actually and built/wrapped gifts, which has become a fun little tradition for us.

I bet you can't tell which ones he wrapped.

The train table has been a hit already. As was the remote control car. Although, Isaac played with that thing more than Charlie did.

A new tutu and make up in a caboodle (thanks, MK, for the idea:) were annette's faves.

We went to my mom's house around noon and celebrated the day with her side of the family. The kids got two really fun motorized vehicles. SO fun! Thanks, Granny and Grandad : ) The following pictures refused to be turned clockwise. Any tips on rotating pics are more than welcome!!

She refuses to smile while taking a picture with me. But, I will refuse to let it stop me from trying.

'Aunt Kay Kay', my mom's sister was the aunt everyone wanted to go to when we were little. Now, my sister, Lauren Kay, has followed in her footsteps.

On the 26th, we celebrated with Isaac's side of the family.

Doc played "step school" with the grandkids. Doc hides an object in one of his hands and the kids get to move up a step if they guess the correct hand. He did this with Isaac and his siblings when they were young, so it was neat to see the tradition continue.

It was a wonderful Christmas holiday with our family. So much to savor. : )

Weekly Smattering

My sister, Mattie, works at KTHV. She's actually a producer... which is such a cool name. Much cooler title than 'homemaker' or 'stay-at-home-mom'. She runs this cool morning show thingy called 'Bon Apetit'. Last week focused on kid friendly foods. She asked if Annette and I would come onto the show for a live cooking session. I am no expert in the kitchen. Ask Isaac. Or anyone. BUT, but, but, I do make a lot of omelettes. So, I decided I could do that on air and surely not make a fool of myself. Ha.

I really enjoyed spending the entire morning with just Annette. My other sister, Lauren, took care of Charlie so the two of us could go to the station. The omelette making went pretty well. I'm not used to cooking on a hot plate. I love my gas stove. So, my omelettes didn't cook as quickly or turn out quite as nice looking, but I didn't feel like a complete failure. Until, Annette reaches over and touches the hot skillet. She barely BARELY grazed the edge, but boy did she cry. On set. On air. Poor thing. I kissed it. She kept crying. I took her off to the side and they cut to the weather. Pretty dramatic. Luckily, she didn't even have a red spot or anything on her finger. Thank goodness. But it did scare her. In hindsight, I should have moved her little stool she was standing on WAY farther away from the hot plate. I'm sure I could have done a lot of things differently. I think I've finally forgiven myself after 4 days. I think.

Our little playgroup had a Christmas party on Friday morning.

We played a toddler friendly version of BINGO. I made it to where the kids would shout out 'bingo' if they put a sticker on all the numerals on their tree. It worked well and they all had fun playing while practicing number recognition.

I had to help Charlie, of course : )

Story time with Jennifer, another past school teacher.

Mandy brought the goods to make ice cream cone Christmas trees.

Little brothers : )

Other activities this weekend:

- Isaac's company Christmas party

- My mom took Annette to see a play at the Art Center

- We played with Aunt Lauren and Aunt Mattie

- I took Charlie to a birthday party

- While Isaac took Annette on their first Daddy-Daughter Date to Purple Cow

- We rode bikes to our neighbor's backyard to play

- We went to a family Christmas party

- And we had our first family movie night watching the movie UP. The kids lasted about 25 minutes, which was pretty good for them. Can't imagine the day where we will truly be able to watch an entire movie with them. That will be a whole new kind of fun.