christmas photo bombs

Merry Christmas!  Photos of family and presents to follow, of course.

Cousin Kate hosted this year.  Love, love her house, which she said comes straight from Target.  It's kind of like living in a Target, which is something I've always wanted to do.

With mouthfuls of cookies, we opened beautifully wrapped presents of white and gold.

And beware of all the photo bombs.  Always fun at Christmas time, right?

I didn't open a popper this year, so I didn't wear the silly crown.  But I love how everyone soon forgets that they're wearing one.

Carmen loved her headlamp.  Now for some spelunking.

Carmen started warming up to everyone after awhile.  Even let them take pictures with her.  

Fish popper, caught by the tail.

Aunt Maggie was really into selfies.

And yes, she finally got that selfie stick in her stocking.

We're not quite so silly, but I love this picture....so rare to get one together.

Carmen was finally coaxed into her tutu.  And Aunt Robyn taught her how to pirouette.

Maybe I can sign her up for that dance class at school after all?

The most beautiful gift of Christmas this year....Kate already had the wreath, but added these teeny, tiny fairy lights Aunt Maggie gave her.

We all need fairy lights in our lives.  

Kate asked if I'd take a picture of her precious family....photo bomb! 

Their dog was so good!  It almost makes me want one.  Almost.

It's hard to make a tween smile, but I keep working on it.

Cousins in front of the tree, just like when we were kids.  Where's Elizabeth?

Diego somehow snuck in front of a screen.  I have to be vigilant with this one.  He could probably sit there all day if no one said anything.  Once his little sister even snipped off some of his hair while he was playing a game, and he never even knew.

Thank God for losing.

Is it just me, or do we look like deer in headlights?

Sometimes when he looks at me, I think he's going to pounce.  (Kate's Tip: organize books by color on your shelves.  So pretty!)

JP took a little nap while all the girls went upstairs to try on clothes and chat.  An HOUR later, Dan knocked on the door, "WHAT are you all DOING in here?"  

Answer: Having SO much FUN!

And to all a good night.  Thank you, Kate, for the memorable evening!

another way to play monopoly

As someone who has always loved board games, I have to admit I never really got into Monopoly.  I always lost interest when it was time to start building houses.

But Carmen came up with another idea for those little green pieces.

And FYI, the new version has a coveted cat game piece.  The biggest argument now is who gets to be the cat.

st lucia's day

I keep trying to make Christmas about more than just the presents.  

Because in the end, it's not the presents you remember when you're older.  The other day, I tried to remember some of the presents I ripped open Christmas morning as a kid.  I could only think of three, and one was because I've seen it in a picture.

What I do remember is family... gathering, laughing, singing.  

I want to extend this season.  I want it to last more than one morning in December.

And that brings us to St. Lucia's Day, celebrated in Scandinavian countries on December 13th.  Traditionally, the oldest daughter wears a crown of candles and prepares a breakfast.  But Isabela was sleeping off her late night movie at the Byrd Theatre.  That left my early-riser, Carmen.

She helped me bake fresh, from scratch, cinnamon buns.  Never in my life have I baked these.   Here's the recipe--it's quick... no rise time... and delicious.

And then we made her crown of candles.  And, really, there was no way Isabela would have worn one of these anyway.

Carmen was thrilled about the green band, but when I started adding the candles she, too, threw a fit, crying and collapsing to the floor.  But somewhere along the way, she changed her mind and even talked about wearing it to school one day.

Here she is walking down the hallway to deliver cinnamon buns to the sleepy household.

I don't know if it's a tradition we'll continue.  My kids will probably remember their Christmases as a time when "mom used to look up every tradition known to man and make us try it".  

They're probably right.  Maybe I should just let Christmas happen as it will.  God will make it special without my interference.

jesse tree ornament exchange

Ornaments and crafting??  I'm in!

Our church decided to host an ornament exchange to follow along with the Jesse Tree advent tradition--each day in December, a scripture is read and an ornament is hung on the tree that traces the line of Jesus through the Bible until his birthday. 

I signed up for Day 4 -- which is tomorrow!  Originally I thought I would paint wooden camels, but those are notoriously hard to find.  Who knew?  So I went with this:

paper camels, a paper tent, and sand in a plastic fillable ornament.

Did I mention we had to make 25 of our chosen ornament?  It turns out 25 of anything can become quite tedious, but the best way to do it is assembly line style...cut out all the camels, cut out all the tents, put on all the washi tape, then give a job to each family member to complete the ornament.

We fell in love with these.  The element of sand makes them captivating, and I loved watching the children's little hands hold the ornament and tilt it side to side as the sand moved.  (Another tip: do not use glass ornaments.  First of all, they break.  But secondly, sticking your finger in the top to get the paper in can leave you with a sliver of glass in your finger.  Ask me how I know. )

But just to add to the stress of making 25 ornaments on a deadline, I signed up for Day 21, too.  The exchange was opened up for another 25 people, but there weren't enough to sign up so some of us made extra. 

Day 21 is described as a brick wall.  There are lots of cute options on pinterest, but on the second go round, I needed to be more thrifty.

I started looking for scrapbook paper that had bricks on it.  I knew there had to be some somewhere.  Score at the third store I went to!

These ornaments are made with a cheap wooden square from joann's.  Juan Pablo showed me how to  use a pocket knife to make the hole for the string...so we didn't even need to break out the drill.  I Mod Podged the paper on, added glitter to the wooden edge, and for a little jingle, the bell at the top.

Again, everyone had a hand at making these, which for me was the most important part.  At one point, Isabela, JP, and I were sitting around the table working, and I noticed Diego was playing on the computer.  I asked, "Diego, don't you want to come do glitter?" and was surprised when I got an enthusiastic, "Yes!"

He came over, added glitter to one ornament, then ran back to the computer.  We all laughed...one was all he needed to do for his happiness.

 So far, it looks like only Isabela and I are enjoying reading the scriptures and hanging the ornaments.  What's not to like? Each is unique and specially made by someone from our church.  It's like opening a present every day!

We must be living with a bunch of scrooges, but we are not deterred.  Christmas is coming!

thank you

What a gorgeous day to be thankful!

We headed up the familiar 95 route to see long lost family--minus one family member of our own.  Joaquin was in Barcelona, Spain, at a soccer camp for ten days.  He got to see FCBarcelona play, visit the Sagrada Familia church and Park Guell, and play sand soccer on the beach.  It was an amazing experience for an eleven year old boy.

But it meant missing his favorite holiday and the traditional bike ride through DC with his great uncle.  And, of course, the weather couldn't have been any more perfect.  It sure beats the year they biked in frigid temperatures.

Isabela decided at the last minute that she MUST bake some cookies.  But we had none of the ingredients she was looking for.  She wanted to go to the store.  Um....no.

I encouraged her to find a recipe for something that we had...how about oranges?

And, she ended up making the most amazing orange cookies ever.  We took a batch up to family, but ended eating most of them ourselves!

Meet Ivy.  This frozen picture is the stillest you'll ever see her stay.  

 I'm pretty sure Ivy is the reason Diego stayed perched in this tree for so long.

Aunt Leah Ann said she still wasn't sure Carmen could walk because she was always in my arms.  (Again, we can blame Ivy.)  But she did walk, and even smiled a bit.

Another reason why brown is my favorite color!

Aunt Leah Ann's gourd patch turned out one tiny gourd.  Still very cool.

A rare picture of Isabela.  She does have an amazing way of escaping just before I snap a picture.

We had so much fun laughing with family.  I think that is what I am most thankful for:  laughter.

So here's one to give you a little chuckle.  I totally did not mean for this picture to turn out this way...just wanted to get one of my husband, since I'm usually chasing the kids around with the camera.  Aunt Beth has some unusual artwork around her place.

The beautiful Thanksgiving table.

And two little munchkins waiting to be served.  See that little man over Diego's shoulder.  He was totally creeping Diego out during dinner, so I ended up covering him up with a napkin.   Art is so subjective, isn't it?

Yet even in this condo full of glass tables and precious art, Diego and a friend were able to practice the art of fighting.  They dashed around the place kicking and spinning and managed not to break a thing.  (Phew...thankful sigh.)

  Here's to making Thanksgiving more than just a polite word when someone passes the salt.  A thankful heart.  A thankful soul.  This is what I'll be working on.

Cheers!

(And just for one more quick laugh...inspired words from Shel Silverstein:)

I’m making a list

I’m making a list of the things I must say for politeness,

And goodness and kindness and gentleness, sweetness and rightness:

Hello

Pardon me

How are you

Excuse me

Bless you

May I?

Thank you

Goodbye

If you know some that I forgot,

                                                         Please stick them into your eye!