Christmas

This is a hard post because Christmas lasts for a bout a month so there might be some random order to things as I remember them.

First off: our advent calendar. Last year I came across something where people did a random act of kindness for everyday leading up to Christmas. So we did it last year and I think I made it more manageable this year. Last year I wrote down what we would do for the 25 days leading up to Christmas. This year I winged it and made it up as the day presented opportunities. I don't think I missed a single day this year. The kids loved to think up nice things that we could do for people.

I will record the highlights. We were at the grocery store and planned to let someone in line in front of us, but there was no line. (Oddly enough we tried this on a number of occasions and there were just no lines - hard to complain about that!) So I decided to purchase a candy bar for the checkout clerk. I casually asked her what her favorite candy bar was. She didn't commit to anything so I bought her a dove bar. I handed it to her after she gave me my receipt. Her face lit up like I would have never guessed. She was so excited! I was surprised, honestly. She then gave the kids a ton of Buddy Bucks. Buddy Bucks are fake money looking things that the kids insert into a machine and a wheel turns and then the kid pushes a button and the wheel stops on a number and the machine spits out a sticker with the points on it. They can then save up the points and get a prize. Anther highlight was at the library. We were checking out and I was going to pay someone's library fee. As I was checking out there was a lady paying her fee. It was something like $5 but she only had  a $20 and the library didn't have change for a $20. I happened to have a $5 so I gave it to her and asked if I could pay her fee. She was shocked and said she was so touched that she was going to cry. That one I found touching. Another trip to the library we were going to pay someone's fees again. I held Emma up to the counter and Emma whispered that she wanted to pay someone's fees. The librarian was surprised and and it was good for Emma to see her reaction to the act of kindness. Another time we took cookies to a fire house. John just about flung himself at the firetruck. This act of kindness was paid back by the firefighters letting the kids climb on the truck. A firefighter asked John if he wanted to drive the truck. John took him literally and said "no" because he knows he isn't supposed to drive a truck. Once we cleared up the confusion, then John threw himself at the truck but was sure to ask,  "It won't move right?" Lastly, I made rolls with my mom for Christmas Eve dinner. A friend of mine loves the rolls so I made some for her. I had Aaron and the kids deliver them while I finished up in the kitchen. Emma came home as proud as could be. She and John went to the door without Aaron. She spoke to the dad of this family and told him Merry Christmas and prompted John to say "Merry Christmas." Speaking to adults is a huge deal for Emma. It was worth it to see her have a victory and feel proud of herself.

We had my parents and sister Emily come to stay for Christmas. It was a ton of fun to have them here. Emily builds some impressive train set ups. She is also great at making snowflakes with. She can turn a cutie orange into a penguin. She is also a mover and moves kids in boxes all around the world or my family room. It also turns out that she know weird secrets like you can poke meat to tell how done it is instead of cutting into it. She also knows cool things to do like stencils. She is a fun aunt.

It was fun to laugh and play with family, eat yummy food, assemble kids toys together and just visit. We went to the zoo (one of our family traditions for December). The kids loved to see the animals. I got to do Anderson family girls shopping the day after Christmas. Aaron and my dad and the kids shopped for granite.

At one point in the visit, Emily was playing with John and he started to say, "what the hex!" He was meaning to say heck. Some neighbor kids taught this to him. I was trying to stifle the whole thing and he got confused and was wondering if "hexagon" was a swear word. So after a long time of sorting through confusion, I think he knows hexagon isn't a swear word.

For Christmas Aunt Mary got John a front loader digger. The kid was in love! It was hard to get him to look at his other gifts. He did however, really like a little fork lift that my parents got him and some construction legos that we got him. He also liked his tools.

Emma was a hard nut to shop for because she didn't know what she wanted. My parents got her these light up shoes. You can see her coming a mile away. They are tie die colored and brightly colored and she loves them. We get all sorts of comments on them. Emma also got sticker earnings from Aunt Mary and Emma wears a pair just about every day. She also got arts and craft stuff. Aunt Emily got the kids some games that they really like.

It was a fun Christmas. The only things I would do differently is I would simplify meals for Christmas Eve. And by simplify I mean do take out. And on Christmas, I would do Merry Christmas Rice and Beans. It is simple and the kids like it. That way we aren't cooking and cleaning all the time. No fancy meals for us.