The Last of the Leaves

So, it's December, and even though in my mind that equals winter and snow, in the Midwest, that hasn't been the case.  It seems we have had one last warm weekend before Christmas for the past 5 years!  Typically on that last weekend, the Bradford Pear tree in our backyard has finally lost the last of her leaves, which means one final raking of the leaves.  And for our big girl, that means being a big helper - even if the rake is three times her size.

Being so little, she can't be the only one that works (even if she fought hard to keep that rake).  I love that she desires to help so much.  I also love to catch my husband being him and working hard.  It's such a glimpse into who he is.  And what good is raking leaves without jumping in them?  Or playing in them and throwing them?



My son seemed to have no troubles with the playing part of the job.  He has loved playing in the leaves ever since he was Emma's age.  It's neat to see them connect and to think back to when he was a little guy and enjoyed playing in the leaves just as much as she does.



I know I am not alone when I say that my heart is full when I see my kids connect and play and have fun together.  There is something about their laughter, looks, and cuddles that make my job feel fulfilling.  I pray for you that as your year is coming to a close, you take the time to connect, play, laugh, cuddle, and just plain have fun.

Until next time,
Melissa

Christmas Traditions: Seeing the Lights

Ready for another Christmas tradition?  Let's talk Christmas lights!

Our family has long enjoyed Christmas lights - whether it was the house down the street or a full blown park display.  Since adding little miss, she hasn't been old enough to really understand them yet.  This year though - jackpot!  She often times yells from the back seat that she sees Christmas lights!  So, when our town does the annual walk through night at our park's Christmas light display, it seems like something too awesome to miss.

We started at home, which has now become a nightly occurrence, looking at our own nativity scene and pointing out what all is in our display.  Then we took off towards the park.  They do a fireworks display each year, but we were still walking to get to the park, so we plopped down in an empty field and watched for a bit.

Once in with the mile long crowd, we started to explore, finding each "Elf on Shelf" hidden in the park that we could.  There are over 25 different light displays, and gobs of people, so you can imagine that not every scene gave us the chance at pictures.  (I won't lie; I was sad at some of the ones I missed.)  However, my kids had a ton of fun stopping at the ones we could and telling each other what all was in the scene.

This one I was particularly intrigued by since the entire thing is made out of - you guessed it - pallets!  How cool is that!?   And my kiddos got the chance to sit a time or two and gather to point out trains and animals in the nativity scene.

 No one should be surprised that Anna and Elsa were a huge hit with our family.  As were Charlie Brown & friends and some famous Disney crew.

We made sure to note baby Jesus each time we saw Him and before we knew it, we were at the end.

The last display had tons to point out and my two stood and admired for a moment.  By then, we were worn out from the mile walk and ready for home!  But don't worry, we had plenty more light displays to point out on our way home.  =)  Until next time!!!

Christmas Traditions: Trimming the Tree

Since we cut down our own Christmas tree, decorating it doesn't always follow right away.  And having a little one that still naps means things need to be broken into stages anyway, so it works out.  Once we returned, and everyone had a nap, it was time to put up and decorate our tree.  What I love most about Christmas tree decorating is that my children get to be a part of it.  From the lights to the garland to the personal ornaments to the train, it's all a part of the joy.

I loved watching my boys work together, side-by-side.  And not to be overlooked, Emma grabbed her stool and sneaked some garland out of one of the boxes and attempted to help as well.  When that didn't pan out, she got to help with putting some of her ornaments on the tree.  She liked that a little better (although spinning with the garland seemed to be almost as fun for her).

 We have personalized ornaments, a tradition my parents did for me as a child.  My husband hopes to one day get away from that and decorate with more uniform ornaments, but we'll see.  In the mean time, I love that every Christmas is a walk down memory lane as I recall the stages of childhood that my son, and soon my daughter, has gone through.  I even love to look back over my own ornaments or family ornaments and reflect on those.  Just a few years ago, we started cutting off a slice of the bottom of our tree and writing the year on it to turn it into an ornament for the next year.  It's something I love and wish we had thought to do previous years.

Then of course, a star on the top and a train around the bottom complete the whole thing!  Our train, now 13 years old, has seen its better days, but it's perfect for real play, runs great in small hands, and even has steam and noises.  You can't beat that!

Well, our tree is all ready for Christmas morning, even if little else is.  In the mean time, I am looking forward to finishing up more of our traditions and getting everything else ready for the big day.  I guess I'd better get going!!!  And make sure to come back to see more of our traditions.

Christmas Traditions: Tree Hunting

So, it's Christmas tree hunting time; every year, we go to a Christmas tree "farm" and cut down our tree.  One year, we were even dumb enough to buy a "balled & burlapped" tree (a tree with the roots attached in a burlap sack for planting).  That was a nightmare, but that's an in-person story.  We always have a good tale to tell when it comes to getting our tree.  Typically, we misgauge her (yes, our tree is a girl).  She has historically been too wide, too short, too tall, too heavy (see balled-and-burlapped tree) - you name it, we've had it.  So, this year, we were pretty excited with our find (yea!).  Our tale came from the getting of the tree.

You see, the Midwest is known to be a pretty changing climate.  Today's winter is not the same as next week's.  And with busy Christmas weekends all around, finding time to go cut down our tree, and avoid unpleasant weather, often is tricky.  In years past, it has been frigidly cold or snowing or, dare I say, a weird 60 degrees.  This year, we got rain & cold.  Not cold enough for snow, but cold enough for hats and gloves.  And did I mention rain?  While walking the acres of a farm for a tree?  Wanted to make sure I mentioned that one.

Since we were all bundled up, that's always a fun time for pictures, right?  And my boys, they are always up for a perfectly posed shot.

We do enjoy getting to wander the trees in search of the one we will take home, even with a little one in tow.  This is not a memory I made as a kid, mainly because my mother is allergic to evergreens.  Of course, amidst these memories, are dirty coats and gloves from the mud and falling rain drops as we explored.  Hopefully, you don't have to look too closely to see those.

And then, when you find one that could be fitting, someone must stand guard.  Here was our guard.  He looks threatening, right?  I wouldn't challenge him.

Then comes the fun part: sawing down your tree!  The last few years, we have had our son be a part of cutting the tree - he is pretty good at it (it is NOT an easy task).  When I have helped in previous years, I know that the beginning is easier than the end, so I can appreciate the need to stop and have some one else take over.

After the tree was all cut, we waited patiently on the side of the road for the bus, but it was full and passed us by.  Our daughter wasn't thrilled to wait and wait only to see the bus pass her by.  She made sure to point out that he was "gone" up the hill.  So, the boys stood in the middle of the road so we wouldn't get passed up again and had fun singing in the rain.  Then we loaded the bus and had our tree wrapped and tied down on the car.

So, the hard part is done.  Next step: decorating!  Make sure to come back to see her all dressed up!

December 5 on 5: Traditions

So, it's December.  For many, that means a list of things to keep us busy and traditions that run the whole month long.  And while every family has different traditions at this time of year, in our house, it seems our list of traditions is forever long and found around every corner.  I hope you'll come back to see the stories of them unfold!

We start with the tradition of hunting for and cutting down our yearly Christmas tree.  This seems to always hold a unique story each year.

Next is our tradition of covering our tree in personalized ornaments to recall years of childhood memories.  Adding an almost 3 year old to this tradition made it a bit of a challenge and more fun all at one time.

Our traditions continue with a train around our tree and an Elf on our shelf.

Most importantly though, our family makes sure that no matter how long our list of traditions is, none of our traditions is bigger than the One that gives us reason to truly celebrate more than just Christmas day: Christ.  Our nativity scene celebrates that His birth was sent as a miracle for our broken world and that His love for us is unending.

Time to hop on over to see Jenny's post at the amazing Sycamore Lane Photography, and make sure to circle all the way through to see more fantastic stories to round out your year.  Then come on back later this month to see more posts with details about my family's Christmas traditions.  Until next time!