It's Christmas, everyone's miserable

Well, not everyone, but it was close. So, what started out with Nico on Tuesday has now spread to me, Anthony, Dom, and Grandma and who knows where it may end up. As if getting the stomach flu isn't bad enough, but getting it at Christmas, well, it isn't what I asked for that is for sure. However, by some miracle no one was sick this morning for presents. Thankfully those who needed to be sick waited until after nap time. I have done more loads of sheets and laundry in the last 4 days than I care to count, cleaned up more than my share of messes on carpets and pillows, and definitely done my time in the super gross diaper department.

But to say it was a terrible Christmas wouldn't be true. The family was together, the kids laughed and smiled and are still playing with their gifts into the evening, and as of 4 or so no one has gotten sick, so things could be worse. I just feel bad that the kids weren't really feeling perfect for the day, but they soldiered through like they always do. They definitely handled it better than I did!

So, I am praying this super bug, whatever it may be, is on its way out of our home and off to terrorize some other unsuspecting family because it has overstayed its unwelcome!

I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and could find the blessings amid the rubble that often clouds our lives. Christ was born, Praise the Lord!

It's CHRISTMAS!

It has been rainy here in southern CA and I LOVE IT! It makes it feel ever so slightly more like Christmases that I remember. The fire is going, the slippers are donned, and the coffee is hot all day long. Did I mention that I love Christmas? I do, even the shopping. Although I do most of my shopping online in the comfort of my own slippers. I am not even sick of Christmas music quite yet.

Speaking of Christmas music, the kids have been learning songs at school and from family and friends and singing them all the time. Of course Dom has trouble figuring out the words sometimes, especially when his cousin Gavin is the one teaching him the song, so he has been running around singing "Deck the halls with all the trollies." And Nico's favorite is "We wish you a hairy Christmas." And speaking of the kids and learning things, they are learning all kinds of things at school this time of year. Dom's teacher is jewish and so in addition to talking about Christmas traditions she has been teaching them about Hannukah and even made them latkes last week. Dom didn't care for them but he did try it so he wouldn't "make the teacher sad" he said.

Both boys will be having Christmas parties in their classes and I am going to have to perform some sort of super hero feat in order to be in two places at once, but by golly I am going to be at both parties! I think there is a 15 minute window where I can get from one to the other. Wish me luck!

I am not sure how much of this Nico gets, and to be honest I hope he stay kind of clueless for a little bit longer. He will enjoy opening gifts, but I think he will enjoy having family around even more. We are trying hard to remind the boys of what this time of year is really about. We have a box that we are filling with change and we will "open" it on Christmas and see how much we have and then decide as a family what to do with the money as a gift to someone else. It is cute, however, to hear the boys talk about Jesus and God in such matter of fact ways. For instance, yesterday Anthony was talking about something and said, "but Jesus could just do that because he is so cool". And on a slightly different note, Dom has been saying his prayers extra loud lately, I guess to make sure God hears them, but last night he started yelling in the middle of the night. I went in to see what was wrong and he was dead asleep yelling a prayer.

I hope you are all enjoying this season and can find the blessings amidst the madness. If we are going to see you this holiday season please know how much your time with us means and how much we look forward to spending time with family and friends. That is the best gift of all. If we won't see you we wish you happiness and joy.

Merry Christmas!

What the kids are saying

Just wanted to share a few more things the kids have said recently. I really need to start recording the entire day so I can capture all their words of wisdom.

Ok, so Thanksgiving we had our friends RJ and Hailey and their three kids over for the meal. Their oldest, Maddy, is 1 year younger than Dom. They really like each other and were flirting and being super cute all afternoon. Then it came time to eat and Dom asked Maddy to sit by him and she said, of course! So Maddy's daddy, in jest, said "keep your distance" to Dom. In response Dom said, "Keep your dignity!" Not sure where he got that but we all had a good laugh.

A few days later we had a big rain storm and while we were eating lunch and watching the rain and hail Dom noticed the trees blowing in the wind. His response was "the trees are cheering for us!"

There was one other funny things Dom said on the list and Anthony was reading it today and asked, "what do I have to do to get on this list, say something funny?" Needless to say, he is now on the list.

Nicolas says things all the time that are hilarious but our favorite right now is when he goes to bed instead of being tucked in he wants to be tucked up. "Mommy, tuck me up!" So cute.

Tis the season...

It's Christmas and I love this time of year! The lights, the music, the food! However, this Christmas I have been really struck by how many people are struggling this holiday season to just survive, let alone make any sort of Christmas happen for their families. It seems that this time in history is testing so many of us in ways we never imagined. While that is trying and oftentimes disheartening at the same time trials build character and show us who we truly are. While putting our Christmas letter together this year I tried to think back to some of my favorite Christmases assuming the big ones would be where I got my doll house (a great Christmas, but not my fave) or some other great gift. Instead the first Christmas that popped into mind was one where things were tight, so tight in fact that we couldn't afford a tree that year so instead we decorated a plant we had in the house. The pic of my brother and I sitting next to our Christmas plant is still one of my favorites! I remember really liking the plant because it was at my level, I could decorate the entire thing, not just the bottom. Our small smattering of presents were scattered underneath and if I remember correctly I am gazing fondly at our improvised tree with a huge smile. I can only imagine the dismay my parents must have felt that year when they realized that we couldn't afford to buy a real tree and probably sat down once my brother and I were in bed to try and figure out if there was any way at all they could make that happen for us. Little did they know that that Christmas was one of my favorites, the one that sticks in my mind more than any others. I don't remember any of the gifts I got, but I do remember loving how special our family was. It didn't matter what we put the gifts under, or if there were even gifts at all! What mattered was that we were together, that we made the best of not the best situation, and we were happy. It is easy to stress about gifts, especially if you enjoy giving like I do, but in the end the gifts and wrappings will be forgotten, but the special memories that are made will last forever. Sometimes the more we are tested the more we pull together. The Christmas plant year will forever live in my memory as a great Christmas. I hope you all can find your Christmas plant among the madness of this season. And as corny as it sounds, it isn't the presents under the tree that matter but the presence of Christ that makes Christmas special. Happy Holidays to you all!