Another year has passed so quickly and I find myself at the decision time for doing the December Photo Project. Every year I have to reassess my willingness to give time during the already busy holiday season to taking pictures, editing pictures, selecting, and then telling our stories. But each year, I spend some time reading the previous stories and I am so grateful for the snapshot in time that reminds me of sweet things about the kiddos and how much things have changed in a years time. Plus, at a time of year that your children's behavior can reminds you why Santa has a naughty and nice list, the behavior of the public in stores and on roadways, as well as the hustle and bustle can make a person lose sight of the best parts of the season. This blog centers me and helps me focus on all the best parts of our life and this season.
I do this blog for our family and our memories but I am always amazed at how many people come along for a ride. Several of last year's posts had more than 700 visits - that is just crazy to me. And I always love when you share your comments, thoughts, and encouragement. You make this even more fun.
So, without further ado: Day 1
Picture of the day:
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| Trimming the Tree |
Our first day of December began our preparations for Christmas. Today was our only day in the next several weeks that would allow a big enough block of time for setting up the Christmas tree and getting our ornaments up on the tree. It is crazy to believe that to be true but we officially have four kids in activities. That keeps this family on the move. Most of the time we love it but it does make these moments all the more precious.
Getting the Christmas decoration tubs out brought this excitement:
Step one is always to search for lights on the tree that are out...
Rich pays a dime for each light that is out and found by a kiddo. Soon - the above excitement was replaced by some vicious competition and oneupmanship. Naturally, this continued to escalate to whining, vying for prime light spotting position, and tears. We reframed the project as a team sport and that they could work together for a combined pay. This did not stop their bickering. The good news is that they found all the dead lights. The bad news is that it wasn't without incident. We discovered that when three young ones are vying for position, the tree can fall without breaking additional lights while simultaneously wiping out the three fighting siblings. No children were harmed which had to be some Christmas miracle.
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| the Pro. |
At last, with the lights fixed, the tree decorating could begin. At this point, our teenager was willing to pry herself away from the safe haven of her room and join in the fun. Clearly our most experienced child decorator, she is always a big help keeping the other kiddos putting the breakable ornaments out of Teddy's tail wagging zone. Those who have met our gentle giant of a dog know his tail is a menace.
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| Careful application |
Our tree decorating continued to be a rough go with complaints of sore throats, tummy aches, some continued sibling rivalry and a lot of fragile feelings. Somehow, at the end of the day, when asked about highs and lows, the tree decorating reigned supreme. They love seeing all the ornaments, knowing which ones are "theirs", and getting to have family time together. Always a good reminder for Rich and me, in the moment, it may feel imperfect and messy but it is in the memory where perfection is found. Plus! This year was a record breaking year - it is our FIRST year without an ornament casualty during the decorating. High fives all around! We did find all our previous years' casualties and enjoyed reminiscing about their tragic moments.
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| Done. |
2 comments:
I love the laser focus of the littlest one in the first picture. She is clearly on a mission!
Once again, your "reality" of family life stories bring hearty laughter, and much appreciation for your willingness to share with the rest of us. Love your "perfection is in the memories" attitude. Thanks.
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