It was a fun and festive month. I feel like we struck a pretty good balance between simplicity and busyness. I'm grateful for all that we could do (and purposefully choose not to do) to make it a good month, including . . .
Braving . . . the Christkindlmarkt. We didn't even go last year because I was so bummed out by the intense crowds the previous year. But Mike and I decided it was worth another try. We arrived just as it was opening for the day, and that helped a ton. We could actually look into the various booths and shops, and I ended up buying a couple of felted ornaments that I love. We also didn't have to stand in too long of a line to buy a Belgian waffle and fries (amazing), hot chocolate (very needed because it was pretty cold), and a crepe (pretty meh). It was snowing for most of the time we were there, which also helped tame the crowds and added to the magic for us. All in all, a fun time.
Attending . . . the First Presidency Christmas Devotional with all of Mike's family. Mike's dad was speaking (you can watch it here), and it was such a tender subject for all of us as he talked quite a bit about Mike's sister, Alisa, who passed away in 2015. The music was breathtakingly beautiful, and we loved being on Temple Square with all the lights and decorations. My brother and his wife watched Ian and Silas for us, and I was so grateful that we could share this experience with all of our older kids. It truly brought the Christmas spirit.
Helping . . . the young men in our ward with a woodworking project. Mike's deep love for his new wood shop continued this month (another of his projects featured below), so much so that he ambitiously invited seven 12- and 13-year-old boys over to each make a Christmas tree. He did a lot of the prep work ahead of time, so it all went very smoothly and no one lost any fingers (whew!).
Happening . . . upon Santa Claus. We went to a live nativity in our neighborhood, and on the walk home, we saw Santa Claus getting into his car. He saw us and asked, "Can I come say hi?" He explained that he'd been visiting some other children in the neighborhood. Clark had already run home, so he missed the whole exchange, but Ian gave Santa a hug, and Santa asked him what he'd like for Christmas. I don't go out of my way to make sure my kids visit Santa each year, so it was fun to just randomly bump into one that looked very legit. After we parted ways, Silas said, "Santa's so big!" It was a little Christmas magic.
Meeting . . . a group of kindred spirits. Last month, I mentioned that I had joined a knitting group, but this month was my first time actually attending and meeting everyone in real life. It was an instant connection. When I arrived, most of the women were already there. They were all knitting away on beautiful projects. I slipped into a chair and was included in the conversation immediately. We ate dinner together and then exchanged gifts. I had knitted little hat ornaments for everyone. And even though I was brand new to the group, they each had a small gift for me: yarn, ornaments, treats, stitch markers, a mini-loom, pincushion, a bag, and more. So many thoughtful gifts. I spent the evening feeling so grateful for these new friends and got my fill talking about all things knitting-related.
Enjoying . . . holiday music at school performances. Max and Bradley had a band performance. The jazz band crushed it as usual, and this was Bradley's first time performing with them. Aaron performed with the Troubadours in the high school choir concert. And Clark and Ian both had holiday performances with their grades. Watching Ian do the actions so seriously to The Nutcracker made my day.
Helping . . . himself to food and treats. We had to get a lock for the pantry door because Silas was getting himself snacks all day long. Not to be deterred, he learned how to open the fridge and freezer (ours has two doors at the top and two perfectly-sized Silas doors at the bottom). One day, I came into the kitchen and found him enjoying an ice cream drumstick. He told me, "I'm sitting in a chair!" I couldn't say no to such proud independence.
Knitting . . . more ornaments than I ever have in one season. Besides the eleven hat ornaments that I knit for the new knitting group (plus one for myself because I was jealous of how cute they turned out), I also ordered a yarn advent from the same deisgner I got one from last year (Knitty McPurly). This time, she included nine ornament patterns with the kit. So each day, I opened my box of yarn and knit the next step in the process. Some of the ornaments took four days to complete while some took only one or two. I loved the process of knitting these ornaments, but I was a little disappointed with how un-Christmasy they were (an ear of corn? a rainbow?). I was hoping for a little more festive knitting. But that still wasn't the end of my ornament making. I also knit a sweater ornament for a friend's daughter. And I tried my hand at embroidery and stitched a gorgeous cardinal ornament for my mom in memory of my grandma who passed away earlier this year (my embroidery skills are quite amateur, so I was very proud of this ornament). And finally, I also knit myself a pair of festive, Christmas socks which I enjoyed wearing many times during the second half of December. It was a fun month, creativity-wise, for me.
Seeing . . . some animals at the zoo. Our local zoo significantly reduces their admission price on weekdays in the winter, so my mom and I went with Silas one morning. It was a chilly day, but the sun was shining, and most of the animals were very active. We saw the tigers pacing around, the polar bear eating his breakfast, and the seals being fed. Silas is pretty timid so he stayed close by my side, and we had a very nice time.
Glitzing . . . myself up for book club. Our December meeting is always a highlight of the year because we choose all our books for the coming year and have a lively book exchange, but this year was even more spectacular because wearing sequins was mandatory. I admit that I had nothing that qualified in my closet so had to go on a search for something sparkly. My mom was with me when I went shopping, and, knowing that I'm usually somewhat reserved in my clothing choices, she said, "I feel like this is a big step for you." The women in my book club are such dear friends, and I truly feel filled up each month as we read and discuss a book together. Loved the extra sparkle for this holiday edition. And speaking of books, this is what I read this month (you'll notice a distinct holiday slant):
The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan (lovely setting, dumb plot)
Freckle Juice by Judy Blume (very short readaloud)
Winter Street by Elin Hilderbrand (so many issues packed into one story but with festive flair)
The World According to Humphrey by Betty Birney (cute readaloud)
The Holiday Swap by Maggie Knox (pretty shallow, but I enjoyed it quite a bit)
Busking . . . at the mall. One of Max and Bradley's jazz band friends got a group together to play music on a street corner outside the mall. There were six who went. They played for a couple of hours and each made $20 plus $35 which they split for chicken nuggets at Chick-Fil-A. They loved doing it so much. People were kind and complimentary and generous. They even had a bagpiper join them for a song! Luckily, they went on a day where the weather cooperated and the temperature was fairly mild. If it had been colder, they probably wouldn't have lasted so long. It was so fun for them to be able to use their skills to make a little money.
Caroling . . . through the streets. Our church youth group rode on a trailer and serenaded the neighborhood with Christmas songs. There were hot chocolate stations set up in three different locations, and the trailer stopped at each of those spots while the teenagers and leaders sang a few songs. It was such a fun way to spread some Christmas cheer.
Welcoming . . . back the light. It always feels like such an accomplishment to get to the shortest day of the year and know that it will only get lighter and brighter from there on out. I have always wanted to mark the winter solstice in some way, but it feels like the month is so busy and we don't need to add one more thing. So we did a very simple celebration, and it was exactly what I wanted. We ate dinner by candlelight (breakfast foods because they somehow felt more sunshiny). Then we went on a walk through the dark streets in our neighborhood, admiring all the Christmas lights. And now, I'm watching the daylight total increase each day (even though it's a verrrrry slow increase right now), and it's bringing me joy.
Enjoying . . . the cutest little nativity reenactment. Mike's family had their Christmas party on the Friday before Christmas. We ate dinner, had some pass-the-present fun, sang our favorite song ("Angels Are Making Their Rounds," directed by Mike's brother, Matt), played games, chatted, and watched the little cousins act out the nativity. Ian was Joseph and his cousin, Claire, was Mary. It was too cute for me.
Going . . . to the movie theater. We love to see a movie on Christmas Eve, but with that falling on a Sunday this year, we pushed it up to the 23rd instead. We saw Wonka, and I know the reviews have been mixed, but we loved every minute of it and have been listening to the soundtrack ever since. I didn't know if Silas would make it through the whole movie but aside from running up and down our row for a few minutes, he did really well. That night, the boys all slept "under" the Christmas tree.
Losing . . . Baby Jesus. Silas loved playing with the nativities all month (so much so, that I kept a couple of them out after I put away all the other decorations). None of our other kids have spent so much time playing with the nativity pieces. Silas would mix different sets together, redistribute pieces all around the house, have them slide down the stable roof, and stack pieces on top of each other. It was one of my favorite things to watch him push over a stool and start to play. For some reason, he got it in his head that he had to take Baby Jesus to church on Christmas Eve. It seemed fitting, so I let him. Unfortunately, he dropped the piece on our way home, and it blended in perfectly with the brown grass. As soon as we realized he wasn't holding it anymore, we started searching but it seemed like it might be impossible to find. However, Mike organized the boys into a more deliberate search where they carefully combed through the grass, and they ended up finding the little baby and returning Him to His manger.
Performing . . . at a care center. After church on Christmas Eve, we went to a care center with the Blodgetts to perform some Christmas music on the piano. Unfortunately, Aaron was battling a cold, so I didn't think it would be wise for him to be around elderly people, but Max, Bradley, Clark, and Ian all went and played. Our audience was small but appreciative.
Spending . . . Christmas Eve with Mike's parents and the Blodgetts. It has become something of a tradition to eat dinner with Mike's sister and her family on Christmas Eve, and as long as it keeps working, we're going to keep it that way. The tables were beautifully decorated, and the food was delicious. Ian was especially jazzed to get to drink out of a fancy goblet. We popped our Christmas crackers and sang some Christmas hymns, and Mike's parents brought presents. We came home, the boys put on their "Christmas" pajamas (really just new BYU shirts and sweats), and we tucked them into bed.
Celebrating . . . Christmas. Our actual Christmas Day was lovely. We stayed home and moved through the day at a relaxed pace. We opened stockings first, then ate breakfast, then moved onto presents. Silas started out being very excited about presents and then lost interest, so we put away two of his presents for his birthday instead. After the presents were all unwrapped, we spent the rest of the day playing games, putting Lego together, watching movies, and eating candy (mostly Silas). We ended the day playing bells all together.
Building . . . a handcrafted chest. Clark didn't have anything he especially wanted for Christmas, but we know how much he loves learning and performing magic tricks. Rather than just going with a magic kit, we decided to individualize it a bit more. We chose which tricks we wanted to get for him, and then Mike made a wooden chest for everything to go into. The chest has clasps and hinges so it can open and close, a handle so it can be carried, and legs that can be screwed into the bottom to turn it into a performing table. Clark loves it. We wrapped up each of the little tricks separately and then put them in the chest. When Clark opened the chest, he found a bunch of smaller presents. It was a fun present to open, but it has been even more fun to for him to learn all the tricks. (If you would like to hire Clark the Magician for birthday parties, he is now open for business.)
Giving . . . the big boys a vacation. It has always felt tricky to give a vacation for Christmas because unless you're leaving on Christmas Day, it seems like it will make Christmas a bit lackluster (that, or you have to still give a bunch of presents on Christmas and that seems excessive). But this year I had the thought, What if we only gave a vacation to Aaron, Max, and Bradley so that the little kids can still have a traditional Christmas? I didn't want to spoil any surprises but I also wanted them to have a heads up if there were going to be fewer presents under the tree. So back in October, I floated the idea past each of them: Would you want to get a vacation for Christmas instead of other presents? It was an immediate yes from all of them. On Christmas morning, we had four clues that were wrapped up: a little toy airplane, some Star Wars socks and Mickey Mouse coloring books, Harry Potter candy, and a coconut and toy alligator (with the dates of the trip: January 8th-13th). They quickly guessed Orlando, Florida. It turned out it didn't make for an unexciting Christmas at all because after they had unwrapped the clues, we talked about details for the trip for the rest of the day.
Pulling . . . two teeth. We have been anxiously waiting to get braces on Max. He has the slowest teeth of all of the boys, and the orthodontists we had consultations with did not want to do anything until his baby teeth were out. So they recommended having our dentist pull two of them to speed things along (the adult teeth were already coming in). It wasn't the most fun way to spend a Wednesday morning, but it's done, and now we can hopefully get started on braces in 2024.
Finding . . . winter. Disappointingly, we did not have much snow in December. It was kind of a brown Christmas. But I went on a couple of hikes with Sonja, and there was plenty of snow up in the mountains.
Extending . . . the festivities beyond Christmas. We took all of the boys (except Silas) to see Elf the Musical at Hale Center Theater the Friday after Christmas. It was fun to have something to look forward to during that week. Mike's parents had given each family money for a Christmas activity, and that's what we chose to do with ours. It was Ian's first time at Hale Center Theater, and he was quite entranced by the experience--the changing sets and costumes, music and dancing, lights dropping down from the ceiling, falling snow, and an actual ice rink. I was grateful there were a number of differences between the play and the movie so that it didn't just feel like we were watching Elf without Will Farrell in it.
Eating . . . my 1000th serving of vegetables. It was one of my goals for 2023, and I did it! It was something I had to stay on top of for the entire year because you can only cram so many vegetables in at the last minute.
Ringing . . . in 2024. We were going to have a couple of Mike's siblings and their families over for a party, but Clark was not feeling well, so it ended up just being us at home. We still had fun though. We had a chocolate fountain and pizza and soda. Bradley and I did a puzzle. Ian and I were the last two standing in a 9-Ball tournament (much to everyone else's surprise). We played Pass the Pigs and watched old family slideshows. We did a practice confetti run at 10:00pm so poor, sick Clarky could go to bed. And then we did it again at midnight. More than two weeks later, I'm still finding pieces of confetti.
I know I've left out some things but hopefully nothing too important. The new year is calling!
