'Twas the Night Before Christmas....sort of

I never remember to take before pictures of the house before Christmas, even though I love looking at it.  So, at 2:30 am Christmas Day after everything was done, I snapped a few pictures before crawling up to bed.  The home decorating magazines will never be alerted, but this is what Christmas looks like at our house.

I give the kids books every Christmas, but they have informed me that books don't count as presents, so this year I just left the piles of books per kid on the table.

The tableau of stockings hung by the chimney, etc. used to be prettier before this room was turned into the home school room, but it seem that even with the fireplace blocked by a bookshelf, the stocking still managed to get filled.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

"If they asked me, I could write a book"

Warning: There are at least a bazillion photos in this post.  Proceed at your own discretion.

Today is our 15th wedding anniversary.  We try to do a trip to celebrate our anniversary every 5 years.  So, a couple of weeks ago we managed to time a trip perfectly in between blizzards to NYC.  It was delightful! 

Todd on the airplane.  Reveling in the super cheapness of the plane tickets I found, no doubt.

Part of a series of photos we like to call "Let's text pictures to the kids that will make them jealous!"  Us getting Jamba Juice in Penn Station is jealousy inducing.  (Though my kids are partial to the one right by the subway station at Lexington and 53rd which is our traditional breakfast when we tag along with Todd on business trips.)

We dined at Ellen's Stardust Diner where my dear friend Chris-Ian is a waiter and performer.  And if you are eating gluten free or vegetarian GET THE VEGGIE LASAGNA!!  So. Good!

We took Todd's cousin, Cameron, with us to dinner.  Because we like him.  Look at how adorable he is!

And then we went to see "Twelfe Night" which was the most satisfying theater experience I've had the pleasure to enjoy in the last decade.  It was incredible! They did everything as traditionally as they could without doing it at the Globe Theater.  I wish that every kid who has slogged through reading a Shakespeare play in high school could go see this and really understand what a Shakespeare play is supposed to be like!  It runs through the end of February. Go see it!

Quick stop at the Times Square Toys R Us to take more pictures of things that would make our kids jealous.  We're mean parents.

The next day we slept in, breakfasted late, braved the rain and went to the LDS temple at Lincoln Center.  It's so beautiful inside and such a stark contrast to the bustle and noise right outside the doors.

After the temple we headed over to the Guggenheim and saw the Christopher Wool exhibit.  This is shockingly my first time at the Guggenheim, but I am a convert!  I loved being able to experience the art up close, but then continue up or down the museum and experience it from afar.  It made me realize how much a traditional gallery set-up limits the way you can experience art.

And then off to a gluten friendly Indian restaurant where we sent another picture to our kids.  This one of Todd enjoying naan.  Benjamin would happily live off of nothing but warm naan if he were allowed to do so.

We couldn't figure out why this train was so uncrowded as we headed down to the theater for that night's performance.  Then we noticed the sleeping man.  Oh, well.  On a rainy day in the city, it's tough to find a dry place to nap.

After we saw the new musical "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder" we splashed back up to the apartment we were staying at and put on dry clothes to cuddle on the couch for a bit before bed.

The next day we headed down to Bleeker St. where there were blocks and blocks of places that catered to the gluten free!  Two pizza places and three macaron shops all on the same street!!!  And this place. It was closed, but I like the signage.  I love the village.  

And then back to Penn Station to catch the train back to the airport.  The monitors just aren't as fun as the big flippy chart used to be, but I suppose progress is like that.

View from the train. I know it doesn't look like much, but it still looks like a piece of home to me.

It was delightful to have a trip for a few days that was just the two of us.  And even more delightful to realize that we still really like each other and were happy to spend as much time together as we could.  We have many wonderful friends and relatives in the area, but we decided that we wanted to just be us on our trip.  It was nice to feel good about that together.

"Caroling, Caroling"

Another of our favorite Christmas traditions is singing as many Christmas songs as absolutely possible.  We have some wonderful friends who have an annual night "Cookies and Carols" at their house, and frankly, it doesn't feel like Christmas without it.  We adore these people.  And not just because they are the alto and bass to my soprano and Todd's tenor.  It's a delight to sing with them alone, but even more delightful is to watch our kids enjoy one another so much.  

 For me, music is so wrapped up in the Christmas season that it feels wrong without it.  I've been shopping in two stores this last week where they weren't playing any Christmas music, and I missed it.  I love some good Old English hymns, but am just as happy to sing about Rudolph and Frosty.

 I'm glad that our children are learning to love music of the season as well.  Look at this group of cute little girls all happy to sing songs, too!

I feel very content after a delightful evening of good music and good friends.  (And the homemade chocolates don't hurt, either.)

Grinchy Claus

Last night we were able to enjoy Nathaniel as the Grinch in the Worthington Rec Center's production of "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas".  They all did a great job, and he had a lot of fun playing a villian of sorts.  Best of all it was the first play that Lilyanna was totally engaged in from start to finish, so we could all enjoy it!

Texts from Todd

Todd: I told Lilyanna that I was texting you to see if you had thoughts for dinner and she said, "Socks for dinner??"

Might be time to clean out her ears...

I'd prefer the argyle soup, please. ;)

Christmas Books

Every single Christmas for the last several years we've read aloud as a family 2 books.

First this one:

You should know that I am vehemently opposed to "adaptations" and abridgements.  Ever since 4th grade when I wanted to read "Little Women" but when I went to check it out of my school library and found that the 5 copies they owned were all different, I've avoided abridgements almost entirely.  This book is the one exception to my own personal rule.  It has lovely pictures and illustrations that make my younger children happy, but enough of the original language that the feeling of the original story isn't lost.  Benjamin and Nathaniel have since read the original and agree that it's funnier, but this is still "pretty good".  High literary praise from a middle school boy!

The second is this:

We laugh and laugh and laugh and I cry at the end.  Seriously. We haven't read it even one year where I'm not a blubbering mess at the end of this book.  In fact, I'm tearing up just thinking about the ending.  Unfairly, everyone always wants me to read the end.  It's like they WANT me to cry!  If you saw the movie once, but have never read the book and think you know the story.  Stop reading this, and go get this book right now.  It is wonderful and captures beautifully some of the truths of childhood and life.

Todd just told me I had to mention this one, too:

We do read it every year (gazillions of times some years) but typically just once as a family.  When Benjamin was 2.5 yrs old he had the book memorized and would "read" it to anyone who sat still long enough in his presence.  It was a fun parlor trick.  Lilyanna doesn't have it memorized yet, but still makes Todd read it to her every night at least once.  It's fun when certain stories really resonate with kids.

And then on Christmas Eve we read from the scriptures.  (We read scriptures together every night, but on Christmas Eve we read the Christmas story.)

I'd love suggestions on some new stories to add to our list.  We keep a whole box of books for Christmas that get looked at and read once or twice but the ones listed above are the only ones that we read consistently every year.  Any ideas?

The Annual Christmas Ornaments

Benjamin received a little pine cone that had been fashioned to look like a hedgehog,  in memoriam of Nicco, the Hedgehog.

Each of my children has a lovely Christmas box which holds the ornaments that I've purchased for them, or they've made over the years.  I try to buy an ornament each year that symbolizes an important event, achievement, or love of theirs from that particular year.  I'm also making an album explaining each ornament, so their children will know the stories, too.  My kids get almost as excited for the Sunday after Thanksgiving tree trimming and unveiling of their new ornaments as they do about Christmas itself.

Someday, right now I'm planning on when they get married, I will give them their box of ornaments and album for their first Christmas as their own new family.

Lilyanna received Rapunzel.  She adores the princessy things.  I tried to avoid that whole scene, but it was not to be.  At least this Rapunzel is wielding a frying pan to take out an intruder.  I like a princess who gets things done.

Ah, Caleb and Doctor Who.  He's holding up last year's Dalek ornament as well as this year's 50th anniversary ornament featuring all 11 of the doctors.

The kids happily going through their boxes to rediscover the treasures of years past.

Nathaniel and a manatee.  Nathaniel is obsessed with manatees.  I have no explanation for how or why.  It just is.

Caleb wanted Adipose in on the Doctor Who action as well.  (I do think it's funny that there are angels peeking over into the picture.  They're not exactly weeping, but still...)