A Holly Jolly Christmas

I feel like I'm a ball that starts rolling around Halloween quickly gaining momentum with every passing day. By the time I reach Christmas I'm in a full fledged panic to get a million things checked off my list before December 25th. Like every year, I had high ambitions to accomplish 90% of Christmas before December 1st. Hmmm. Maybe next year.

Christmas tree? Check. Christmas card? Check. Christmas lights? Check. Christmas picture taking, shopping, decorating, visiting and home teaching, caroling, pre-Christmas baking, menu grocery shopping, stake fireside planning, party attending, cleaning, wrapping... check, check, check!

Oh yes, and among all that we had to find a way to feed and bathe our children, do homework, change diapers, and reinforce to our children the true meaning of Christmas. (That last one was actually my favorite part.)

Amidst all the hustle and bustle that December brings, we managed to truly enjoy each other's company. Brian took some time off work and we took advantage of every minute. We loved having Christmas music fill our home all day every day. What can I say? We spent most of our time just being happy.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas...
After slowly placing each ornament on our advent calender Christmas tree, and our kids celebrating each new December morning as "Christmas Eve-eve-eve" until it was only one "eve", the night before Christmas could not have come any sooner! The anticipation was slowly killing our children - and me. I may have gotten just as excited for Christmas as they were.

We were lucky to share Christmas with family. Nana decided to spend Christmas with us this year - and we felt so blessed to have her here! I think it made it even more special for our kids knowing that "Nana Clause was coming to town."

Like every year we had fondue for Christmas Eve dinner. It's such a fun and unique tradition - and the kids really enjoy skewing their steak and watching it sizzle in the pot. Judging by her smile, I think Irelynn enjoyed eating Cheese Puffs the most.


We discussed The Last Straw, one of our favorite Christmas books, and talked about how we can serve others. Then we read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. But this year instead of reading our traditional book, we received a special 'Twas the Night Before Christmas from Grandad and Granny Kim. The kids got a kick out of the book - because each page was a vocal recording of Grandad and Granny Kim reading them the story.


Natalya made sure we didn't forget to sprinkle reindeer dust (oatmeal and glitter) on our lawn so the reindeer could see our house from the sky. We were also sure to leave Santa some sugar cookies, eggnog, and 9 carrots - one for each reindeer.

I love this picture because I told Natalya and Branson to say, "Cheese!" when Irelynn cut in front of them for her closeup.

On Christmas Eve we let our kids open the gift that they bought or made for each other. This year dad took Natalya to find a gift for Branson and I took Branson to find something for Natalya. It was sweet to see Branson run up and down the toy isle pointing to everything he thought Natalya would love. Once he settled on a gift, keeping it a secret was the fun (and excruciating) part. They felt so proud to have wrapped the gifts themselves. I loved watching the gift-giver's expression when the present they chose was being opened. Branson opened a mini Buzz Lightyear and Natalya opened a Fur Real kitten.

The, "Thank you, I love it," kiss.

The, "That was a wet one," face wipe. She must have really liked it.

Yep.

A Magical Christmas Morning
Irelynn awoke at 6am jolting Brian and I out of bed. (We didn't want her to wake the rest of the house before we were ready.) While Brian entertained Irelynn, I ran downstairs, flipped on the Christmas tree lights, started the Christmas music, called my parents to inform them that our house was waking up so they could arrive before kids came downstairs, found our Christmas bell and was done right when Branson woke up. We kept him upstairs, too. Then my parents and my sister, Ellen, arrived just before 7:00. The only one still sleeping was Natalya! I rang the Christmas bell and once she came out of the grogginess and realized it was Christmas morning, the kids zipped downstairs. Here's what they found...

Branson kept saying, "Santa came! He came!"

For a minute they didn't want to touch anything! That didn't last.


Sure enough, Santa had the cookies and eggnog. There were only cookie crumbs and half-chewed-up carrot pieces remaining.

Opening stockings was fun - but after a minute Branson decided to just dump it all out on the floor. Smart guy.

Santa left stockings for everyone.

After stockings and gifts from Santa had been opened, we sat down to breakfast. We had homemade cinnamon rolls, and fresh fruit with fruit dip.

After breakfast it was back to presents under the tree. We stretched it out as long as we could - finishing up around 10:00. The best part was sharing the morning with family.

Some of us still in our pajamas, we had a beautiful spread of food prepared for Christmas dinner.

My kind of sugar plums.

What's Christmas without 20 feet of bubble wrap? You could run on it. Dance on it. Poke it with your toes, fingers. Jump on it.

Do a cartwheel on it.

Wrap yourself in it. Roll on it. The possibilities are endless. :) Any way you pop it, it's a whole lot of fun.

Bellsnickle

Bellsnickle has been the Freebairn family elf for generations. He's a magical elf that checks on us throughout the year, especially around Christmas time. He determines whether or not we deserve to be on Santa's Nice List. Then about a week after Christmas, Bellsnickle returns to our home to refill our stockings with anything that Santa forgot. (Sometimes it's batteries for a new toy, or a container to keep a toy's small pieces, etc.) And if you haven't already taken the Christmas tree down, Bellsnickle will do that for you, too. The kids get just as excited for Bellsnickle to arrive as they do Santa!

What a week. Despite all the stress that naturally accompanies the holidays, I remembered why this is my most favorite holiday and I could truly feel the peace of Christmas.

Merry Christmas to all- and to all a good night!

S-A-N-T-A

Christmas is without a doubt my favorite time of year. I love all the magic and wonder that comes with having children around. We SO look forward to the day Santa visits Daddy's office. Natalya and Branson spent a lot of time writing their letters to Santa. They dressed in their Christmas clothes and paced around the house until I could get them in the car to drive to Dad's work.

Santa parked his sleigh and reindeer on the roof. Natalya asked.


Natalya loved Santa. She said she especially liked his voice.

Branson loved Santa, too. He especially liked the cookie and candy cane he gave him.


Irelynn had a different experience. She had the I'm-15-months-old-and-you're-a-weirdo-who's-freaking-me-out experience.

Irelynn was much happier from a distance. She eventually warmed up to Santa and agreed to a smile, high-five, and she even let him hold her little chubby hand for a minute. It was very cute.

Give Thanks

Thanksgiving was blissful this year. Brian took a few days off of work and we chose to not travel for the holiday. So we stayed home, cooked, ate, and hung out. My sister, Ellen, from southern California came to visit. I couldn't have ordered a happier Thanksgiving!

On The Menu:
A 21.5 pound turkey
Traditional stuffing
My mom's gravy
Cranberry sauce
Seasoned, sour cream mashed potatoes
Green bean casserole
Homemade cream corn
Fumi Salad
Orange Banana Jell-O Salad
Rhodes rolls
Pumpkin pie
Chocolate Trifle
Apple-grape and apple-cranberry Martinelli's

We ate leftovers for almost a week. I love Thanksgiving.

The food.


The family.


As a little surprise for my family, I wrote each of them a special note describing what I loved about them and used the notes as place cards. After our meal, we made a thankful tree (for the kids, they loved it) where we wrote things we were thankful for on fall leaves and glued them on the trunk. (Thanks to Granny Kim for giving us extra supplies to create a thankful tree a year or two ago.)


The day after Thanksgiving we were looking for something to do that was inexpensive and fun for the whole family. We got everything we wanted when we went to our church with a basketball, several Nerf balls, and a Frisbee. We had so much fun just messing around! The kids were hilarious.


Irelynn kept trying to hide in the gym's curtain dividers. She would jump out at us and say, "Boo!" Branson enjoyed shooting basketballs and playing catch. Natalya preferred organized sports - usually when she did the organizing. Brian and I liked playing catch. It reminded us of life before kids - when we used to go to the park after work/school and play catch. Everyone had a great time. The kids didn't want to leave!


This is my pretty trifle. We didn't save room for dessert on Thanksgiving, so we ate all our dessert the day after.

This Thanksgiving, I realized how blessed I am to have a wonderful husband and family. Simple as that. Family is everything. I always loved the saying, "We may not have it all together, but together we have it all."

Busy Bodies

Natalya's my little diva. Branson's a ham. Irelynn is feisty. Together they're trouble. But cute.

Playing with expensive toys - fun. Three kids in a box - way fun.

They pretend each tunnel is their "house". I guess the center is their common area. :)


Irelynn has more fun pushing her friend on the ride-along toy than riding it herself! And she's strong.


Irelynn and Karlee, her best friend.

I'm sure every parent feels this way, but our kids are some of the busiest I know! At least I can't complain that my life is boring.

Little Girls

I love little girls. I love that Natalya noticed that she and her little sister were dressed alike - which meant they should absolutely have a tea party together. She was so patient with her. And Irelynn soaked it up. She knew exactly what to do although she had never experienced a tea party before. If that had been Branson, he would have thrown the tea saucers across the room like frisbees. (And I would have laughed - boys are great, too!)

A Baby With Style

Natalya has wanted to paint her sister's toe nails since she was a week old. Well we finally did it. And I must say, they are the cutest little pink nails I have ever seen. As long as I was painting hers, I painted all of ours (except Branson's, of course).

It took some serious skill to paint the toes of a 14 month old. I had to pin her in her high chair, distract her with a treat, and dab her teeny nails with lightning speed. But I arose triumphant! And I think she liked them.

More Cotton Balls...

I was talking to my friend Meagan today and we agreed that we are growing and learning as mothers everyday. Sometime we do or say things that we're not totally proud of - and we learn from our mistakes and try to be better next time. In a way, we sound a lot like children!

Just yesterday I said somthing that I taught the kids not to say. Natalya told me that I needed a cotton ball jar so that she could take away a cotton ball for my naughty behavior. Meagan and I got to thinking... maybe WE should make ourselves a, "Cotton Ball Jar for Good Behavior." That way our children can learn to better appreciate our good works and reward us for the many ways we serve them. They can also help us to remember when we've lost sight of the patient, loving way we should conduct ourselves. When the kids fill their cotton ball jar, they get to choose a one-on-one date with the parent of their choice. But when I fill my cotton ball jar, I will choose a family activity that we can do together on a Saturday!

I hope that our kids learn to recognize not just mine but others' efforts to be kind and are quick to give compliments. I also hope that I will remember to practice what I preach! I already made myself a cotton ball jar. The kids were excited at the idea - in fact, they've already given me a cotton ball for my excellent sharing. :)

Trick or Treat!

We had such a busy Halloween this year! It felt like 3 days of Halloween. We had a school party, Brian's office trick-or-treating, a birthday costume party, our ward trunk-or-treat, and two other costume parties that we had to miss! Needless to say, our kids got a lot of use out of their costumes.

I got the kids' costumes several weeks in advance so they could play in them and enjoy the anticipation of the impending Halloween. This year Natalya had her heart set on being Fancy Nancy, the main character in the Fancy Nancy book series. She made such a fantastic Fancy Nancy! When I took Branson costume shopping, we found a firefighter uniform and fell in love. He started running around in circles saying, "Whoo-woo!!" like a fire truck siren. Sold. Branson would be a firefighter this year. So what would compliment a handsome fireman better than a cute fire dog?! I found a dalmation costume from Old Navy and it was perfect! All three of them loved their costumes and wore them about a bazillion times during October.

The best part of trick-or-treating was watching Irelynn get the hang of it! It didn't take her long - she caught on all too quickly. In fact, I think she made off with almost more candy than her big brother and sister! She's hilarious.

Brian's office invited all the firm's kids to trick-or-treat at the secretaries' stations. This was a perfect way to kick off Halloween. The kids had a great time and I think the secretaries did too - the Reeve children are VERY entertaining.





So when Irelynn discovers that people are handing out free candy in little buckets, our trip to Daddy's office got interesting.


Instead of choosing one piece of candy and moving on to the next station, Irelynn decides to make off with the whole bucket and charge down the hall without looking back! While we were left buckled over with laughter, Irelynn was halfway home with her loot. She's a crackup!

Branson was by far the most handsome firefighter I've ever seen.

Fancy Nancy is such a cute series. We own the first three hardback books and we have checked out most of the others from the library.

Natalya has perfect hair - and demeanor - to be Fancy Nancy.


This is her dress. Very fancy indeed!


I think she has the sunglass tilt down pat.

We visited with Grandma for a few minutes before trick-or-treating. The kids not only loved wearing their costumes, but acting their part too!

We had a very Happy Halloween. Branson keeps asking me if we can do Halloween over again. I hated to break it to him - but we're going to have to wait until next year...