Sights and Sounds of the Season

As you may have noticed, there is always a flurry of activity (bodies, toys, mouths) in our house. Below are a few scenes of our nativity scene (it seems to be of the traveling variety) and Christmas tree as well as some commentary by the two big boys.
Doug was helping Stephen finish his dinner the other night when Stephen declared, "I was hungry and you fed me. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was cold and you took me in."

Lest you say, "Aw, how sweet!", keep reading. Upon the final "Amen" at lunch today, the same child said, "Amen, I sin!" Unfortunately the tone of his voice led me to believe it was not a statement of repentence.

One of the Veggie Tale Christmas songs decries the commercialism of the modern holiday, and the chorus goes, "Jingle, jingle, jingle ka-ching" only Stephen heard, "Jiggle, jiggle, jiggle, my chin." We'll save that for the post-holiday dirge.

Andrew has been listening, too, and after the first verse of Jingle Bell Rock he declared, in the most serious of voices, "Misteltoe is a kind of plant and it can kill trees."

I made the mistake of getting out Babar and Father Christmas yesterday (de Brunhoff was a very wordy man) and Andrew said, "Father Christmas...that is a funny name for Santa."

Christmas Traditions: Part Three - Advent Jesse Tree

My sister introduced me to this book a few years ago, and I think it is a wonderful way to celebrate advent.

"The Advent Jesse Tree seeks to tell the story of God's redemptive plan for the world through 25 symbols from the Old and New Testament. The symbols trace the heritage of Jesus Christ from the beginning of creation. Each symbol is explained with scriptures, devotions, questions, prayers, a memory verse and songs....You may choose to make ornaments and place them on a small Christmas tree to coincide with this book of symbols."

A lot of the fun has been finding and creating the ornaments. The picture isn't very clear but there is fruit and a snake, an ark, a sheaf of wheat, a cluster of grapes, a globe. Yesterday we made a crown and dove representing the Prince of Peace (I used a ring off the neck of a vinegar jug, paper, & beads) and a slingshot (a stick & rubber band).

A Sigh of Relief

We survived the Christmas concert. I must say I was tense the whole time and was only able to relax once the little ones exited stage left.

The past few weeks of practice have been interesting as you never know quite what to expect out of a 4 year old. Especially one who is tired. I realize that everyone expects some child to do something "cute" in such performances. And it is cute. If its someone else's child.

During the brief appearance in the morning service, Andrew chewed on his sweater, sprinkled an imaginary substance on the little girl next to him, and made less-than-intelligent faces at the spotlight (of course, considering past experiences, this was mild). When they were done, the parents were asked to stand so their child could find them; I let Doug stand for us.

I don't know if it was the long nap, the many "talks" we had, or just God's goodness, but he did wonderfully in the big concert. His clothes stayed on, he kept his hands more or less to himself, and even sang along with some of the songs.

Next year Stephen will be old enough to join the children's choir. Watch out - the Herdmans may have nothing on the Hamills!

In other news....

I lost a perfectly good Saturday (and necessary, considering the time of year) due to a bout with mastitis. Thankfully Doug was home and played dual roles while I alternated between the couch and bed, with several blankets in tow. I did manage to scramble outside when Graham called to say he was about a minute away from our house. We could hear them long before we saw them.


He was returning from a stint in Crawford, TX with "W." I don't really know what the boys thought. Stephen was screaming about his socks the whole time.

I'm feeling a lot better though I've been advised to take it easy for a few days. Easier said than done considering the mountains of laundry, the lack of food, and the boys who have currently escaped out the front door.

Christmas Traditions: Part Two - Movies

I will not advocate Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (I don't go for claymation), but here are some must-sees for me.

A Christmas Carol with George C. Scott (this is actually Doug's top choice)
Christmas in Connecticut with Barbara Stanwyck (I love Uncle Felix)
A Charlie Brown Christmas (the boys were wrapping their blankets around chair legs yesterday pretending to decorate their trees)
How the Grinch Stole Christmas ("what a great grinchy trick")
Holiday Inn with Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby, featuring the premiere of the song "White Christmas"
Sleepless in Seattle (of course this counts - "and coming up next, 'Jingle Bells' backwards")
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (I read the first two pages of the book today to the boys but thought better of it as it was describing the Herdman's burning down a shed)
The Gift of the Magi (keep the Kleenex handy)

I feel a wrapping marathon coming up!

Christmas Traditions: Part One - Books

What is Christmas without traditions? I plan to share a few old and new ones from our home.

Last year I wrapped 25 (give or take) Christmas-related books and cds, one to be opened each day. This year I modified the process to eliminate the wrapping and to regulate the choice of books (some like The Little Engine That Could and the Snowy Blowy Christmas and Franklin's Christmas Gift will be retired from circulation); nevertheless, we have some new choices each week. Here are some of our favorites:

Traditional Nativity Stories
The Stable Where Jesus Was Born by Rhonda Gowler Greene - this one is great for the youngest child
A Shepherd's Gift by Mary Calhoun
The Shepherd's Christmas Story by Dandi Daley Mackall
The Nativity illustrated by Julie Vivas - this is one of my favorites as the angel Gabriel comes to Mary wearing combat boots and later the blessed mother really does look great with child

Sentimental Christmas Tales
A Cowboy Christmas by Audrey Wood
The Other Wise Man by Henry van Dyke
Papa Panov's Special Day adapted by Mig Holder from original story by Leo Tolstoy - my copy from childhood
Christmas in the Trenches by John McCutcheon
A Certain Small Shepherd by Rebecca Caudill - tear jerker
The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski - another tear jerker
The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree by Gloria Houston - another tear jerker

Santa
Best Christmas Book Ever by Richard Scarry - another from my childhood and a favorite of the boys
Babar and Father Christmas by Jean de Brunhoff



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Call In Schmutzli

"Schmutzliis are nearly all brown: dressed in brown, with brown hair and beard, and a face darkened with lard and soot. He is St. Nicholas' helper in Switzerland. He carries a switch and sack, but no longer uses them. Children used to be told that Schmutzli would beat naughty children with the switch and carry them off in the sack to gobble them up in the woods. Today there is no more talk of beatings and such kidnappings."



My dear friend Suzy, who lives in Switzerland, passed along this information as well as the picture. Maybe there is something to the idea of rearranging the letters of SANTA to spell something more sinister. Whatever the case, I think even Andrew would prefer Alvin & the Chipmunks to these guys.

Holiday Parade

We braved the cold to enjoy the city's Holiday Starlight Parade last night. The boys wore their pjs as long underwear beneath a couple of layers of clothes and their coats and hats.

The turnout was lower than normal, more likely due to the fact that undefeated Alabama was playing Florida in the SEC tournament rather than due to the weather. Whatever the case, we had a good spot behind an SUV that blocked the wind.

Matthew was snug as a bug in a rug: turtleneck and shirt, fuzzy footed sleeper, jacket with hat & hood, fleece blanket, and my fleece jacket; so cozy he fell asleep.

We received candy in abundance and cookie cutters from Publix. There were no comments about the "princesses" but the boys were greatly impressed with the fire engines, police cars and ambulances. Most exciting of all was the extra large recovery truck that was towing a flat bed truck with people and presents. For a moment I was worried when I heard the aforementioned truck playing the Alvin & the Chipmunks song, but the thrill of seeing such an exciting vehicle counteracted hearing Dave's yell.

After an hour or so Stephen announced he was ready to go home.

Although they didn't hand out coffee and doughnuts like the Christmas parade in Knoxville, we all had a pretty good time.

What A Day!

It's 2:30 pm and I'm beat; and this after enjoying the "luxury" of sleeping until almost 6 am.

A quick phone call this morning turned into an hour+ conversation about a number of things (and it wasn't even with Clara!). Meanwhile the boys occupied themselves for a while with watching the vactor suck up leaves on one side of the house. This must have grown old because they attacked the Christmas tree with a vengeance and tore around the house like mad men.

We then went to Target to look for girly Christmas gifts for some friends. As we were walking in, a rather obese man was putting his things in his vehicle. Andrew loudly announces, "That man has been eating a lot!" which was quickly repeated by Stephen. Thankfully we were at such a distance that I don't think he heard, but I quickly stooped down and explained that we neither point at nor remark about people.

Inside we had the pleasure of seeing an elderly neighbor riding on a motorized cart. I feel like I need the motorized cart. Instead I had the pleasure of alternately pushing and pulling a over sized cart with the two sit/stand seats in the back while either holding Matthew or making sure he didn't topple out of the cart.

Our final stop was Hobby Lobby. As I was merrily checking out some clearance fabric, Stephen, unbeknownst to me, climbed onto a shelf upon which was standing several tri-fold room divider/screens. Suddenly his actions became clear as one hit me in the back of the head. A clerk quickly rushed to make sure I hadn't suffered any physical harm; I assured her that I hadn't though I couldn't guarantee that my son would enjoy the same fate. He rode in the cart for the rest of our short-lived trip.

On the way to the check-out another shopper was concerned that he might fall out and bump his head. I said, "Oh, that probably wouldn't bother him." "Oh, is he hard-headed?" she replied. I answered, "Don't let his cuteness fool you."

As I waited to pay the lady behind me struck up a conversation. Her daughter also has 3 boys rather close together. She commented, "You're brave to take them all out." It's either go crazy at home or have crazy shopping experiences; after these last few trips, however, I've decided it's better to live in a madhouse.

The Christmas Card

I guarantee that I am not the only one who sighs upon hearing these words, much less at the thought of all it entails.

A family picture was too much to ask. The attempts caused great distress for all involved and the results were less than satisfactory. Even pictures of the kids together were wild. Obviously these didn't make the cut.

Once it warmed up to almost 50 degrees yesterday afternoon, we headed out for a photo shoot. I set my expectations extremely low in the hopes that I might get a few decent shots. Low and behold I did.

Matthew was extremely cooperative, merrily playing with dried leaves.

Andrew fussed and made the worst "smiles" until I said, "Smile as if I told you you could have fruit treats" whereupon I got some natural smiles (all worth the sugary snacks that followed).

Stephen was last, but I was able to capture some very typical expressions.

Although these didn't make the card, I liked thought they captured the true spirit of the spirited youngsters I live with.

In case anyone cares, Sam's Club has excellent prices on their photo cards and the quality is great (even ready in an hour).

Once Was Lost But Now Am Found

Things are a bit livelier and noiser today. Our visit to Virginia for Thanksgiving was a lot of fun, and the boys are in detox this week. Not only did they have a plethora of snacks, sweets, and soda, Stephen also told me, "I didn't have to make my bed at Nana's house."

Here's another one for the label "religion." The boys were playing in the basement while I worked on the computer. Andrew came over and said, "Momma, I hear a voice from upstairs." Without missing a beat, Stephen declared, "It's God speaking." Andrew quickly agreed to the idea of "The Man Upstairs." What's more, Stephen thought he was saying, "Children obey your Mom & Dad."

I made the mistake of telling Andrew that we would decorate the Christmas tree on Sunday, and he assumed it would be first thing. Well, he had to endure both church and rest time, but eventually we dragged out all the decorations and got to work.

I love the freedom the children have in decorating the tree; no concern for what's "right" or "proper" - just what's most easily reached. Doug did offer a little help for those hard-to-reach-places.

Thankfully Matthew was asleep during all of this, but once he arose, he quickly inspected their handiwork.It didn't take long for us to realize this was not going to work (when Andrew was this age, we had a small table top tree so it wasn't an issue). It was too much trouble to move the assembled tree behind the couch so we settled for a barricade of miscellaneous furniture from the living room. It's hardly fit for a spread in Southern Living, but it serves the purpose.

The title of this post refers to two strange happenings today. It seems that Thomas the Tank Engine's friend Skarloey who has been MIA for quite a while was found in the toe of Andrew's stocking. Last week before we headed to Virginia I spent a tremendous amount of time searching for a brand new pair of leather slippers for Matthew that he had worn just a few times. I searched high and low but they were MIA as well. Today I discovered them in an empty coffee can on the back porch (go figure).