happy new year family and friends! i'm back! after missing a week while deep in the throws of holiday mode, i'm back at my computer wondering where the past two and half weeks disappeared to so quickly. it was a rush and then restful and even a delightful shift away from our usual "normal". two weeks where we throw our schedules and routines upside down and break from it all~ and instead incorporate lots of food (ahem...), family, friends, celebrating, play and naps. so nice, full and blessed. therefore, time for a recap of sorts...because i'm that sort of person. always enjoying looking back, forward, organizing, summarizing, and categorizing. that's how i roll....no mocking please.
Christmas was wonderful. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinner are always spent with our extended families. all eight of us love this. we have some awesome and fun families to call our own. i wish already that i'd taken a few pictures of these two occasions. i didn't. i failed. if i had~ you'd see delicious croquettes being deep fried (yummmm!!!) and Christmas Eve service together and a hilarious gift game exchange and cousins together playing and stockings/gift bags opened and turkey and sweet potatoes and endless baked goods that called my name (too often)...and on it goes. blissful memories i/we hold dear. Christmas morning with our eight~ equally wonderful. peaceful and fun~ hot coffee sipped while stocking treasures are revealed, gifts ripped open, toys assembled and clothes modelled as i happily discovered that most things fit! then i absolutely loved moving on to my kitchen to make brunch while i heard the sounds of the kids in and out of the kitchen, showing me treasures or playing games together.
it always feels like a surreal pocket of time where all are contentedly playing and discovering and getting along in harmony. i caught myself singing along to my Christmas music, and glancing up at the wooden manger (made by my dad) containing our own version of the swaddled newborn baby, beside the lit tree. it was a snapshot moment in my head~ a deep and heartfelt joy for The Gift that changes everything for me, for us. an undercurrent of peace and hope that i was deeply aware of as i fried the sausages and sliced the fruit. so thankful for all of it...
beyond Christmas we coasted through and had a productive last week of holidays together. an ice rink was made (thanks Jeffrey!), the tree found it's way to the front lawn, a few things were tackled on the list of "things to do while on Christmas break", friends came over, games were played, movies were watched, and the popcorn popper got regular use (and where has all our butter gone???? Jeff and Hannah are surely to blame for that one....). added to that~ driver's education happened for our oldest (what??!?!??!?), our youngest lost his second front tooth (oh how i'll miss those teeny tiny baby teeth...and he's our last to lose them...a wee bit sad about that), our middle child whipped me repeatedly in the tabletop hockey game (a favourite gift of 2014~ given to the three boys by J&B), hair was curled with new curling wands, and on it went.....
(in case any of you are wondering, i do take more pictures of my fabulous oldest four, but almost always there are protests and complaining and threats that sound like "don't you dare put this on the blog!", and so on~ AJ and Hudson remain willing subjects. i kind of remember feeling the same way about pictures when i was that age, so i generally respect their wishes...)
below, Hudson watching the World Juniors game in the goalie pads. always playing the part and deeply engrossed. just like baseball....
when Monday morning came and the alarm gently roused me to a state of wakefulness, and it was STILL VERY DARK, i was less than impressed....however, once up and moving, i sensed that all of us were ready to get back into the routine we were so familiar with. we were refreshed and ready to return to some structure. structure is good~ spoken by one who generally thrives on it.
below, Monday after day one of school in January 2015. homework!!!! just a little, thankfully. they took it well...
wishing you all a smooth transition back to your "normal" and a purposeful and joyous 2015!! cheers! :)
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