Christmas Eve Dreaming

Chirstmas Eve came bringing all the holiday magic that I dream of and prepare for.  I'm a dreamer.  It's not a secret.   I look into the Thomas Kinkade village ornaments and imagine it's my family being pulled in the sleigh by beautiful horses.  Our laps are covered with wool, plaid blankets, our noses pink from the cold air as the sleigh bells jingle each time the horse's hoof hits the ground.  Our sleigh pulls up to the next village ornament and we gracefully dismount and head into the cozy log cabin, the fireplace is crackling as we stomp the snow from our boots.  We round up some hot chocolates, the fancy kind with whip cream on top, and sit by the fire listening to carols and laughing and telling stories.   My mind plays these perfect holiday movie reels in my mind and every year I try to create some of this imagined magic into real life.

I'm well aware that these dreams of perfect holiday moments can be dangerous.  Dangerous because I know perfection isn't possible.  I know that my girls would never wear the FairIsle sweaters and matching scarves that I dream of.  I know someone would complain that the horses stank or that it was too cold out.  I know that my dreams are too specific to be reality. 

But it doesn't stop me from dreaming.  Callie has told me of her reoccurring daydream where Santa stops by and takes her for a ride in his sleigh.  She has hoped and wished soooo much that this would happen for real.  And even this year, as she has become more skeptical of all the holiday's magic, she told me again of this great wish that she had.  She wonders what it would be like, how it would feel to fly through the sky, she wonders how this reindeer thing  really works.   She's a dreamer too.  And little sister, she doesn't need to dream because she is still the purest type of believer.  The movies and the magic are all real life for her.  

The kids tracked Santa's every move on Christmas eve, the modern way, online at noradsanta.org. The Santa tracker may have said the big guy was somewhere over Norway or somewhere but the reality was that he was at our door.  It was super fun to hear the kids whispering among themselves as to whether he was going to stop by or not and if he did when was he coming and why did the Santa tracker say he was in Norway if he was in our living room.  

Despite their questions and skepticism, all these kids hopped up on Santa's knee and asked for games and dolls and Shopkins and such. They promised to be good boys and girls and to leave cookies and milk for Santa and a carrot for Rudolph.  Because they don't have to be told that its okay to dream.

Even though we didn't get pulled on a one horse open sleigh this year and Callie didn't get a ride on Santa's sleigh, I think us dreamers have an important place in this world. We can picture all the possibilities. We can sit next to the Yuletide fireplace on TV and hear it crackle and feel its warmth. We can imagine reindeer flying through the sky and create the most gourmet reindeer food possible.  

To all my fellow dreamers out there... keep dreaming.  The only danger in dreaming is not being able to stretch the dream into reality.  Are the candles lit, are your people with you, is the music playing? When I looked across my house on Christmas eve, the dream was there. 
I hope all your dreams came true, too.

Merry Christmas

It was the week before Christmas, and all through the house, a lot of stuff was stirring, but thankfully not a mouse.  We've  just been chillin, you know, making the Christmas memories kinda stuff since school let out last week.  I don't usually have a lot of regrets but what I am regretting these days is that I didn't figure out how to get my camera fixed weeks ago.  All these awesome things happening and all I have is phone photos.  I took a quick peek at a new camera at the store today thinking maybe... but no, I couldn't do it.

But the phone does capture the moment.  Add a filter, some fun frames and voila!  Some fun photo booth photos from the school party last week...

School concerts were a success and the girls had their piano concert at the Manor this year.  It was such a nice touch for the girls to share their talents with the seniors.  

The girls piano lessons have been very sporadic this fall.  Their teacher had some prior commitments so we did what we could to keep practicing and prepare a Christmas Carol to perform.  Callie chose to play Hark the Herald which has been her favorite carol ever since she was old enough to say she had a favorite carol.  And Lexi...she didn't actually have to play at the concert because she had only had three piano lessons so far.  On the third lesson, she received a copy of jingle bells to practice.  On concert day, four days later,  little sister bravely said  she wanted to try to play jingle bells for the seniors.  She walked up to the piano and played some keys that only a professional could discern as Jingle Bells.  The seniors at the Manor didn't mind at all and applauded her efforts.  And I was there taking pictures and videos, waving my proud mama freak flag high and mighty.  Not because she had worked hard and nailed that Jingle Bells song, but because she was brave and she tried and isn't that all we ever ask.  Showing up is the hardest part of life and little sister showed up!  She played her best for Grandma Betty.  She stood with the crowd and sang the few words she knew to the carols. She didn't worry about being perfect.  She just did it. The very best gift of all.

And now, I'm sitting on the couch, typing words, half listening to a Christmas movie.  Callie is sitting next to me, coughing and sniffing as she battles the tail end of a cold.  We've made the cookies and decorated the ginger houses.  

We've had our annual pajama party with friends.  The reindeer food is made and the cookies are iced.
The shopping is done, the treasures are wrapped.  And tomorrow is Christmas Eve and the anticipation will build.  We'll have a house full of people.  There will be laughter and a wave of cold air each time the door opens. The yuletide on the TV will play the carols,  candles will be glowing, and Christmas smells will surround us.  

And we will all have happy hearts.  

Merry Christmas!

Warning: High on Christmas

We got a dump load of fresh, white, sparkly snow today!  The kind of snow that weighs down the tree branches and is so absolutely beautiful that when you stop to admire the view you are pretty sure you're in God's country.  One couldn't help but hum... in the lane snow is glistening, what a beautiful sight, were happy tonight, walking in a winter wonderland...

The snow, the twinkling lights, Christmas carols on the piano, my coffee and gingerbread cookie...I am in my happy place.  

The holiday traditions, old and new, are unfolding nicely.  There are maps in the advent calendar leading to little treasures.   The talking house is up and running with ma in her kerchief and I in my cap... There are new Christmas jammies to wear as we snuggle and read from the holiday collection of books.  Each year we add new books to the collection and because we pack them away with the decorations and such at the end of the holidays they feel special each year.

We've got some concerts coming up and a few more school and work days to endure.  We've got some more traditions to cover, some parties to host, some fun to be had, some Christmas cheer to spread, some movies to watch, some cookies to bake, some glasses to clink... it truly is The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.

And now I'm off to settle my head for a long winter's nap before this post explodes from so much Christmas mushiness!

The Great Tree Hunt

We are officially in holiday mode!  Bring on the carols.  Pass around some egg nog. And let's get ourselves the biggest tree Mother Nature has to offer!  And Mother Nature must have known we were coming because she delivered us the most beautiful sun and mild temperatures than we ever could have imagined for December.  

We debate the real vs artificial tree every. single. year.  And every year, the real tree wins out.  The artificial tree has a couple of things going for it.  1. you can put it up earlier 2. they are usually pre-lit. When I'm feeling overwhelmed with things to do, the artificial tree is very lucrative.  Pop it out of the box and hang some ornaments.  Job done and wrapped up in a couple hours.  Every branch is perfect. It is a perfect tree shape.  No water necessary.  No needles to vacuum.    

So why does the real tree keep winning out?

Maybe the real tree wins every year simply because that's what we've always done.  There is a moment when the tree is first brought into the house and if you stand beside it and you can feel its frozen, coldness radiating off its branches.  Then you take a deep breath and inhale the intoxicating Christmas scent of evergreen tree.  It is that moment that transports me back to every Christmas from the last 40 years and resurrects memories of good times with family and cousins.  I can feel the cold air entering with every opened door.  I hear people laughing and kids playing. I remember my childhood gifts and different places we've celebrated. Yes, all this with one sniff.

And the real tree wins because I want my girls to experience the sniff too.  We decided to head out into the forest again this year to find our tree instead of ordering it from a service group...mostly because my brain was doing some thinking.  I was thinking about how we often take the things that are right in front of us for granted.  Like maybe there are people who live next door to Disneyland and have never been because they know they could go anytime.  We live in a place where the forest is on our doorstep and the experience of trudging through the snow surrounded by peacefulness and fresh air in search of the perfect tree is at our fingertips.  And what if my girls grow up and move away and never have the opportunity to cut down a real tree for their home.  What if that experience was at their fingertips for much of their lifetime and we never took advantage of it.  Because really, this is holiday movie kinda stuff!  

The Grinch told us, "maybe Christmas, didn't come from a store.  Maybe Christmas...perhaps... means a little bit more."  And so when I think of the ease and the practicality of an artificial tree weighing in against the time and effort and work of a real tree I imagine the Grinch telling me, "maybe Christmas isn't just a checklist of things to get through, maybe Christmas...perhaps... is about why we do the things we do."

Maybe next year the artificial tree will win out.  Maybe I'll think, "okay, the girls have experienced a real tree, now we can move on."  Who knows.  Maybe I just think too much!  What I do know is that our tree is up.  It's about 11 feet tall. It fell on me once.  We needed Grandma's help to get the lights on.  Every decoration we own is on it. We stayed up late, Grandma had her first sleep over, we watched Christmas movies and pumped the tunes from the Yuletide fireplace...and we made some new sniff memories.