Holiday Wrap Up

To celebrate Kent's birthday this year the kids and I went shopping for some much need work clothes for him. (A crayon went through the wash and into the dry - you can deduce what happened from there, the irony being it was the one load with all our nicest clothes!) It was funny to listen to the two debate what color would look best on their Baba. They helped to wrap the gifts and then a good friend of ours made the most amazing blueberry cheesecake EVER!!! The picture doesn't do it justice, especially when the saran wrap took off most of the beautiful blueberry glaze on the top but Kent could not stop raving about it for days on end. I believe it was the highlight for him!

We bought our annual Christmas ornaments and Elias got his first. We try so hard to buy something that reflects our feelings on the child and his is a classic street lamp - because he is such a light in our lives and for our family.

With Elias being the last child, I was a little sentimental about the passing of this baby phase and chose this to remember the tenderness of early motherhood.

Kent liked the lighthouse and all that it symbolizes for this last year.

Unfortunately everything was packed up before I could get shots of Keila and Isaac's. Next year I guess.

The last of holiday excitement was that Keila attended her very first exclusive birthday party. She's proud of the fact that she has her own friends apart from Isaac and it was nice to meet the parents of the children ourside of preschool.

She spent most of the party with Clare, the girl sitting next to her. Alexa, the girl on the couch in pink and black is her 'best friend'. The are the only two girls in class and so they stick like glue together. Alexa is shy though and initially Keila was highly hurt that she wouldn't talk to her. It took some time and convincing that Alexa loved her and was just fine with Keila doing all the talking for two (or more!)

Little Symbols of the Year

We have a tradition around our home that stems from our meager days as students. We had so little money and so few ornament that we stuck our tree into the corner and purposely decorated only the visible front. We'd allow ourselves one indulgence and that was a new ornament each year for each person. Since then, with the growth in family and the years of marriage we now have a somewhat presentable tree filled with eclectic objects that have meaning to us. We're having trouble keeping track of them all, so I've decided to blog them so no one has a fit when they marry or move on taking their ornaments with them.



These are Isaac's. Unlike most children he never really had a screaming session on Santa's knee but kept his gaze on the candy cane as if to say, "If I can endure this strange man with a hairy white face, I can get that!" The squirrel stems from our stint in Houston where hoards of the chittery animals raced around everywhere we went. Isaac watched once as I lured one in with at 'tsk, tsk, tsk' sound and from that point on he'd chase them imitating me. Now as we think back, that was probably one of the worst things to teach him and we were lucky none of the beady eyed creatures took to biting him. The 'Smore' ornament is for this year. Camping is the epitome of heaven to this little boy. There is something about a tent, a sleeping bag, special time with Baba and ALWAYS the 'mushmellows', graham cracker and chocolate memory that brings the biggest grin to his face.



Keila got the bell last year and really it was for me and the reminder from The Polar Express and the power of believing and of faith. I was concerned about having a girl and felt a great deal of inadequacy, but having Keila now has brought understanding, healing and a wealth of joy hitherto unknown. The purse was for this year. As you might already know, she's a girly girl and I find myself in amazed at her inclinations to pick out clothing and shoes. Most of all, she LOVES to put a purse on her shoulder and mine is a source of great entertainment when we're out and about.



Unlike my usual choices, mine was rather ostentatious, but I chose the peacock. It was time for something with a little more flair on our tree ... or maybe it's for my vanity! ;0)



Kent chose a pair of butterflies to symbolize the changes that have come through marriage and children in our many years together. The hope is that we will continue to metamorphoses from something plain and common to something unique and beautiful.