Christmas Memories...and Santa?

If your family is anything like ours, you’ve enjoyed the Christmas holiday, indulged in rich foods, loved on your kids, and you’re soaking up Christmas break! And perhaps you’re not really sure which day of the week it even is right now?! Enjoy the memories that you are creating with your family!

Last Thursday, 12/21, was an early release day for our kids from school which means that they were done at 11:30. Roger had the day off and had borrowed a vehicle from his work. I had coordinated with Allison on a few stops to sing Christmas carols. We gathered up our kids as well as a few extras and headed out to carol. Our first stop was at the nursing home where the residents were delighted to see the children! Meanwhile I think every child we brought along was taking off hats,  mittens, and coats and murmuring about “how hot it is in here!” They survived and did very well, and the residents certainly enjoyed seeing the young faces singing the carols. The rest of our stops were all shorter, and we stood outside on the porch steps and sidewalks...much to the relief of the children! I’m glad we made the effort to take the kids and go caroling. It’s important to me to raise our kids to reach out to the lonely older folks too.

After caroling we drove down to Portland to pick up Aunt Jen. The kids have been looking forward to her arrival for several weeks! On the way home we stopped at the L.L.Bean store in Freeport. They decorate the area with Christmas lights and flair and the store is open for 24 hours. The kids enjoyed seeing the model train set up for Christmas, and it was a good start to our Christmas break!

 

 

 

On Sunday we attended the Christmas Eve service, and enjoyed the day as a family. Our family sang together for the Christmas Eve service and while it wasn’t amazing or awesome, it bought a special delight to my heart to hear our family sing together unto the Lord. I hope that we will continue to make the effort to sing together in church this year. I do enjoy this special service with candles, lots of singing and a devotional on the birth of Jesus Christ. It’s not just a holiday to celebrate His birth, but to celebrate WHY He came to earth. He came so that you and I could have eternal life and that is a gift worth celebrating!

We had originally planned to open gifts on Christmas morning before heading up to Hannah and Josh’s house. However the weather forcast was predicting blizzard like conditions. We still planned on going to my sister’s house, but we knew it would take longer than normal to get there. Although Roger and I didn’t give gifts to our children this year, they had shopped for each other at the Christmas shop at school. And Aunt Jen had brought presents for them too! After the Christmas Eve service, eating yummy food, and reading the Christmas story together, we opened gifts. Roger’s boss and his wife had given each of the boys a multi-tool knife, which they were thrilled to receive! The boys had picked out gifts for each other that included duct tape, electrical tape, and rope! The boys were delighted with their gifts from each other, and I’m sure we will see many inventions crafted together with their supplies! Emma received a baby doll from Roger’s boss and wife, and she is always happy to receive another baby!

However when all the presents were opened, Emma started crying! I asked her what was the matter and she wanted to know where her presents were from Santa! Say what?! We’ve never done Santa at our house and I was completely flabbergasted! She said that she had asked for a dog, a play kitchen, an pretend four wheeler, and a bike for Christmas! I had known that she was wanting those things, but I had been very clear that she wasn’t going to get any of those gifts this Christmas. Little by little the story unfolded and the pieces fell into place. We discovered that her older brother, Travis, had told her that Santa would bring her whatever she wanted! I asked Travis why on earth he would tell her  such a story! He replied, “It seemed funny at the time. I don’t know why I did it!”  So we ended up having a discussion with Emma about why we don’t get gifts from Santa as well as a discussion with her brother about why we don’t give false hope to others and lie to them to try to make them happy! So...Merry Christmas!  Actually though it provided a learning lessons and a teachable moment for our kids. And it will make a funny memory in the future!

We woke up on Christmas morning to a bit of gently falling snow, but it was nothing like the weather predicted for that time of morning. We ate breakfast togethered, gathered up our gifts to take to Hannah and Josh, and headed out. And then the snow started! I am so thankful for Roger’s great driving skills, the Lords protection, and a wonderful day together! Jenn had downloaded a movie on her iPad, and it was the perfect length! By the time the movie was over, we were turning on to the road to Hannah’s house. The snow did come down strong and heavy for several hours, but we enjoyed the day together playing games, visting, and eating more food! The kids went outside for a little bit and came back in covered with snow! By the time we were ready to leave the snow plows had come through and the roads were much clearer. We were happy to get home safely.

The rest of the week has been spent at home. The UPS truck came to our house on Tuesday bringing a few gifts for the kids. My Aunt Lisa from North Carolina had thoughtfully sent gifts for the kids. They’ve enjoyed a new game this week, and Emma has been loving on all her new babies! Roger and I went on a date on Tuesday evening, and it was good to spend time together alone. The kids have spent the entire week at home, and they have loved not having to go anywhere! The temps have been much colder the last few days, so they bounce back and forth between outside and inside. We’ve played lots of games, been snowshoeing several times, and have enjoyed the week without a schedule or routine. Roger actually had off several days in a row, so it’s been a special time to have him home too. Jenn and I did spend some time with Hannah on Wednesday afternoon, so we enjoyed that time together too. The week is going by very quickly, but it’s been a happy and full week. Aunt Jen has to return home to South Dakota tomorrow, but we have certainly enjoyed having her with us this week.

I hope that you too have had a wonderful week with family and friends. Blessings as we approach the new year!
Sarah

Christmas Blessings

Last week was quite a bit slower paced...hooray!! God gives grace for every day and each moment, and I was thankful that He gave us the added blessing of a snow day last week!!

On Monday, 12/11, some parents from our parent group hosted a Christmas shop for the students. It’s a room filled with items that were donated or bought for the students to purchase for family members and loved ones for a small (very small) price. This is some thing that the students look forward to and it’s a fun event to help with. Since we had finished the program on Friday night, we had decided to use the music class time for the Christmas shop. A few older ladies from our church came to help wrap the gifts for the students, and it was a great opportunity for them to interact with the students and to help stream line the wrapping process! We were given quite a few nice items for students to pick out, but kindergartners and first graders are the funniest group to watch shop! One little boy bought his dad a whole handful of cute tiny erasers! I tried to convince him that his dad might want something else, but he replied, “oh no! My dad will like these, and he will be happy to share with me!” So, the hopefully the parents remember that the gift giving is studen-led! It was a fun morning! Somehow when it’s time to take down and put everything away there are less people, but I think that’s a universal problem! 😀 I was thankful that our kids had the opportunity to think about others, to spend their money on something for someone else, interact with some older folks who wrapped their presents, and enjoy the morning.

  

 

On Tuesday God gave me the gift of “no school”! I was probably more excited than the kids that we had a snow day. We had some snow fall on Monday night, and more snow was expected for Tuesday about mid morning. Originally I had made plans to have a mom friend, Hannah, and her young children over for the morning to play and visit with Emma and I. She sent me a text saying that she  wouldn’t be able to come to our house as her husband had taken her vehicle to work. However, did we want to come and play at their house? The boys were very excited to play at someone else’s house, and Hannah has a bit of a hill in their backyard. The boys gathered up their snow gear, snow boards, and sleds, and we went visting! The roads were fine or at least in my opinion, and since my kids are early risers we were at their house before 8:30am. It worked out to be a fun morning for all of us. I had a great morning visiting with Hannah, the kids played outside for several hours, we had lunch at 10:30, and we were home by 11:30! Hannah has younger children than I do, so the boys did a great job of playing nicely and helping the little ones with outside gear. I wanted to leave before nap time arrived, as I remember that being a very important part of my day as a mom with young kids! By  the time we arrived home, it was snowing again. I think the boys spent most of the day outside except for needing food. They built a fort, made a snowboard jump off of the picnic table, shot targets, and got along far better outside than they would’ve inside the house! It was a day for fun, memories, and rest. I soaked it all up!

Wednesday was Roger’s day off. Originally I had made plans to spend the day with Allison doing some shopping and enjoying each other’s company. However Emma’s class was having their preschool program on Wednesday, and I didn’t want to miss that! And it worked out because Roger could also come to the program. Travis also started his speech lessons on Wednesday. We are hoping that this will help him with reading and other school subjects. He works so hard at school, but his success levels are low. He will have speech lessons twice a week for the next several months to see if this will help with school success.

Also on Wednesday there was a meeting scheduled for after school for parents, teachers, and the school board. It was more of an informational meeting and to see how the parent group could help the teachers, etc. Originally I had planned to go as these types of things are important to me. But then I realized that I didn’t want to use up time on the day that Roger had off, and time that the kids were out of school, to attend a meeting. At some point in time I’ve come to realize that not everything can fit in my day! After we had picked up Emma from school at 11:30, I had gone home to make a meal for one of the teachers at the school. They’ve had a few changes in their family, and I wanted to be a blessing to them. I also made three coffee cakes for hot lunch on Friday. I figured out that if people don’t realize that we are invested in the school and that this school is important to us, then they aren’t paying attention! So I skipped the meeting as I went home with my boys. It was a good choice for  today.

On Thursday Emma and I finished up the grocery shopping for hot lunch, and we spent most of the day at home. We read books, wrapped presents using lots of tape, made cookies, did laundry, and then  before we picked up the boys we went visiting. Emma and I went to visit Mrs. Welch. She enjoys it when we visit (as do most older folks), and it has been a while since we visited. It always feels like I’ve just visited people, but as I look at the calendar I realize that more time has passed than what it feels like! We enjoyed our visit with her, and Emma gave her the gift we had made for her. Emma  loves to give gifts to people, but I have to watch what she is giving. She’s given away used candles, broken pencils, her brothers stuff, and other miscellaneous items! I now inspect her “gifts” before she wraps them or gives them to people!

Friday was chapel and hot lunch day. No matter how organized I try to be, Friday morning is always just a little bit crazy...okay, generally, a lot crazy! For some reason getting everyone out the door on Friday, putting stuff for hot lunch in the truck, and all the other morning routines as challenging on Friday. Now that we are fourteen weeks into the school year, and a new calendar year is right around the corner, I’ve decided that I need to make some changes! I’m working on how I can make Friday morning be a little more relaxed, and I’ve had a few ideas. I just need to implement them!

Roger worked on Saturday, and the kids had Christmas program practice for the church program in the afternoon. We worked around the house in the morning, and the boys wanted to go ice skating in the afternoon. I wasn’t sure that we would be able to fit that in with the program practice, but they brought their skates just in case. Sure enough by the time we finished practice, it was almost dark outside. The boys were disappointed but we don’t have lights at the pond!

Sunday morning dawned bright and beautiful, and the boys were anxious to go ice skating. We had already had plans to go to the pastor’s house for lunch after church, and I knew we wouldn’t be coming home between services. So Roger took the boys down to the pond to play ice hockey. It was pretty chilly this morning at about four degrees, but the boys still skated for about 1.5 hours. When they came home they had rosy cheeks and cold toes! We had Christmas program practice during the Sunday school hour, and the practice went much better than it did on Saturday!

The children did their Christmas program during the worship hour, and many new faces came to church. It was a blessing to see all the folks that came out for the program. Kids are cute!  Emma had been a sheep for Saturday’s practice, but on Sunday we needed another angel. Emma became the angel, except during the program she still acted like a sheep! She sat on the ground with the sheep, followed the sheep to see baby Jesus, and yawned about every three minutes...I guess she was tired! The program went well, and all the grandparents loved it, and the Gospel was presented. So we have many reasons to rejoice!

We went to the pastor’s house for lunch and enjoyed a good afternoon of fellowship. The boys played outside all afternoon, and we laughed and talked about many things. The afternoon passed by quickly! It was encouraging to go to their house, enjoy someone else’s cooking, and have sweet fellowship. The Lord provided a refreshing afternoon to start off our week.

A dear lady from church sent us home with some extra groceries and a beautiful quilt. And another dear lady found a nice jacket for one of our boys. I love how God provides for the little details in our lives even the ones that we don’t ask for!

We are less than a week away from Christmas! This week is full of parties for the kids at school, wrapping gifts, making cookies, Christmas caroling, and lots of other exciting things and ...sugar! Emma has asked me every morning since we put up the tree if we are opening presents today! I finally told her that we couldn’t open them without Aunt Jen. Then I realized that Aunt Jen will be here three days before Christmas so Emma still won’t be able to open the gifts!! Roger and I made the decision to not give our children gifts this year...I know, craziness! We just feel like we already collected and gather a lot of stuff with five children, and I can’t think of anything that they all “need”. Instead we put the money towards a family outing, and we plan to do something fun together over Christmas break. I’m definitely not opposed to giving gifts, and it’s something that I love to do! But this year we are having the kids draw names for each other, and we are doing something together as a family. I’m looking forward to seeing how it works out!

God is so good to us. We are blessed beyond measure, and I am thankful that we have this special season of Christmas. We wish you all a very merry Christmas!

Parents Visting and the Christmas Program!

Update: I started this post on Friday morning, and I am no longer at McDonald’s! I’m home and happy to be there!

 

12/8/2017
As I write this I am sitting at a booth in McDonald’s with my Bible and a cup of coffee. My children are in school, we made it through the first performance of the Christmas program, and the suburban is in the parking lot with some funny smells, and it doesn’t want to go anywhere (that is the extent of what I know is wrong with it!)

It’s been a crazy week...even crazier than normal, if possible! My parents came for a visit this week, and that has made time go by even faster! They flew into Boston and then took a coach bus up to Portland, Maine. The bus worked out really well for them, and I was so thankful that I didn’t have to drive in Boston traffic! We picked them up at the bus station about 7:45pm., and the kids were so excited to see them. It was a late night for our kids, and for the rest of us, but we did make it home safely. It was a full day of travel for my parents, but everything went smoothly.

On Tuesday 12/5  morning I had a quick parent meeting at school, and Roger had some paperwork to do at the airport. A lady from church, Sharon, came to help me set out all the costumes for tomorrow’s dress rehearsal. We laid out about 39 costumes, but I think  we are ready for tomorrow! Emma was thrilled that she was able to stay home with Nana and Papa! When Roger and I arrived home, my dad was working on a project for me!! Yay! I don’t like having a lot of stuff on my kitchen counters, and I had asked my dad about putting the microwave into a built in spot on our island. My dad was able to figure out how to make it work for me so the microwave isn’t on the floor in the pantry any more! Yay!

Also on Tuesday my friend, Hannah, made a meal for our family. She realized that this would be a  crazy busy week for me, and she wanted to be a blessing. And she certainly was a blessing! It was a delicious meal of chili, chips and salsa, and all the fixins’. My parents asked Roger and I if we would   want to go on a date on Tuesday night....umm, yes!  I think the last date we went on together was last  January  before I left for Haiti. When my mom told my kids that we were going in a date, Wyatt  asked her “Is Dad going on the date?” And Travis asked “Who is mom going on a date with?” In my defense this sounds worse than it is! It’s just usually when I say I’m going on a date, I’m going to the grocery store and taking one of the boys with me! For the record, Roger is the one I go on “real” dates with and only him!! It was a funny moment though!

Roger and I had a great time on our date. We were able to try out a new restaurant in the area that we’ve had a gift card to for about six months. It was a great evening together, and I’m thankful for the opportunity we had to spend time together with just the two of us. The kids were able to get some time with their grandparents.

On Wednesday I had Christmas program practice with the students at the school, and my parents came along to watch the program. The kids have worked so hard on this program, and I’m excited about seeing all of their hard work and effort come together. After the practice, my mom decided that the angel costumes should probably be ironed! She offered to iron them for the program on Saturday,  and I didn’t argue! I picked up the kids early from school as I allowed them to come home when I picked up Emma at 11:30am. The boys are wanting to spend time with their grandparents and that seems way more important than a perfect attendance record! My dad took the boys down to the cemetery down our road, and the kids had a great time playing hide-n-seek with Papa! My mom  ironed about twenty costumes for the program, and I am very thankful for that! Hannah and Josh also came down for part of the afternoon, so our house was full of fun and laughter. The kids love to play games and this week they’ve had more people to play with them.  My dad also finished the microwave cabinet, and my kitchen is back together! We are enjoying our time with my parents, but  this week is going by so quickly!

On Thursday Roger had the day off of work, and he was trying to work on replacing the exhaust on  the truck. It was a job that he thought would be simple, but it was not a simple fix! My parents went to see Hannah and Josh’s house, and I worked on figuring out a million little details for the Friday  program. I had to order a “Mary” costume, and it was supposed to arrive on Wednesday. However, Wednesday came and went without a costume coming! I was a little worried about this costume, and  about 500 details, so by Thursday night, I was a tired mess! Thankfully, the costume came at about 4:30pm.  on Thursday afternoon...Praise Jesus!

Garett and Chandler’s teacher has a birthday on Saturday. On Monday Chandler asked his teacher what kind of coffee she liked. She told him, and Chandler came home very excited to tell me what kind of coffee she liked. We decided that we would buy her coffee on Friday morning (I already had plenty to do in the morning, but this was important to Chandler.) I was up early on Friday morning asking God to give me peace, calmness of heart, and grace for whatever the day brought. I took the two older boys with me when I left for school at about 6:45 am. The truck was had a funny smell, and Garett prayed that we would make it to School and that nothing would be wrong with the truck. We stopped to get some coffee for their teacher and those two boys were delighted to bring her a gift. I’m glad I was able to help them brighten someone else’s day. We arrived at school with plenty of time for me to finish up some last minute details, confirm a few minor changes with the teachers, and make sure the costumes were organized for the program at 8:30 am. The morning program is for those who would rather not come out at night, or perhaps can’t make it, or parents who want to see it twice. Our pastor was out of town on Friday morning so I asked my dad to lead one of the congregational carols in the program. When we had practiced on Wednesday morning the students had not been able to get their costumes on and get in their spots by the end of the song. I warned my dad that if the shepherds  weren’t standing in the back of the auditorium we would need to sing another Christmas song! Sure enough when we finished singing four verses of “Joy to the World”, we were still waiting for the students,  but my dad just led the congregation into the next carol. I was thankful that we had already practiced this on Wednesday,  and I knew it might be a snag! The students did a great job on their morning performance and other than the sound effect without the trumpet, and a few stumbled lines, they did a flawless job!

After the morning program, I had s time  before I needed to pick up Emma. My parents went on an errand to Walmart, and I decided to visit one of the elderly ladies in our church. I stopped by  McDonald’s for a cup of coffee and as I was pulling out of the drive thru, the truck lost power steering, all the gauges went crazy, and I was a bit unnerved! I managed to coast into a parking spot in the back of the parking lot. I called Roger, who was out on a flight. So I then did what any daughter would do next...call DAD!! I explained where I was, and that Roger was unavailable, and that the truck was broken. I told him not to hurry as I was safe and fine. I could’ve walked back to the school if I needed to, but I decided to just go into McDonald’s to wait. I had a great half hour spending time with Jesus, and asking Him for some extra grace for today. I wasn’t necessarily upset   about the truck, but it’s been a very busy week!  Fatigue and feelings of being overwhelmed were  catching up with me which can lead to emotional tears! Thankfully God provided an opportunity to quiet my heart. When my dad arrived, he looked over the truck and determined that a belt had broken and that a pulley was frozen. He said that he thought he could fix it if he had the right tools. However my dad was in dress clothes, Emma needed to be picked up, and the boys were waiting to have lunch with Nana and Papa.  Solve one problem at a time, right? We picked up Emma, ate lunch with the boys, and headed home so that Dad could get the right tools and change clothes. I’m thankful that Hannah had borrowed my parents a vehicle for the week, so at least we had a vehicle to get home in! My mom offered to stay home with Emma, while Dad and I went back to the truck. I offered my help to my dad, but he didn’t seem to think that would be good help! 😋He worked on the truck, while I walked down to the school and prayed for a quick fix. It was already about 1:30pm., and the boys were done with school at three! I had brought Christmas cards to work on, but I got distracted by  talking with Allison! At about 2:15, my dad walked into the school, and I was surprised to see him!  He handed me the keys and said the truck was fixed! God had brought along a man from an auto store  to McDonald’s for lunch. He had noticed my dad working on the truck and had walked over to see if he could help. Once he noticed what the problem was, the man fixed it in no time at all! Praise the Lord for a wonderful blessing! My dad headed home, while I ran to the grocery store to get milk...again, and pick up the  boys. I had cancelled the boys piano lessons for today as I knew that we needed to spend at least a little bit of time at home before coming back for the program. 

This is the link to Garett’s song for the Christmas program:
https://youtu.be/XJQVnZeJy1c

At six pm., the students were ready for the program, the church was packed, and God showed  Himself strong in His faithfulness and grace. The students did a great job, and the Gospel was presented. I don’t know if anyone accepted Christ as their Saviour, but I pray that some seeds are planted. I am SO thankful that it is behind us, and that the students hard work and effort paid off. Garett and Maggie (another student) did a great job on their solos. The staff presented me with an evergreen Christmas basket after the performance, and the junior high class gave me a beautiful bouquet of flowers! Both were unexpected surprises, and just added to my already blessed heart.

After the program life got a little bit crazy as we were having Christmas with my parents at our  house. Allison came to rescue me again, and she helped gather up all the costumes. Roger, Hannah, and Josh also pitched in to help, and we managed to get a good chunk of the costumes organized and put away. I knew that we would have to come back on Saturday anyways to put the church platform back together and finish cleaning up, but at least we had some of it done. We were headed home by seven thirty, so we did manage to get out of there before it was really late. My parents won’t be here for Christmas Day,  so we gave them our gifts on Friday night. I am thankful that my parents were able to spend some time with us this week even though it was a very short week!

We took my parents to Portland on Saturday morning to catch the bus to Boston. It was a bit of an early morning after a late bedtime the night before. The kids were sad to see my parents leave,  but we were all thankful for the time we had together. We made it safely to the bus station, took a few pictures, and said a few teary good byes. Thankfully Roger and I had planned to do a few errands in Portland so that distracted the kids. We stopped a few places and headed home in the early afternoon.  It was starting to snow, which was beautiful, but made the driving a bit slower. We did make it home safely by around three pm., and the kids immediately hurried to find all their snow gear! Garett hooked up a small bike to the back of the dirt bike, and he drove his brothers around the yard a few times...and that is why I don’t have a nice yard! However, they played together so nicely and for several hours!

Chandler was the first one to come inside, so he was volunteered to come with me to the church to put everything away from the Christmas program. It was now dark, still snowing, and chilly. I didn’t exactly feel like going out again, and Roger offered to go instead. But I was the one who had gotten all the stuff out, so I knew where it all needed to go back. We drove safely, and finished as quickly as we could. We did see two cars in the ditch, but God brought us safely back home again.


My parents flight was delayed out of Boston, and they actually didn’t end up making it back to Wisconsin yesterday. The were stuck in Alanta for the night, then this morning they got in a flight to Tampa, and then back up to Wisconsin! A little bit more traveling than they were anticipating, but God gives grace for what we need.

Sunday dawned a beautiful winter morning with a fresh layer of snow. It was beautiful! The boys were up at the first light of dawn to be outside in the snow. They are worried that it will melt today, and they want to use it as much as they can! Today was a special combined Sunday school class hour, and to be honest I wasn’t really excited about going. I’m very tired out from the busy week, and it was a bit of a mountain top experience in my life. So now I feel a bit of the let down of it being all over, combined with fatigue, which leads to a lot of emotions. We headed to church, and I was looking forward to playing the piano for the Sunday school hour. However, there was some miscommunication, and I was not given the opportunity to play for the service. I cried, which is ridiculous! I am not normally a person to get upset over little details but for some reason this morning it was a bitter disappointment to me. And guess what? It’s life; and I moved on, got over it, and continued on with the day! All in all, it was a good day! God gave me a special encouragement through a short rest time in the afternoon as also the opportunity to take a short run.  My heart is encouraged, and I am ready for a new week!

A few highlights from this weekend
1) On Saturday, December 2, I was able to go to a ladies Christmas party. It was a delightful evening of fun and fellowship. And we also were able to find a place to cut down a Christmas tree that fit into our budget!

2) There was some miscommunication with how my parents were going to get from Boston to Our house. Through it all, God showed Himself strong and worked out the bus situation to work out far more smoothly than if I had driven to Boston.

3) Last Sunday our family had the privilege of first candle of Advent. It was a special moment as the boys read the Scriptures and lit the candle.

4) God brought a lot of people out for the program on Friday night, and it was a wonderful experience to see how God showed Himself strong.

5) My husband loves me in spite of my craziness, and he definitely balanced me out this week and helped me get through the week.


6) My Dad was able to fix the pellet gun for the boys, and that was a delight to them. Chandler shot a squirrel on Thursday morning, and the boys ate it for supper on Friday night after the Christmas program. It wasn’t something that I was excited about eating, but they were thrilled to eat it!

7) Allison helped me with so much take down and put away after the Christmas program. I was so encouraged by her thoughtfulness.

8)  I am so blessed!

Our love,
Sarah