Christmas Threads

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Christmas 2008

Untitled from Julie Berg on Vimeo.

Christmas Eve

I've really enjoyed getting in the Christmas Spirit by sharing various Christmas memories this month. It's been so fun to hear from my friends and family members as you have shared your own memories too!

This year has already been so fun getting ready for Christmas and seeing Addie enjoy the season. Christmas Day could be a total bust and I would still consider the holiday a success. I'm already looking forward to next year and we haven't even finished enjoying this one!

Some highlights of Addie this month:

She's obsessed with jingle bells. She has several different jingle bells that we've collected and she plays with them all day long.

She likes to shake all of the presents. She thinks the ones that don't make noise are empty.

She believes that Santa lives at the mall. We were watching Polar Express on ABC Family and a little Santa popped into the bottom corner of the screen and waved. She got so excited. Then when he left she said, "Bye Santa! He's going back to the mall!"

Even though most of the presents under our tree are for her, she only thinks she has one - the smallest box of course. She's been talking a lot lately about being big and little. Tonight even, she was explaining that she and Jack are little, and that Mommy and Daddy are big. It only makes sense that her present would be little.

I made a little movie using all of the video clips and photos from this month as well as photos from past Christmases that I didn't get the chance to use in other blogs. Since I've blogged about Christmas past, there's been little about the present!


Christmas Past, Present, and Future from Julie Berg on Vimeo.

The song on the video is one of my all time favorite Christmas songs. As a kid I would turn off all the lights in the living room, except for the Christmas tree of course, and play the Amy Grant version of this song over and over again. I find it really funny now that I'm a parent to consider how often I thought nobody was watching me.

Merry Christmas!

The Gift of Christmas

There is a story behind this goofy picture of me with this sad, sad snowman. It's a Texas snowman, they have lots of grass mixed in with the snow. The story relates to the coat I'm wearing.

I found this coat in my Mamaw's guest room closet when I was a junior in high school and I fell in love with it. She, of course, gave it to me freely. For whatever reason, I thought this coat was really cool and I wore it until it started to fall apart. I loved knowing that it had been hers before it was mine.

Christmas Eve 1997 was Mamaw's funeral. I don't share this to put a damper on the holiday. Every year as I remember her, I feel like I focus a little more on the gift of Christmas. Richard Paul Evans described it well in The Christmas Box through the words of his character Mary as she wrote to her lost child, "And in this there is hope, my love. Hope of embracing you again...And this because of the great gift of Christmas. Because He came. The first Christmas offering from a parent to His children, because He loved them and wanted them back."

Almost everyone I know has lost someone. I'm grateful that intertwined in the meaning of this holiday all about being with family is the greater message that we can be with all of our loved ones again some day. There is joy in the present, and hope for joy in the future which I'm grateful for.

Christmas Rappers

Like many elementary schools, back before Christmas became politically incorrect, Woodrow Wilson Elementary School had an annual Christmas play before school let out for the holiday. It was put on by the fifth and sixth graders in choir which consisted of pretty much everyone I think...so, no I don't have singing skills I've been hiding.

The sixth graders got the "premier" roles, so naturally my friends and I thought we were super cool when we landed the quartet role of the "Christmas Rappers." It was me, Jamie Garner, Andrea Smith, and Mindy Thaten. So funny to think about now! Jamie was in charge of the beat box, since the other three of us couldn't do it.

I don't know how many times I washed one pair of jeans in bleach trying to get them to look right for the part. My mother was probably really annoyed at what I was doing to a perfectly good pair of pants. I also cut holes in the knees and frayed them so they'd be really "cool." Two of us wore black spandex pants under our holey jeans and the other two wore red. We alternated black and red shirts, socks, and scrunchies. I'm pretty sure there were some dangle earrings with Christmas presents involved too...ahh the memories!

I don't remember my lines, but I do recall that I was first and the rhyming words "fool" and "cool" were involved as I addressed my "rap" to Santa. I actually have a lead on a photo of this, but you all may have to wait for your laugh until after Christmas. I promise, when I get it...I'll post it. No matter how hideous it is. :)

Christmas Stories

In high school I started my own tradition of reading a Christmas themed book over the holiday. The first book I read was The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans. I think I actually read that one a few years in a row before I branched out to his other works Timepiece and The Letter. I think they've all become Hallmark movies now.

Others I've enjoyed include The Christmas Shoes (also made into a movie!) by Donna VanLiere, Esther's Gift by Jan Karon, and The Forgotten Carols by Michael McLean. There have been a few others that I didn't care for, so they are not noteworthy.

This year I read The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck and really enjoyed it. I guess I feel like actually reading one story each year makes up for the abundance of sappy Christmas movies I watch on ABC Family and Hallmark. I can totally see The Christmas Sweater going Hallmark one of these days. The books and movies are at times pretty cheesy, but they really do help me keep my mind on more important things than shopping for Christmas presents.

Any great suggestions for next year?

You Kill It, I'll Cook It

When Anthony and I were engaged, he spent Christmas with our family in Denton and got the full Wilson experience! There were at least four laptops in the living room at any time for playing Collapse! when we weren't playing PlayStation. The highlight was Christmas Day when the kids opened their presents from my parents. All of the females in the family received KitchenAid mixers while all the males were given guns. I wish I had a picture of the expression on Anthony's face when he turned to me and said, "Your parents got me a gun?"

Iowa Christmas Party(s)

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, yet not a terribly Silent Night. Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer was dreaming of a White Christmas. Not a Blue Christmas, or even a Hard Candy Christmas, but a Still Still Still night where only the sound of Jingle Bells would be heard. He thought to himself, "If only Twas the Night Before Christmas...then I might be doing a few of My Favorite Things, like Walking in a Winter Wonderland or taking a Sleigh Ride." when suddenly before him were Three Kings. "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing! You don't have to wait until Santa Claus is Coming to Town to hear those Sleigh Bells Ring! In fact, While Shepherds Watch Their Flocks you could be Rockin Around the Christmas Tree!" So come Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas with all the Jingle Bell Rock and Joy to the World that friends, food and fun can provide! We'll leave A Candle in the Window for you.

This was the text on the front of the invitation to our Christmas party the first year we were in Iowa. I was really proud of my cleverness.

We had some great times throwing parties there and consider ourselves very blessed to have such good friends. We hope to start up our party throwing days again once we're settled down somewhere...hopefully we'll find people there who are as willing to play my silly Christmas games as these folks were! The games were silly, but the company was great and there were always plenty of smiles so I think everyone enjoyed themselves. Here's a little slideshow I put together with the pictures I have. I had some incriminating videos too...but this seemed the safer route. If you are missing from the slide show, but remember being at the party - don't be offended. I might have done you a favor by not posting your video. :)

I have to mention that there were some insanely funny White Elephant gifts traded around here. My favorite is probably the autographed and framed self portrait that Brent Gardner brought to the party. It hung in our garage for the last two years we were in Iowa...now it's in the basement. One of these days I'll post it on eBay and make a ton of money off of it.

Spritzer Cookies

When Anthony got home tonight, right around dinner time, the kitchen was pretty much a disaster...but Addie and I were making memories (and unfortunately, not dinner.) That's okay right? I'll remember. She probably won't. We had a great time today making spritzer cookies, which I always enjoyed making with my mother for Christmas. These cookies turn out so pretty, even with 2 year old hands involved.



Addie helped mix up the dough, then she pushed on the lever to make the cookie press "click" and, of course, she added plenty of sprinkles!



She really liked our poinsettias.



I had to take a picture of my tin for her school party. It's my first time taking cookies to school and I'm pretty excited!

Oh Christmas Tree!

Christmas trees are so fun. I love seeing how other people decorate their tree. I especially love going to friends' homes who have kids old enough to make ornaments and decorate the tree. The character of those trees is totally different than my current one with all store bought ornaments. Hopefully next year we can start a tradition of making some ornaments and Addie can help decorate the tree...or maybe I'll get her a little one of her own so I can still have control over mine...or maybe I'll see a professional about my need to control...

Anyway, when we were little, we had a real Christmas tree. Maybe artificial ones didn't even exist for a long time? I really don't know. Seems like whenever EVERYONE started getting fake ones, we did. It was a good fit, since we were all allergic to real trees and generally spent the holidays sick because of our tree. It was also a good safety precaution for us - there was no need for my dad to light the tree on fire in the front yard after Christmas as his contribution to the clean up. There was a nice "X" from one tree on our sidewalk for at least a year. Clark Griswold who?

Back to decorations...We had some of these:



and these:



In addition to the annual school photo ornaments, we also had a complete set of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs homemade dough ornaments. Those were unique enough that even the all-knowing internet did not have a picture for me to steal.

The internet DID have a picture of these:



and we had something very similar. Maybe I'll let my kids get some crazy colored lights for "their" tree, since they're getting their own now. :)

This tree was eventually scrapped for some themed trees...the teddy bear tree (little teddy bears, baby's breath, red velvet bows), the burgundy/gold/hunter green tree, and the latest sugared fruit tree. All beautiful in their own ways.

Buy More and Save?

Just the other night Anthony was telling me, in "bah humbug" fashion, how certain stores exist for the sole purpose of giving people a place to check gifts off of their list at Christmastime. Bath and Body Works was number one on the list. I contested that while that may be true, I still like their stuff and always enjoy a gift that helps me smell sweeter. However, even though I value them and the gifts that they supply, I do take issue with their sales techniques. Particularly at Christmas when they double their staff just for the holidays. It is nearly impossible to pick up my product of choice (which is almost always from the front of the store) and walk all the way to the register at the back without at least two people telling me that if I'd just buy ten more I could get one free. Seriously.

This brought to mind a cute Christmas memory! One Christmas when Dan and I were teenagers, he gave me five, yes 5, bottles of Victoria's Secret lotion.



I actually remember hauling all of my lotions off to college and eventually I had to concede that there was probably something growing in them so I tossed them. While I really liked the gift, and all of the selected scents were to my liking, it is funny to think about now. I can just picture my teenage brother in Victoria's Secret doing his shopping, getting attacked by the pretty sales ladies in black...probably hoping no one would catch him in there. What a good brother. :)

"Before" Christmas

The Christmas of 2005 was our last without kids. We gave our parents framed pictures of Addie's seven week sonogram. We were so excited to finally be expecting! We had a cozy Christmas dinner with Sarah and Damion Spilman (Sarah was about to pop with Zane!), Brent and Holly Gardner, my parents, and my grandparents. It was a very exciting time for us and we were so lucky to have loved ones to share it with!

Brent and Anthony were so excited that they wore matching sweaters. :) Holly and I might have done some of our shopping together...



And Simon...well, he had no clue what was happening. If you are new to my blog and wonder who Simon is, well...he is part of our "before children" life. For Christmas of 2006, Simon got a new home in Texas. At least we were kind enough to get him out of the Iowa winters!

Smiles for Monday!

If you are having any trouble smiling on this Monday morning...just watch this. It's a sure fire cure!

Shake What Your Momma Gave Ya from Julie Berg on Vimeo.

Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbons

I think if you could measure gift wrapping enjoyment, I really might have more than anyone around. Ask my family members. I REALLY like wrapping! The absolute pure pleasure I get from wrapping any gift, much less a Christmas gift is amazing. I love the paper and even more, the ribbons! There is a part of me that actually believes the receiver of a gift will like it more if it's wrapped beautifully, so I get really into it.

I was the helper in gift wrapping at our house for many many years until Emily was old enough to help. Mom and I had a system for getting all the gifts wrapped. She would be in one room boxing gifts and writing numbers on them before bringing them to me for gift wrapping. Yes, I said numbers. My math teacher mom used a numbering system on our gifts so that she was the only one who knew which gifts belonged to whom. It kept us from bothering (much) to "preview" our gifts in any way.

With five kids in the family, plus cousins, grandparents, and my dad it was easy for there to be quite a few boxes to wrap. You'd think that being the helper in this task would have made me hate wrapping. That was definitely the result from the summer mom paid me 5 cents a shirt to iron...scarred for life against ironing, but I digress...I still love to wrap, though I do have a terrible aversion to the stick-on bows and matching ribbon. Despite the large number of gifts I wrapped as a kid in Mom's little sweatshop, I still truly love to wrap!

Mom also taught me the art of arranging the gifts under the tree to look nice. I must admit, it was more interesting with our large family than it is with my little one. There's not much point right now anyway though since Addie likes to pick them up and shake them around.



"The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other. " ~ Burton Hillis

Carol of Lights

I didn't miss a lot of things about Texas Tech University when I transferred to Texas A&M, though I certainly missed a lot of people. There was one lone Texas Tech tradition that I really missed: The Carol of Lights.

My freshman year I casually went with my friends to Science Quadrangle for some "Christmas" thing. The Carol of Lights was huge though! It was a cold, crisp night and I was a homesick, tired freshman. After the program, all of the campus lights went off and it was pitch black. Then the entire crowd sang "Silent Night." The reverence was undeniable and I felt so blessed to be there among so many different people of different beliefs singing a song about the birth of the Savior.

After "Silent Night" the whole campus lit up in Christmas lights. It was really beautiful. Absolutely one of my favorite holiday events ever!

Kisses

Dear Hershey's Kiss,

Let me begin by expressing my deep love for you. You've been there, through thick and thin (mostly thick, thanks to you.) I only eat you once a year, every year. You provide a baking-free quick trip down memory lane through the oh so powerful sense of taste. What can I say, a bite of Hershey's and I start remembering peanut butter kiss cookies and all those Santa bowls mom decorated the house with during the holidays.

Unfortunately, I also remember far too many Christmas mornings of a sick stomach due to a breakfast of Hershey's kisses. After weeks of stealing you from the candy bowls, now there were some in my stocking and I just couldn't resist.

More important than that, it is because of you that I spend my month of January on a diet and in the gym. Really, do you have to be so tasty? All the morning shows this time of year talk about the rich food of the season that will pack on the pounds. They promote all the tricks to staying thin over the holidays in various convoluted ways. I really have it easy since there's only one danger food to my holidays.

I've thought about just eating you all year round so the novelty would wear off...but I'm not sure my waistline can handle the risk and these babies are tough enough on my figure. So, dear friend, this year I'm sticking with M&Ms. They are smaller and Anthony likes them too so he can share the calories with me. I promise it's not you, it's me. Farewell, adios, adieu.

Love Always,
Julie

The Girls and Christmas

All joking about the surprise brother of 1983 aside, I did finally get a sister. Once Emily was old enough to join in the fun, there are just a lot of Christmas traditions that became about her, me, and mom. For example, the boys were suppose to go into the attic and get all the decorations out. After that the girls would decorate the house. Then, inevitably, the decorations from last year would not be enough. So, we'd have to go get some more. I have especially fond memories of the time we spent in the kitchen baking, the music played, the dancing, and (usually) the laughter coming from Emily directed at me. I'm pretty sure I'm the reason she doesn't like to dance in public. She probably thought you had to make a fool of yourself like I did.

Happy Feet

This kid seriously makes me smile.


Happy Feet from Julie Berg on Vimeo.

A Brother for Christmas

I wanted a sister for Christmas in 1983. Instead, I was blessed with a very cool brother and an Atari game system that showed up in her place. Really, I joke about having issues with Joey because he ruined my plans of having a sister...but that was a very special Christmas and one I will always remember. Was I sad to have Christmas without Mom? Sure, but that's a whole different post. :) Having a sibling with a Christmas birthday was really kinda fun. There was just more to celebrate in a season full of celebrations.

The Atari gaming system was also the start of a Wilson family tradition. Pretty much every year that there has been a new system out on the market, mom has made sure it was in the house well before we all got there. My favorite was the year of PlayStation II snowboarding game. "Shake What Your Momma Gave Ya" will forever be ingrained in my head and there is definitely a part of my mind that thinks I can snowboard! Everyone enjoyed it...I wish I had a video of my Grandmother playing!

Here's where it all began:

Park City Christmas

In 2004 my family all met up in Park City, Utah for a GREAT vacation. It was really a good time. Everyone but us is returning this year, so I put this together to wet their appetites (as if that is needed!!) I couldn't help but notice, these are some big smiles on everyone's faces! :)


Park City Christmas from Julie Berg on Vimeo.

I think the ending with Luke is appropriate. He was not a member of our family during the trip and amazingly, he still proposed to Emily after spending a holiday with us! For any non-family that finds this slide show boring...here's a little challenge for you: What movie was this song in and what is the scene?

Our First Christmas

We made our first Christmas memorable by spending it in New York City. It was so much fun. We stayed at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, enjoyed looking at the beautifully decorated windows, eating hot dogs and roasted nuts on the street, and our fair share of sight seeing.



Here's Anthony at Battery Park. This was still the beginning of our marriage, so I had not yet learned to take the camera from him and get some pictures of him. Most of what I have are pictures of me. :)



On the 23rd of December, we went to see Thoroughly Modern Millie. On Christmas Eve we had dinner at The Four Seasons. Then on Christmas Day we saw 42nd street, which was perfect for Christmas Day. We left on the day after Christmas after a short sale shopping spree at Rockefeller Center. In between we tried to find something we could afford at Barneys or Bergdorf Goodman, but failed. Little known fact: if you are really desperate to look cool they sell their shopping bags at Barney's so you can just LOOK like you shop there. NICE. We also had fun at FAO Schwartz. Oh, and we went to this cute restaurant Serendipity (yes, from the movie) and had their famous frozen hot chocolate. It was well worth the walk.



I hope that someday we can take our kids back with us and enjoy a fun Christmas in the city!

Alabama Christmas

Every Christmas I can ever remember included the Alabama Christmas album! I think I could (but won't) sing you every single song on this album.

"There’s a blanket of snow coverin’ up the old road
to the house where I was raised.
Through the window I see the lights on the tree
and a glow from the old fireplace.
Though it all looks the same so much as changed
from the way it used to be.

"Christmas memories of happy years gone by
They come back to me and keep me warm inside
Still those Christmas memories make me cry"

~ Alabama

I had seriously kind roommates in college who actually let me play the CD. I'm not saying they embraced "Thistlehair the Christmas Bear," but they let me get my homesick "fix" in and tolerated the music. There was some ridicule. Maybe a lot of ridicule.

Speaking of Alabama Christmas...we actually had a few of them, seeing as Mike and I were born there. The only one I remember was a visit to the Clarkson's house after we'd moved to Texas. We slept on a hide-a-bed and watched "Ernest Saves Christmas." Good times! Strange what you remember.

The Year of the Windsuit

I think it's interesting that when we were actually in the middle of the 90s, we looked back on the fashion of the 80s with such amazing disdain. As if we were doing any better? Case in point: the windsuit. This was the year of the windsuit. This blessed outfit was given to Mom, Dad, Mike, Dan, Joey, Emily, grandparents, aunts, uncles...and yes, me. Everybody gave everybody else a windsuit.

My high school basketball team made fun of my family because they all seemed to show up to every one of my games that year wearing their windsuits. It was a sporting event. It only made sense! I was defenseless. I mean, it's one thing for another kid's dad to wear one, while their mom and sibling come in other gear. But all six of my family fan club was wearing them. Killer.

Couple of side notes: Yes, that is all real hair. No extensions necessary.

The pretty mauve and blue bedding was also a Christmas gift. Again...gotta love the 90s!

Culture for Christmas

Christmas 1996
London, England
Paris, France
Fun times with our Cousins
Coldest Winter in 50 Years
Tower Bridge (as pictured, with Dan)
Westminster Abbey
Buckingham Palace
London Bridge
100 Dalmations
Harrod's
London Tower
Piccadilly Circus
Double Decker Tour Bus
Doc Martins
Train to Paris through the Channel Tunnel
(No, the Chunnel is not glass and you cannot see fish swimming above you.)
Creepy Parisian Hotel
The Louvre
Dan & Joey's Quest for the "Pull My Finger Painting"
The "Creation of Adam" is in Italy
Cool Playing Cards from the Gift Shop had to Suffice
Arc de Triomphe
Eiffel Tower
Walking the Champs-Elysees
Dad saying "Mercy" to EVERYONE in Paris
A good time was had by ALL and
We even came away a LITTLE more polished...

Reindeer and Racecars

One Christmas Eve I spent the night in Mike and Dan's room. We were all hyped up over the holiday and stayed up who knows how late. Mike was probably around 10 years old...old enough to know the "truth" about Santa, but he played it up nicely for Dan and I. Every now and then from the top bunk he'd say, "shhhh, I think I hear something!" Dan and I would then try our best to look out of the tiny window in their room - as if it were even possible to see Santa and his sleigh if he were up on top of our rectangle Texas ranch style home from the inside. Either way, Mike seemed to enjoy himself claiming to hear reindeer up on the roof now and then.

After we were convinced that the reindeer were gone, Dan and I snuck into the living room. We were having a great time with a really cool race track when my mom came in looking very tired and told us to go back to bed. I guess driving the cars so fast that they flew off of the track and crashed into the brick floor was pretty noisy. Not to mention our laughter. I don't think I remember what I got that year, but Dan got a race track that was way fun.

I wonder if I'll be as nice to Addie in the middle of the night as my mom was to us.

Hello?

Another exciting and memorable Christmas gift was my very own phone line. I was eleven years old and apparently my need to talk on the phone was a major burden for the rest of the family. I talked on the phone a LOT. My friends Kinsey Mitchell and Erin Brothers walked home from school with me every day. As soon as they'd get home, the phone calling would begin - as if we hadn't had ample talking time at school or on the way to and from. One night as my family knelt down for family prayer, my dad called on me to say the prayer. I bowed my head and said, "Hello?" without really thinking. Of course, the reverence of the moment was killed and everyone was laughing. My parents seized the opportunity to let me know the obvious - I was not on the phone. I was made fun of for this for many, many years.

Some of my friends have heard this goofy story, so I apologize for the repeat. It sets the stage well for how crazy excited I was about this gift. I distinctively recall opening a large box to find a small piece of paper in it that read 898-0819. So so so cool. I thought I must be the coolest girl in the sixth grade for sure. I called my friends as soon as I could, on my new line of course, to give them my new phone number.

That 1980s Swatch phone is pretty cool, huh? That would have looked AWESOME (or should I say radical?) with my rainbow colored Swatch watch. Rainbows were cool then, too.

Barbie Dream House

This was seriously one of my favorite Christmas presents. I had wanted a Barbie Dream House FOREVER, so when I saw this sitting in the living room on Christmas morning I was so excited. It came completely furnished. There was even a poodle for Barbie to walk.

I still remember playing with it on New Year's Eve that year. Lori Blad and I played Barbies all night long as we took turns sneaking into the living room to get snacks from the adult party. Even looking at it now, that's a really cool Barbie house!

If Addie is into Barbies one day, I may have to find her one of these. Of course, she probably won't think it's cool because it won't be the same as her friends'. Maybe we'll get lucky and she'll skip Barbie. Go for Cabbage Patch Kids...they promote a healthier body image anyway. :)

As a side note, we did have a pretty hideous (sorry Mom and Dad) plaid couch at one point, but this is not it. I just stole this picture from someone on eBay.

Baby Julie

We're getting Addie a doll for Christmas this year. Seeing as she doesn't read yet, I'm thinking it's okay to post that. Picking out her gift reminded me of a Christmas when I was given a doll. In 1983 we had just moved to Denton, TX and were living in a rental house on a street called Piccadilly. My Mamaw and Grandad were living across the street while they found a house, so we spent Christmas Eve over there with my aunt and uncle, cousin, and great grandad (Big Grandad.) Most of what I remember of the scene is blurry, aside from colored lights on the tree. I think that was cool then...or maybe we were just out of it.

We opened gifts from that side of the family that night and I received a beautiful new Madame Alexander doll. She had blonde hair, blue eyes, and wore a pretty light pink dress and matching bloomers. Oh, and she cried when you put her up on your shoulder and could blink her eyes. Her dress had little pink rosebuds on it and some cursive text that I couldn't read (I was only 5!) While everyone was enjoying their new gifts, I showed my new doll to Big Grandad. He asked me what my doll's name was, and I replied that I didn't know. Then I showed him the writing on the dress because I thought maybe it said her name. He looked at it and said, "It says Julie. It's Baby Julie." I was so excited to have a baby with my same name. She easily surpassed my Puddin and Huggums in doll ranking. I think she's downstairs in the basement, so I may have to go dig her up and see what the dress really says.

Christmas is absolutely not about what you GET, however, I love the way that THINGS can bring to mind old memories that envoke feelings. To me, this is a memory of a time and an individual who is no longer with us as well as my explanation to family members who tease me for having a doll named after myself! :) Sometimes I get really annoyed with the way Christmas has been commercialized. Part of me wants to simply not start the tradition of gift giving with my kids so that they understand that Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, His life, and all He has done for us. The tradition of gift giving can bring us closer to each other as we give and receive. It's really no different with Jesus Christ. As we give our lives to Him, we will receive gifts we cannot even fathom and hopefully grow closer to Him. What better lesson could I want for my children?

Giving Thanks

I love holiday traditions. Especially ones that I am actually successful at carrying out as our family transitions from one stage to another. For example, my tradition of going to a movie in the evening after the big Thanksgiving dinner is kind of on hold until I have kids old enough to enjoy that with me. One thing I have been able to maintain, no matter what, is taking a picture of my beautiful Martha Stewart/Real Simple inspired table setting.

This years picture is kinda just going through the motions...















Before anyone stops being my friend in the name of bad taste, let me just explain that Anthony is working this week in Statesville, NC so we went down to join him for dinner today. The original "plan" was to just go to the Outback next to the hotel where he stays...however, he sprung a last minute "need" for Thanksgiving dinner on me and we wound up at Cracker Barrel. For $9.95 you can get turkey, ham, ice cream scoop greenish cornbread stuffing, cranberry relish, sweet potatoes, a coke, pumpkin pie, rolls, and another vegetable of your choosing. What a deal! Notice my plate is full. Anyway...Anthony got what he needed and I didn't cook so I won't complain. The sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie were pretty good, as was the diet coke. :)


















Fashionista here wouldn't touch her dinner so she whined and ate Teddy Grahams the whole way home, despite the fact that she had the new Tinkerbell movie to watch (which I do recommend...she loved it on the way there.) Jack pretty much screamed the whole way home. I think he's had it with my travels. I also think he might be having a little teething, which is not so fun. I love the guessing games!


















The picture doesn't do it much justice, but Addie was really getting into putting my makeup on this morning. It was pretty cute. She's also wearing her favorite shoes in this picture...white patent mary janes. I let her do what she wants in the house and luckily she's been really good so far about simply changing her shoes before we leave. Here's hoping that stays the same! :)

There are 15 minutes left in this day that is suppose to be about giving thanks and I'm feeling really guilty about the fact that even though I didn't have any family here to catch up with or spend all day cooking for, I still didn't really take any time to reflect on my many, many blessings. Thank goodness for blogging to bring some introspection to my day!

Happy Thoughts

I'm thinking my last post may have sounded a bit grumpy.

Really, I'm not grumpy though. How could I be with my cute babies to make me smile?

This is Addie on Thursday explaining that she was not sick anymore. She spent three days on the couch without moving. On Tuesday, I didn't even get her to eat one single cracker. So glad to have my girl back!

Jack can now roll from his tummy to his back and then back to his tummy. He's five months old now...time is really flying by!

And here are my two favorite ladies. Addie sure loves being with Nana and Toppie!

Craziness

Our trip home was unexpectedly delayed this week by a mean stomach bug (BOO!) We are recovered today, but still pretty wimpy and so ready to see Dad! 

It's been a whirlwind here. Mostly good things though. Anthony has been to Texas twice for interviews while I've been here. Serena, Maggie, Jack and I flew to join him for one interview, so that was busy. We've seen lots of people, but missed many more. Sadly, our extra week here didn't help with that because I didn't want to get anyone sick. 

In the middle of all the sickness this week, while I watch the news of stock market plunges, deflation predictions, bailouts, and terrorist-friendly presidential cabinet choices I see this:

I'm a stay at home mom. Most of what streams into my home on any given day comes from The Disney Channel or PBS (which evidently is a good source of information per one of these comments...I'll have to focus in on Elmo a little harder.) I did take political science in college, but it was summer school at Texas A&M University with a Drew Carey look-a-like professor in basketball shorts and a t-shirt. All I remember was that he called me out for studying Quantitative Analysis or sleeping during his lectures and I was totally shocked that he had even noticed me since I was in the highest, most obscure seat I could find.

 I spend my days working hard to make my corner of the world something that will in turn make the world a better place. Lately, when I have the opportunity to lift my head up away from the family I'm focusing on and look around I'm just not impressed. Frankly, I'm a little discouraged. I feel like I should DO something about this, but I'm not sure what. I worked hard for a candidate I really believed in, but the uninformed voter shot him down. That's all I knew to do. Any suggestions for my stir crazy, community service, change the world needs? I guess it's just been one of those weeks! 

Root of all Evil

Addie's love of money has been my best friend this past week. She's spent HOURS doing this.

She empties the weird chicken gravy bowl, then she refills it. 

Then she does it again. 

One happy girl.

For the life of me, I have no clue why my photos are in this strange arrangement. I guess I'm just too tired to figure it out either! :)

We Love Cousins!

We are having so much fun here in Houston with our friends and family. Addie is LOVING the chance to play with her cousins. On Saturday night, Dave, Serena and Maggie came over for dinner. The girls wrapped up the night with a bath, which Addie loved. The first thing she said on Sunday morning was, "I take a bath with Maggie!" 

These were pretty much the only two moments where Addie was not saying, "I play with this one" and trying to take whatever poor Maggie was holding. 

And these two have become fast friends once again. I think the age difference makes them great pals. Addie just follows JD around mostly doing whatever he's doing. These kids have such a good Nana. Lucky lucky.
We dipped frozen bananas in chocolate and then covered them in sprinkles tonight for Family Home Evening. Addie and JD loved it of course as you can see from the pictures. 
So many people to see, but we're having a great time trying to fit it all in! We've seen Brent, Holly, and Clark twice now but no pictures! I'll have to fix that.