Christmas Rewind

I finally downloaded the pictures from Christmas off my camera. We had a great Christmas this year visiting with family and only a few minor sicknesses. Because Chris recently switched jobs he was unable to take any time off which hasn't happened since, well...never. :( It was a little weird for him not to have some time off but we are counting our blessings that he has a job at all!

We'll start off with the weird first snow we got of the year...I think this may have been the last too. All day Abigail had begged me to go outside with her to build a snowman on this day. For some reason or another and after listening to enough excuses from me she went out there by herself and started to build this snowman. Luckily, Austin came home just in time from school and helped her and they built this cute little snowman that they said was a little bottom heavy and had a "teeny, tiny face." Austin even took this picture...they were so proud of the first snowman they built without the help of an adult.

The first snow of the year didn't actually end up melting until after Christmas. That was a good thing though since we didn't get much more and still haven't in January. My kids are sad because they haven't been able to go sledding yet this year or make another snowman.

This year was also the first year the kids made their own gingerbread houses without our help too. (OK, maybe a little...but really only a little). You can tell from this picture that they got a little frustrated at times.

Austin's turned out really good...obviously age has a lot to do with it. I think Abigail ate most of hers before she finished. :)

Love this picture of my kids even though the two little ones have red sucker mouths.

We couldn't get Asher to sit up. He kept wanting to "kick-back" on Austin.

Last year I gave out 22 plates of goodies to friends and family for Christmas. Due to this talk, specifically the 2nd "Forget Me Not" I decided to tone it down this year and only do 12. This made me sad but I think it still turned out good.

I made home-made hot chocolate from this site. It was good but I probably would not make it again without some changes. I made these home-made marshmallows which were fabulous. I am not a lover of marshmallows but these were actually quite good. Just be prepared to be covered in powdered sugar while dealing with them.

Then I made this and this biscotti. Both of which were super yummy!

Next on the Christmas rewind was the In-tune Christmas concert and our visit to Santa (Chris's Uncle Gerald).

This year Austin asked for "Optimus Prime Ultimate" Transformer.

Allison asked for a Motor Scooter.

Abigail asked for a "Lala Loopsey Doll" and another Minnie Mouse.

Asher didn't ask for anything specific but when we went to a friends house he loved playing with their "Paper Jam" so we got him one too. He still loves it! The big white boxes in the picture are just white containers I bought at the store and put their names on them with vinyl. (Asher already stripped his name off!) The containers were for the kids to stick under their beds for all their "treasures" that I just want to throw away.

When I look at this picture it doesn't look like a lot but it sure felt like a lot when we were forking out the money. I think as parents we do that to ourselves. We make ourselves feel guilty for not getting more for our children when in reality they either don't really care or don't really appreciate it. I think making our kids "want" for something is an important part of growing up and will help them later in life when they can't always get what they want right when they want it. And how many times do you "want" something one minute and then the next minute you "want" something else. If we, as adults change that often, imagine how often children change. This is the thing that that Chris and I struggle with every Christmas...finding a balance between getting our kids what they want but not spoiling them. Every year we think we have it mastered but the next year things change, finances change, wants change and it seems we have to modify it a little. In the end, our kids always surprise us with joy and contentment. Maybe we should put a little more faith in them and a little less guilt on us. :)