Let there be Light

The Advent Calendar is a success so far!  Granted, Douglas is more interested in taking things out of the pockets and putting them back in than he is in what the card actually says, but - whatevs.  He'll get it more next year.  The nice thing about the fact that he's so young when we're starting this tradition is that it gives me a year to work out some of the kinks - to see how I like it before he really gets it and is devastated when I forget it for a day or when I change plans on him.

It's sometimes hard for me to commit to what we're doing that day, so I have to choose things that I really know we'll be able to swing.  The point of this is not to stress myself out MORE during the holidays.  The point is to enjoy it, to make an effort to seize the day and soak up all the holiday goodness that we can.  And, I must say, this first year has been a raging success in our household.

I think one of the tricks is to not overdo it with the intense activities.  Throw lots of super fun, easy ones in there like Bubble Baths and reading books by the fire - things that you would do sometimes anyway - and maybe spice them up by throwing in some Christmas music or reindeer antlers or hot cocoa or a fire.  Don't wear yourself out trying to do a brand new, novel thing every day!

We've decorated Christmas trees. 

There have been bubble baths and Angel Tree gifts and carpet picnics with popcorn and The Santa Clause movie and cookie-making parties with cousins and breakfast for dinner while listening to Christmas music. 

My friend, Lauren, had a "Frosty Friday" party where the kids made Snowman crafts and then sat on a big blanket and ate snacks while watching Frosty...pretty sure life doesn't really get better than that.  Dougie and I dressed up for the party.  I may or may not have worn cheesy Christmas socks pulled up to my knees...Dougie (after seeing what a gem of an outfit I was wearing) may or may not have asked to borrow another pair of said cheesy socks to pull up to his knees - over his khaki cargo pants.  He topped it all off with Micah's Harley Davidson beanie.  It was a little hard to take ourselves seriously.

We had a picnic dinner by the Christmas tree.  (Where Timon decided he should try sitting up...just for fun).

A local movie theater plays Christmas movies on Saturday morning for the month of December, so we rushed out the door one morning to see Elf. It was Dougie's first time to the theater, and he LOVED it. We figured he'd last 20 minutes, but he sat there, wide-eyed, trying to take it all in for the ENTIRE time.  He spoke only to say "Ho, ho, ho" to Santa on screen. There were free carriage rides afterward, so we braved the cold to "ride the horseys".

I left the random lady in here because I think it's funny knowing that just as she's randomly front and center in our cute family photo, we are no doubt messing up the background of hers that was taken just moments before.

It's so amazing for me to see the magic of this season through a child's eyes. Every day, Douglas looks out our window to see the neighbor's house across the street lit up with all kinds of Christmas decorations. Every single time he sees it, he says "Great JOB, neighbor!" Every. Single. Time. Multiple times a day, 7 days a week. Now sometimes he throws his name in there to change it up. "Great JOB, Kevin!!!" He loves him some Christmas lights. The first time he saw me whip out my pink reindeer pj pants, he looked at me with eyes all wide and sparkly and full of wonder and said, "Wow! Niiice! Douglas reindeer pants??" I love that boy. I love that he shares our love for the holidays, even when it involves being oober dorky and over the top - as in the case of the pink reindeer pants.

It's fun watching Douglas learn about the various Christmas stories now that he's old enough to semi-understand. We have a sing-along Christmas dvd that has The Little Drummer Boy on it. We listen and I tell him about Jesus being born and how the little boy wanted to give him a gift to tell him that he loved him, but he didn't have any money to get him anything. But he had his drum. So he asked if he could play him a song. Yesterday while we watched it, Douglas whispered, "Douglas drum" and ran to get his little drum. He brought it back and started playing on it. He had his eyes closed (they were all squinty because apparently it's tricky to close your eyes and concentrate at the same time) and the most hilarious expression on his face as he played his drum. I asked him if he was playing a song for Jesus and he said yes. I then looked at the video and realized that the drummer boy had his eyes closed when he was playing for Jesus - so apparently Dougie decided that's how songs for Jesus are meant to be played.

Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones - and to those who have no loved ones to call their own. May we all encounter the Light that conquers all darkness - and may that Light fill us up from the tops of our heads to the tips of our toes.

As I wrote the above paragraph, these words came into my mind. So I guess they're for you.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
- Romans 15:13

Holiday Musings, Part 2 - Motley Crew of Cards

The main blog that I read, which I've mentioned before, is Momastery.  A month or so ago, she wrote this post about the holidays.  She encouraged people who have more to share with those who have less this year.  And those who have less to be brave enough to ask for help.  She quoted a bible verse that talks about people sharing everything that they have.  The post really hit me...well, the post and reading the comments where people posted their needs or their desire to help someone.  Glennon, the blogger, paired up needs with gifts, and amazing things happened.

Douglas admiring his own personal Christmas tree in his bedroom - a tradition that I LOVE that my mom started when we were kids.

I cried when I saw what was going on.  I knew that I wanted to be a part of it, to help somehow, but I didn't know how - I decided to wait and listen.  I mentioned it to Micah and he was on board.  Below is the e-mail that I sent to Glennon about what went down:

Glennon. 

I tried to post a comment (I was super embarrassed to post it, but thought it was important to be vulnerable so everyone can see the MULTIPLE facets of this love fest of blessings goin' on here.)  But, alas, I'm long winded, so it was too long to post.  It wouldn't accept all my characters.  Go figure.

I said in an earlier comment that I'd wait to see how I was supposed to be involved in this.  I asked and listened.  God told me $300 ...I knew it was him because he's so random like that.  I told my husband today and he was a little shocked and said we don't have that extra $ right now and that's kindof a lot.  But that we would make it work if I really felt it was what God was asking.  I said we'll talk about it later.  We just adopted our second son and as with most adoptions there's not much $ left over afterward.  So things are tight.  Not scary tight at all, but just tighter than we usually are in the "extra" category.

I hung up and was discouraged.  I looked in our envelopes (we do the cash system and have envelopes of cash for the categories) to see if I could scrounge up $300 and fell way short...I had almost expected there to be exactly $300 extra in there bc that's how I know God works sometimes.  Then I heard God telling me to look at my gift cards.  NO.  NOT MY GIFT CARDS.  I have a wallet full of store credits and gift cards.  I rarely, if ever, use them.  I love them.  They are my rainy day fund.  Husband doesn't know or care if or when I use them, so it's all just treat money!  But I hoard them.  I never use them.  Some have been there for years.  In part bc I forget them.  But mostly I think it's for the same reason anyone hoards - because we're afraid God won't provide, so we're trying to protect ourselves. 

I got out the cards and reluctantly began to call to get the amounts on all of them.  Then I added them up.  Just over $300.  Hmm.  I then sat there (this is so embarrassing) and tried to fenagle my way into keeping some of them.  "Gap?  C'mon!  I want to keep it so I can get my littles those precious long sleeve waffle tees to wear under cute t-shirts in the winter!  C'MON!!!"  Nope.  I seriously tried to find some way to make it work to where I could keep some.  I felt the Spirit gently smiling at me and saying, "Let go.  Let them go."  I thought of the fact that I don't need these cards.  Other people NEED. THESE. CARDS.  And they've been sitting in my wallet collecting dust when someone else could have been enjoying the fruit of them all this time.

So, if you'll accept (I kindof know you will because you're quirky and open to quirky things like that I'm guessing) a total MOTLEY CREW of cards, I've got 'em.  Gap.  Target.  Babies R Us.  Janie and Jack.  Sams.  And the amounts are RANDOM because lots of them are store credit.  $66.69.  $19.26.  Random crap, I'm telling you.  Want 'em?  If you say no, I'll think, "hmm...MAYBE, God, you just wanted me to go through the exercise, but you don't really want me to give them away?..."  Just kidding.  No part of me thinks this was just an exercise.  Or that you'll say no to funky contributions.  But, just know, the people receiving these cards may think it's weird.  I mean, Janie and Jack for $28.12? 

I just wanted you to know how MULTI MULTI (x a million) faceted the amazing blessings of this project are, Glennon.  Here I am in Kansas and God's using this to a) speak directly to me which I totally love when he does that b) grow my faith by showing me that YES I actually heard him when he said $300 and c) to heal another wounded part of me where I somehow believe the lie that he won't provide for us and so I keep a rainy day fund of gift cards just in CASE he doesn't show up when I need him to.  It feels GOOD to let go.  My wallet is so light and fluffy after The Big Card Dump.

Thank you.  Truly.  I know you know it's a blessing to give - even bigger than to receive.  But I wanted you to know HOW much of a blessing this particular time of giving was for me.

So please send me your address so I can send this hilarious envelope of cards.

Ginger

I posted this to illustrate the point that we all have areas of our lives where we are holding on too tightly.  Hoarding.  Areas that we are protecting.  And if we will let our guards down a little bit, God might just look us square in the face and lovingly say, "It's time.  This isn't really yours in the first place.  Let it go.  Make room."  My intense attachment to my gift card stash came as a complete surprise to me.  I knew I hoarded them and didn't use them, but I never knew how hard it would be for me to give them away.  I mean, I'm telling you - I seriously sat there for 30 minutes trying to find a combination of the cards that added up to $300 and somehow left me with a gift card or two to spend.  After a while, I actually started laughing at the hilarity of what I was doing.  Sick, really.

And the thing is - these areas where we hold on so tightly?  They're killing us a little bit at a time.  Keeping us from real life and joy and freedom.

I am still very much in the early stages of of attempting (and feeling compelled) to stop hoarding.  One look at my closet would let you know that.  So don't get me wrong - I love me some presents.  I love me some clothes and all kinds of other crap.  I'm a work in progress.

I'm trying to figure out what all of this means for me.  Micah and I are trying to figure out what all of this means for our family.  And especially for our family around Christmastime.  How will we incorporate these principles that we care about into our lives and our traditions?  How should we do gifts?  Do we make them all?  Knit them out of wool from a lamb we keep in our back yard?...(j/k - for now at least!).  Do we commit to giving no more than three gifts to our kids - who we give NONE to now because they're too young to care?

This is what I know.  As a culture, we are obsessed with stuff and it is super addicting.  I never, ever would have told you that I was that attached to my silly gift cards - until I was asked to give them away.  I would venture to say that the vast majority of us have way more things than we know how to love - WAY MORE.  Having all of this stuff causes mental and emotional stress, even if we don't think it does, even if we don't know it's there.  I sometimes literally feel like there is a physical weight from it all, and it makes me feel claustrophobic. 

So this is what I'm going to do about it.  I'm going to keep asking the questions and keep talking with Micah about it until we find a way that works for our family.  And it will probably be different than the way that works for you or your family.  We all have different needs, different things that work.  I'm going to keep asking myself all the time, "Do I know how to love this?"  And if I don't, I will let it go.  I will ask the same about Douglas and Timon before buying them more and more stuff.  I'm going to remind myself that there are so very many people out there who are in great need today.  Holding on to this stuff I don't know how to love is directly robbing someone else of the opportunity to love it very, very much.

I think we could all stand to lighten our load a little bit (or a LOT) this holiday season.  Pass things on to someone else.  Clear space in our homes and our lives and our minds.  More space means more love and blessings and light can enter in.  And I say Joy to the World to THAT.

Holiday Musings, Part 1

Rachel Remen, in her book My Grandfather's Blessings, tells a story about a little boy who LOVED Hot Wheels.  She loved this little boy, and his parents didn't have much money.  So Remen, with the help of her staff at the medical clinic she ran, gave him every single Hot Wheel car there was.  And he stopped playing with them.   She asked him why he wasn't playing with them anymore.  "He looked away and in a quivery voice he said, 'I don't know how to love this many cars, Rachel."

I loved this story the moment I read it.  I've seen this happen with my nephews and with Douglas.  When they get too much of something, they stop loving it.

I now ask myself very frequently if I know how to love something.  I will be standing in my closet and a shirt will catch my eye.  "Do I know how to love this shirt?"  So often, the answer is no.  It's an ok shirt.  There's nothing wrong with it.  If you asked me for an explanation of WHY this shirt deserved to get kicked to the curb, I wouldn't be able to give you one.  I used to think something had to not fit me or be really out of style or super un-flattering to warrant the Goodwill pile.  Now I know that even if it's cute and fits, I may just not know how to love it.

I have always been a little bit of a hoarder.  Not a scary hoarder...apparently there's a show on now called "Hoarders" and it sounds CREEPY.  That's not what I mean by hoarding here.  But I have a hard time giving things away.  I worry that I'll wish I had x sweater two months after dropping it off at Goodwill.  I love having clothes that I feel cute in, and I tend to like variety.  This can get very, very out of hand.  When Micah and I got married, he counted my jeans (cute, right?!) and I had something like 12 or 13 pair.

A few years ago,  I learned about one of the principles of yoga that is called Aparigraha, or non-hoarding.  I remember reading something that said that hoarding means you don't trust God to provide for you.  It also talked about how selfish it is to hoard, because the things could be used and loved by someone else instead of sitting in our closet untouched.  In time, I have come to understand how true this all is.  I selfishly keep this shirt in my closet that I don't wear much, that I don't know how to love, when someone else could be wearing it, LOVING it right now - if I would only let it go.  But I keep it because I mistakenly believe the lie that it's up to me to make sure that I have enough - to prepare for the unforeseen circumstances of the future.  God may not bring something else around when I need it.

This, of course, is crap.  If I don't know how to love it NOW, someone else does.  I should let them love it.  Let it go.  If I don't know how to love it now, it is just weighing me down.

Pick Yourself Up And Try Again

Douglas is basically potty training himself.  It's hilarious.  We don't have the gumption or the inclination right now to push him on it.  But we certainly don't want to do anything to slow down or hinder his own natural process or readiness.  So, we just try to do our best to respond to his requests.  He's totally rockin' it out.  (Don't worry, this is not a potty training post!)

Last night, Micah was with him in the bathroom and I heard a thud, then a short cry, and Micah asking him if he wanted to try again, to which I knew Douglas said yes because Micah's response was "good job trying.  You're so brave to try again."  He had fallen off the toilet.  Nice.

Well, today I'm up there with him again.  I'm sitting on the side of the bath tub, he's on the toilet.  He reaches out suddenly and confidently to touch the owl on my shirt that he's totally into right now - and there he goes again.  Falls of the toilet, hitting his face on my knee - his bum up in the air and his body wedged between the toilet and my leg.  Before he could take a breath or I could say something mother-y and comforting, he says - face still smashed against my leg, mind you - "try again!" All matter-of-fact, with gusto.  I laughed and said, "great idea, buddy.  You want to try again?"  He of course said yes and I scooped him up and put him up on the toilet again. 

I love these moments in parenthood.  The ones where you realize that you're doing some things right.  That your best might actually be enough.  I may say things or do things as a mom that I wish I didn't do.  I may feel most of the time like I have no freaking clue what I'm doing and like the stakes are very, very high.  But then there are those moments when I realize that what we're doing here is actually working.  Our baby is actually learning the lessons that we really want him to learn: That trying is what's important.  That he is brave and strong.  That trying something new or scary takes bravery, but that he can do very hard things.

He is running top speed around the corner in this picture.  His shirt says, "Instant Superhero.  Cut in case of emergency" and the spiderman face has dotted lines around it.  LOVE IT.  Glasses compliments of his tool bench.  Safety first! 

Now, he may not be learning the "Douglas, don't drink out of other peoples' cups" lesson or the "don't ever hit, even when you're angry or SUPER excited" lesson

or the "for the love of God, please stop grabbing things (like hot coffee or fragile items or ANYTHING) off of the counter!!!" lesson.  But, ultimately, those aren't the really important lessons in life.  Eventually, he'll catch on to those things if they're important.

What I REALLY want him to know with every ounce of his being is that we love him.  That we're proud of him for trying new things and being brave.  That the Father loves him and treasures him and knows him.  That he is important.  That every person in this world is important and is a part of one big, ginormous family - so we must be kind to one another.

And, you know what?  I think he's really catching on. 

Advent Calendars

Last weekend, (I think in response to me saying we'd missed a lot of fall because things are so crazy) Micah said "We're going to enjoy the NALGAS out of the holidays this year!"  Nalgas is a Spanish word for buttocks - it's like saying "We're going to enjoy the buttocks out of the holidays this year!"  I realize that this statement is very random and nonsensical.  But it made me so happy to hear him say this.  Because I want to enjoy the nalgas out of the holidays so badly!  I don't want to miss them.  I think the festive holiday idea that I'm talking about today is one GREAT way to enjoy the buttocks out of the holidays.  You in?

ADVENT CALENDARS!!!  Just stay with me here.  I love the idea of having a calendar that Douglas (and one day Timon) can open or do something with to mark each day leading up to Christmas.  But many advent calendars involve candy treats, and I'm not down with the idea of giving my kid candy every day of December.  I'm just not.  Or even toys or gadgets every day, because I fear that would make him greedy or ungrateful.

SO, after some online searching, I came across this idea of having activities instead of treats.  You make a list of things you want to do with your spouse or kid(s).  For spouse it could be "candlelight picnic dinner by the fire" or "watch It's a Wonderful Life in pjs" or "camp under the Christmas tree".  For kids it could be "build a snowman" or "pick out a Christmas tree" or "make popcorn and cranberry garland".  There are some GENIUS ideas out there.  And what I love is that it helps you to really experience the holiday season - to enjoy it and make new memories instead of letting it pass you by while you run around like a crazy person.

I happen to believe that EVERYTHING is more fun and festive when wearing Santa hats or Reindeer antlers.  Just sayin'.  We wore them for Dougie's Adoption Day celebration in '09 (pictured here), my Mom's 60th bday dinner, Christmas morning, Christmas Wine and Cheese Party...They're SO VERSATILE as you can imagine.

There are a million great ideas out there.  I'll put a list below that is a few of my own ideas combined with ideas I found online.  You have to modify it based on your kids' age(s), of course.  Douglas can't do a lot of the bigger kid things.  If we tried to have him camp out under the Christmas tree, he'd be awake all night pulling ornaments down.  No thank you.

My nephew helping Uncle Micah with the tree lights a few years ago

The idea is this:  you come up with your own list.  Type it and print it out.  Stash it somewhere your kids (or spouse) won't see it.  Then, the night before (so you know important things like the weather, your plans for the day, your mood, etc.) you cut out the activity you want to do and place that slip of paper in the slot for the next day.  You can make the slip of paper as fancy or basic as you want to.  You can print the ideas out on cutesy labels and stick them on colorful paper.  Or you can just print them out on white computer paper and cut them out.

Each day, the little elf gets to pull the card out and discover what AWESOME activity you get to do that day!  If you have friends doing the same thing, you can coordinate - for example, one day's activity could be "go to _____'s house and make Gingerbread cookies".

If this makes your little holiday heart happy, then look for one that you like online or in stores OR make your own.  There are tons of ideas out there - Google "homemade advent calendar" if you're interested in making one.  Or click on this link for ideas.  You can make a simple one out of construction paper (for the slots, days 1-24) and poster board (for the tree or whatever shape you're doing).

I found one online last year that I loved and tweaked it a little.  It took some time, I'm not gonna lie.  But it was therapeutic for me at the time.  This year I wouldn't dream of taking on something like that with Timon at the age he's at.  So just do what works for you.  To make mine, I just used fabric, felt (I used stencils and some serious cutting work for the letters), a little of that white cottony stuff that comes in a sheet that I put inside it to make it a little thicker, and some rudimentary sewing skills.  And a hot glue gun.  The tops of the little envelopes are all open so I can just slip the paper in there.  I bought the stuff to make a star for the top last year - maybe that will actually get done this year.

Also, remember to add things to the list that are already on your calendar.  Like little Timmy's holiday show at school or driving to Grandma and Grandpa's house for Christmas or going to a friend's holiday party.  And consider saving some of the more time-intensive activities for the weekend while using up the ones like "drink hot cider" on a Monday when things are busy and hectic already.

Now for the idea list.  If you have ideas to add (and I know some of you will, so don't be shy) post a comment here with your idea and I'll add it to the master list.  I'm combining the kid list and adult list here because there's a lot of crossover.  This list is L-O-N-G.  I tried to cut it down but then thought to myself, "What do I know?  Other people may LOVE the ideas that I think aren't that exciting!"  So I'm leaving it long.  I know, you're shocked.

Advent Calendar Activities
These ideas came from a variety of places.  I checked out a few sites while coming up with the list. 

1. Build a snowman
2. Go sledding
3. Bundle up and star gaze
4. Go to the store and buy a new Christmas CD
5. Act out the Nativity scene
6. Camp out around the tree for a night
7. Have a picnic dinner by the tree
8. Clean out old toys and donate to charity
9. Go shopping for an Angel Tree person
10. Put on fun music and dance like crazy
11. Give everyone crazy hair styles
12. Make a snow scape using shaving cream and toy people
13. Have puppets tell a bedtime story
14. Pick out a Christmas tree
15. Decorate the Christmas tree
16. Deliver gifts to neighbors or friends
17. Do something kind for a loved one
18. Dress fancy for dinnertime
19. Exchange gifts
20. Drive to see Christmas lights
21. Make Spiced Cider
22. Make Hot Chocolate
23. Read your favorite Christmas book while drinking Hot Chocolate
24. Have a game night by the tree or fireplace
25. Go caroling at a retirement home
26. Go for Ice Cream
27. Go Ice Skating
28. Go out to a fun restaurant
29. Go to the Nutcracker
30. Go to a seasonal movie
31. Go to a Holiday concert
32. Have friends over and watch holiday movies
33. Have breakfast for dinner
34. Host a tea party
35. Make a Gingerbread House
36. Make cookies or candy and surprise a friend or neighbor with some of them
37. Make ornaments for family members
38. Make handmade gift tags for relatives
39. Make popcorn/cranberry garland
40. Take a neighborhood walk at night with lanterns or flashlights
41. Pack a picnic dinner and take it to the park or Botanical Gardens
42. Paint everyone's toenails
43. Progressive Dinner with family or friends
44. Make a big, traditional breakfast while listening to Christmas music
45. Read the Christmas story in Luke 2 of the Bible
46. Sing Christmas Carols
47. Set out milk and cookies and celery for Santa and the reindeer
48. Take a bubble bath
49. Tell stories of childhood Christmas traditions around the fire
50. Visit Santa at the mall
51. Make popcorn, get in your pjs, and watch a holiday movie (or Christmas special on tv)
52. Wrap gifts
53. Write Christmas letters to family members
54. Write letters to Santa
55. Write someone a letter telling them how special they are to you
56. Put on Christmas music and decorate the house for the holidays
57. Put up lights on the house
58. Roast marshmallows in the fireplace with candlelight and, of course, Christmas music!
59. Have dinner by candlelight (my nephews love this!)
60. Pick out a new book at the book store and read it before bed tonight
61. Make Holiday Oranges (take an orange and stick whole cloves into the peel - smells delish!!)

 

Take these ideas, choose which ones you love, come up with others of your own, and make it happen!  And please share traditions or ideas from your own experience that are fun so others can benefit, too!

December, Baby! I mean - November, Baby! etc., etc.

So, here are a few things that I feel compelled to share with you.  In no particular order.

1. 6 weeks after a second questionable haircut by the same stylist, who I will not be visiting again, today I am happy to announce that my hair can finally fit into a ponytail again.  I smiled a big cheesy grin all by myself in front of the mirror when I discovered this.  Granted, it took three tries because it's so short that it really has no business being in a ponytail at all, but in the end I prevailed.  Now, some may question the validity of the label "ponytail" in this case - it's really more of a nubbin than it is a tail.  But.  Whatevs.

I was talking on the phone using my hands free thing while taking this picture with my ginormous camera...quite the multi-tasker!  And, yes, I know that that nubbin is ridic.

2.  Today I discovered (probably not for the first time) that vacuuming makes your house look like it's clean, even when it's actually filthy.  Five minutes of work and I get to gaze at my pristine (ish) living room and forget all about the kitchen floor caked with food particles or the bathroom toilet that's going to grow arms to match its mold-fuzz hair and brush itself if I don't get to it soon.  (Don't worry, Ash and Gabe, I promise we'll clean before you come to visit).  I love you, Oreck.  And now, instead of cleaning, I get to sit in my faux-clean house and write my blog post.

3.  It's the first week of November.  I am one of those people who freaking LOVES Christmas music and has decided each year that I've been on this earth to start listening to said music earlier and earlier so that maybe I'm less devastated when I have to stop after the holidays.  So.  Today's the day.  And, friends, I have to tell you, I don't actually think this is the earliest.  I think I've started in October before.  Today, to kick off the season, I've chosen a cd called Christmas Guitar that my sis gave me years ago.

About five years ago, Micah and I started an annual Buddy the Elf party (many years the guest list is Micah.  And me.  Several years we've had rotating guests, very special invitees because this is serious business - Heather and Brian have come several years, Micah's parents a year or two.).  We eat something festive for dinner.  We make hot cocoa and peppermint schnapps.  And we watch Elf with Will Ferrell which, in my humble opinion, gets funnier and funnier every stinkin' time.  In '07 we took it to the next level by dressing UP for the occasion (yes, by ourselves...Can you believe I found and married a man who shares my affinity for Elf culture?  And dressing up?  And festiveness?  I'm SO lucky).  Each year is a little different, some years more extensive than others, but always some combination of Buddy's elf suit colors - BRIGHT yellow and green.  I know.  I know.  You're so jealous.  Don't worry, you can duplicate this amazing experience in your own home if you wish.

Taken when Dougie was a few months old, so he got to be a part of the party.  Except he actually ruined it by crying his face off half way through for such a long time that we had to turn the movie off and abort mission.  Kids aren't invited any more.
 
Aaaannnnnddddd....this event has been known to take place at the end of October.  Seriously.  I just get it in my bones people - I can't help it!  I can just feel that it's time.  And so, it kicks off our holiday season each year, sometimes in November, many times in October.  This year, Micah's brother and sister-in-law, Gabe and Ashley, are coming to visit with their two littles.  They requested - REQUESTED (because it's THAT cool) that we hold off until November when they're here so that they can participate.  We had to think long and hard because Nov. 21 is LATE, but we decided the sacrifice was definitely worth it.

Every August I start to get the Fall feeling in my bones and I just know that pumpkin spice candles and butternut squash soups are just around the corner (while I sweat it out in 105 degree Kansas heat). 

Today it's 72 degrees outside.  But for the past week or two, I've had Christmas on the brain.  I laid awake the other night thinking about what kind of garland I would hang on our canopy bed this year (it's only 2 years old and I've never had garland there before!) - this, btw, is one of the ways that I knew that my depression had officially fled.  I ordered stockings last week that I have been eyeing for two years.  I dug up my old Advent calendar idea list and googled a few other idea lists to pass on to you, dear friends, if you're in the mood for a little holiday treat this year!  It's full-on Christmas prep time 'round here - well, emotional prep, at least.  We haven't busted out the decorations yet.  That has to wait a few more weeks.

So here's the thing.  The reason I'm bringing ALL of this up is that I have a brilliant idea for you if it works for you this holiday season.  It's not my idea.  It's just something I'm enjoying and thought I'd pass along to you.  And it requires some prep time, so I'm offering it up to you now, this first week of November, so that if you decide to do it, you can be ready by December 1st when it all begins.  I'll detail the brilliant idea in the next post because today's is long enough and I need you to be clear-headed for this...you know, all Carb Loaded up.

Happy Halloween!

I love fall.  LOVE IT.  This year, I missed a lot of its festiveness because I was exhausted and out of it.  But we did manage to catch it before it was too late.  Made it to the pumpkin patch.

He stuck his head in here without prompting

He decided he needed a seat and a snack

Pumpkin candles.  Pumpkin Oatmeal cookies.  Apple cider.  Micah and I have a yearly tradition of movie night outdoors.  We haven't done it this year, but maybe we'll still be able to squeeze it in before it gets too cold.  We haul out a very old tv and VCR (I told you it was old!) and eat Thai food and watch Serendipity next to a warm chimenea.  It's magical.  I love it.

And we did get to experience Halloween with two of the cutest little munchkins EVER.

Monkey

Pea in the Pod

We went up to Micah's office to show off costumes and did a little parade loop inside.  Then lunch at Chipotle because - well, because we dressed up like burritos for something like 4 years in a row in order to get free burritos on Halloween night, so over time it just began to feel like Halloween went hand-in-hand with Chipotle.

This was Douglas' first year trick-or-treating.  We practiced in the kitchen a couple hours before departure.  I sat on the floor and said, "ok, bring your bag over and pretend to ring the doorbell", and we went through the whole routine.  Who knows if he actually got what the heck I was talking about.  We went up and down our cul de sac with Cousins, so he got the hang of it quickly watching the older two.  It was the first year for all of them, though, so it was very, very fun and memorable.

Just before Trick-or-Treating.  Douglas' candy basket is his school lunch box because a half hour before leaving, I realized I had nothing for him to go trick-or-treating with

The first house

The trickiest part of trick-or-treating was keeping him from escaping into people's houses. Like, EVERY ONE. He just didn't understand why these lovely people were opening their door to us and NOT LETTING US IN! He kept trying to push gently and quickly past them to explore their house.

The whole gang.  My brother-in-law Brian's parents were part of the crew.  As you can see, they've got team spirit.

And just like that - it's over.  Our little monkey and his borrowed horse are headed home.

One of my favorite memories was when a neighbor brought over a bag of treats before we left the house, just for fun.  Douglas yelled "treats!" when they left and was so excited he could hardly stand it.  We love us some treats 'round here.  He pulled out a box of candy that was something like Candy Sticks or something - anyway, he shook it and yelled, with glee, "Vitamins? Vitamins?".  He loves his chewable multi-vitamin.  Bless his little heart.  We took out the sugar sticks and put in some Apple Chips, and he was thrilled.

I love our little family of four.

Timon's Adoption Day

Another big milestone in the past month was Timon's Adoption Day!  September 30th was our court day.  The boys dressed up in their "Superman was adopted" t-shirts and all was smooth and easy. 

Court feels to us like just a formality even though of course it's oober important (you know, the whole making it legal thing).  We never know how big of a deal we want to make Adoption Day, because it's not as if it were the day that they became a part of our family - that happened LONG before the actual Adoption Day.  But it IS a day where we can celebrate adoption, the amazing way that God chose to make us all a family.

It was a lot of fun introducing our lawyer, Megan, to Timon and also fun for her to see Douglas two years after HIS adoption finalized. 

While we were waiting, Micah and Douglas walked around exploring.  Douglas decided to open up a random door that happened to lead to a court room that was in session.  Oops! 

We taught him about "having a meeting", so when we were ready to leave, he walked up the steps to the judge's bench and said he had a meeting.

That night, Heather and Brian and the boys came over to celebrate with us. We had a picnic in the back yard with homemade sushi (rice and beans for the kids - they're not into Sushi quite yet!).

(Timon is hiding in that wrap that I'm wearing)

We finished off the night with a marshmallow roast in the chimenea. 

Timon of course slept through the entire thing, but it was still important to us that we celebrate in some way.

Plus, we're always game for an excuse to celebrate around here!

It was amazing how quickly this finalization process went. 30 days. That's crazy fast.  Douglas' finalization was fast and that took three months.  I think because it was so fast it didn't really sink in for me.  It was hard to believe that it was really all over after we shook the judge's hand, got our 2-year-old to finish up his important meeting, and walked out of the court house.  But, alas - it really is over.  Really, really, really.  <insert sigh of relief>