Ahhh Christmas-time...I love everything about it, but here are just a few highlights...The crisp chill in the air (and thanks to my fabulous cousin, I was able to keep myself warm with countless cups of Stephen*s Hot Cocoas!) The daily smell of cookies baking (in my NEW oven...yep the old nasty one that the "Frat Boys" who lived here before had used, died a few weeks before the big Cookie Season and I was worried I wouldn't be able to get a new one in time to fill all my Goodie Bags for my friends...Lucky me, Santa visited me early! I came home from church one day to find a sparkly, brand-new oven just begging to bake some treats!) The hustle and bustle at all the stores...although I must say that working until 1am (and even later!) wasn't really all that much fun! Shopping until midnight was OK though! Lights...lots and lots of Christmas lights! I took the kids out several times (past their bed-times) just to drive around and look at them. The first time, we went out to Grandma and Grandpa's house to deliver some cookies...poor Dillon was asleep within 10 minutes and missed most of them! Another time we went out to a decorated park...we go every year, but it's always fun to drive through. On our last trip, we were delivering cookies to several friends, and drove past the most incredible display! We stopped & parked for about 13 minutes or so to watch the lights flash to the music on the radio station they had used! AMAZING!
Decorating the Christmas Tree...
They each got a turn to put the star on top! It got a little late, so i made them go to bed before all the ornaments had been hung. The next morning I came out of my room to find this...
My kids who are typically impossible to get out of bed (on a school day at least) were out there happily and cooperatively (quite unusual for these two!) finishing up the tree!
Sancta Lucia...This is actually Kacey's favorite part of Christmas-Time, and I absolutely love that she loves it! She is the same age as I was when we first started performing the Swedish Christmas traditions, just after we returned home from living there. It's been such a big part of my life...and it thrills me to see my kids now singing all the songs and doing the silly dances around the tree!
(OK, that is an incredibly awful picture of me, but so cute of my little Lucia & Tomte, so I'm posting it!)
We were a lot more involved this year. We danced around the tree; Kacey lit an advent candle, recited a poem in Swedish and was a Lucia girl (I was so amazed that she learned all of the Swedish songs on her own...I was feeling badly that I didn't work with her more, but she did it all by herself!); the boys were tomtes and yes, I even sang!
We didn't have a crown for her, so being the creative genius that she is, she broke off tree branches and taped them together! I just love this girl!!! Friends...Believe it or not, there was even some time for some grown-up fun! We got to go out for a night of dancing with friends from "back in the day!" haha! Seems like we just don't get together enough anymore.
So there ya have it! I'm sure I'm forgetting some crucial moments in our countdown to Christmas...like the photo shoot for the card. It was great - they were so deceptive this year, looking so sweet, calm, happy and loving! And the annual high school choir concert I went to with my brother and his wife. And the visit from Santa and the Fire Department...they drove through the neighborhood and all the kids (well, except Dillon who watched from the living room window, still petrified of that man in red!) ran out to tell him just how good they've been so he can bring them everything on their lists! And the tantrums and fighting and threats that Santa wasn't going to bring them anything this year...But guess what - that silly fat man ended up finding us after all! Since you've waited over a month for this, I'm sure you won't mind waiting a few more days for details of the Main Event...
2 comments:
I had the same gingerbread house kit!
Thanks for posting the video of the singing at Lucia! Broght back so many memories. Good for you, singing with them!
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