Christmas Blessings

We've been busy. Busy preparing for Christmas. If you read the part 4 post of Mia's adoption story, you can see how chaotic our Christmas was last year. We were living in an apartment for two months waiting for our house to be built, so there really wasn't a lot of unpacking, and we came home on Christmas Eve with a two day old baby. On Christmas Eve we were up with the baby and last minute preparations until about four in the morning. We laid down for our fabled long winter's nap promised to us by the poem "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and Maddox woke up to see that Santa had come at 4:15 a.m. Jamie stayed up to watch Maddox open his presents. I tried, but slept through most of it. I remember hearing 'look Mom' a few times, but no visual memories. Later that day I was flipping through Facebook and saw some pictures of presents being opened by my child for the first time. Our Facebook friends got a first glimpse at my Christmas morning before I did. 

We were very grateful for our beautiful and tiny Christmas miracle, and we wouldn't change any of it. However all the chaos of it increased our holiday appetites for 2013. We've been celebrating Christmas since October. It started with my Christmas wreaths. I took them to a craft show and have sold all but three which I may just keep for myself.

As soon as we got home from visiting family for Thanksgiving, we bought our tree. We wanted to get one sooner, but made ourselves wait. Jamie and I get impulsive when we are excited, but we were able to reign it in a bit and only got the 11 footer--we had our eyes on the 12. Our backs are very glad we didn't go bigger. We carried it in ourselves--just the two of us. Well, rolled it in, I suppose. Anyway, we got it in. Jamie had put the stand on before we got it inside and we would tweak it for balance once we got the monstrosity upright. When we picked it up, it was perfectly straight, no tweaking required. Another Christmas miracle.

Funny. It doesn't look as big on top of our car.

(Did you check for squirrels, Clark?)

Maddox was able to put the star on top with a little help from Daddy and a ladder.

Maddox and I decorated a Gingerbread village and Made Minecraft shaped sugar cookies for our neighbors. 

It's been Christmas non-stop around our house. And with one week left, it will only get more Christmas-y-er. Yes, that's a real word. I just made it up. Mia's first birthday party is coming up and so is Christmas with my side of the family, then Santa will come and bring more toys, Christmas with Jamie's side of the family, and Maddox's birthday won't be long after that. With the present overload and all the joyful chaos of the holidays I worried that my children would miss the true meaning of Christmas. I thought that when February rolls around and there are no more back-to-back birthdays and holidays involving presents they would become spoiled and not know what it means to plan and save up and work for things. I thought they would expect everything they want when they want it. I had too little faith in them. Maddox had to remind me, as he often does. 

We were sitting waiting for Daddy's Christmas concert to start and sharing jelly beans. Maddox handed me an orange one and I said no thank you and asked if I could have a red one. He shook his head at me and told me to just enjoy what I have. 

Both kids have been sick off and on for about a month now. Maddox's most recent affliction was a nasty double ear infection. We tried the good tasting antibiotic with no results. He had to take the yucky white stuff. I don't know what it tastes like, but my son loves to take medicine to the point that I'm a little worried about it. With the white stuff though...he runs and hides. We told him if he could be good and take his medicine without argument for all ten days he could open a present from mommy and daddy the day he takes his last dose. He did it. He worked hard at keeping a good attitude and struggled through two doses a day. He earned his present. 

When he opened the long awaited present, I didn't see the reaction I expected. He is all about Minecraft lately, and I got him a Minecraft play set. He studied it calmly. He was happy, but not jumping up and down as I'd hoped. While we were putting it together I asked him a few times if he liked it and if that was what he wanted. He answered a simple yes every time. After I had asked if he wanted more he said, "I'm trying to just enjoy what I have." 

When it was about candy, I thought it was a cute response. He was just repeating something I'd told him before, but the second time I saw that he truly gets it, maybe more than I do. He gets the true meaning of Christmas. It's not about presents. It's about enjoying what you have and the people you share it with. That's one smart kid.