Granmy & Poppa Visit

It was wonderful to have my parents come stay with us the week after Christmas. They sure do love their grandkiddos!

Good Morning, Christmas!

It was fun having Christmas on a Sunday this year! Busy day! 

First, church. 

I liked going to church on Christmas morning! I think it's something we really miss out on in the LDS culture. We even managed to get a half-decent family Christmas shot in the lobby afterward, which, obviously, if taken on Christmas morning, didn't make it into any Christmas cards -- which I was too lazy to send this year anyway. (Please see my previous post on Christmas chaos.) Sorry, y'all! You know I love you anyway! ;) 

Then home for our own little Christmas morning. It was Liam's very first Christmas, and I really treasured it. 

Daddy and Liam reading a Christmas story, "Who is Coming to Our House?" on Liam's first Christmas morning.

Then off to the Ed & Ricki's for Christmas dinner and gifts -- pics in a separate post below. So fun! ... and yummy! :P

Also of note this Christmas season ...

Liam had his first encounter with the Santa, and wasn't phased a bit. I was the photographer for the ward party Santa. Wouldn't you know that the one pic I didn't shoot, the curtain was open behind us! And Cam is sporting leftovers from a bloody nose. *sigh* That is what Photo Shop is for, right? Except in the past month and a half, I still haven't found the time to fix it. So here it is, in all its un-touched-up glory. My boys are pretty cute, eh? Liam's pose makes me giggle.

We weren't able to make it to the extended Feist Family Christmas Eve hurrah this year, but Aunt Joan brought us her delectable made-from-scratch Christmas cookie platter anyway, on the 23rd. Bless her! I decided to be a "fun mom" and let everyone eat Christmas cookies for breakfast (except Liam, who had Cheerios and just a little piece of cookie) ... which turned out to be a really dumb idea. We all got really sick. Ah, well... The cookies were super yummy anyway. And the platter lasted for many weeks afterward.

Camden: "Mommy, I need five cookies because I'm five!" This is just a sampling from the many amazing varieties on hand.

Liam: So cute and happy. Just like usual.

Merry Christmas to all!

Love,

The Feists

Liam's First Christmas

And ... he's off!

Here's baby Liam, at 9 mo., scooting around the house. Cutie patootie! Can't believe I took this a month ago and forgot to put it up!

Cinnamon Rolls

Every year, Trent makes cinnamon rolls on Christmas Eve. It's a childhood tradition that he kept even on his mission! They are amazing -- an old Feist family recipe -- and everybody goes crazy for them. He made them for his staff this week, and Camden was a little bummed that they ate them all and there weren't any leftovers. During some Christmas shopping in the evening, the following conversation ensued: 


Cam: "Dad, do you have any more cinnamon roll mix to make some more?"
Trent: "They aren't made from a mix. I made them from scratch."
Cam: "Well, do you have any more scratch left to make some more rolls?"


Funny boy.

Banishing the Holiday Madness

www.sheknows.com

One day in mid-November, while playing taxi for a couple of really cute little boys, I heard my first Christmas carol of the season. And then something happened that I did not expect: I cringed. And I was met with the irresistible urge to change the station. What?! Breathe, I thought. It's just too early. I'll start feeling the holiday spirit after Thanksgiving is over. But that didn't happen either.

First week of December. The random assortment of dusty storage boxes with aged red and green labels stands like a skyscraper in my living room. And I plop down on the couch, exasperated -- exhausted just looking at the tower. Nooooo, I plead. I'm not ready!

In 31 years of Christmases, I don't remember ever feeling this Grinchy. I love Christmas! Everyone LOVES Christmas, right? Well, maybe not everyone. But I've certainly never considered myself to be on the "Scrooge" list. And then I realized, it's not Christmas that I am overwhelmed with. It's everything around it. It's all the "stuff and fluff" as Pooh Bear so eloquently put it. I'm bewildered and exhausted just thinking about keeping track of all the stuff and fluff around Christmas. And apparently I'm not the only one. When I googled "holiday stress," I had more than 7 million hits in 0.16 seconds. Nope, I'm not exaggerating.

Here are some things I've realized that are helping me to slow down, chill out, and maybe enjoy the season a little more this year:

bodyquirks.wordpress.com

-It's okay to stop and enjoy a cup of cocoa now and then. With lots of marshmallows. Yum.
-I'm not more important than all the other people in line or in all the other people stopped in the mall traffic. Sometimes it's nice to let someone else go first just because.
-If I want to go to an event, I can. If I don't want to go, I don't have to.
-Changing it up a bit can be fun. There's no reason to force myself to do something just because "It's tradition, and we always do it that way."
-It seems like there is an awful lot of waiting this time of year. Waiting in line, waiting for packages to come, waiting for Christmas Day to come. I've decided the best present I can give myself this year is to be present and take each moment as it comes. Waiting in a long line becomes savored time with my little boys. Listening to a long ... long story about my 5-year-old's imaginary friend and what she wants for Christmas brings a smile rather than an exasperated sigh. It's all about perspective.
-I don't have to bake. Guess what? Our neighbors are getting some of our handmade soaps this year, instead.
-One easy way to avoid some holiday pounds is to avoid cookie exchanges!
-It's not really about the presents. I remember lots more Christmas carols than I do gifts I've received over the years.
-Even if I don't mail out Christmas cards, people can still know I love them and am thinking about them.
-It's likely that my boys will remember the fun stuff we did, not the stress that surrounded it.
-I don't have to go to every single Christmas party, concert, and get-together. It's okay to say "no, thanks" even before my schedule is completely saturated.

One of Trent's beautiful creations, in our etsy store.

-It has been a pretty rough year for us, so there isn't a lot of surplus for gifts, but that's okay. It actually feels kind of good to simplify.
-Things don't have to be perfect.
-I don't have to do it all this year. There will be other years and other chances to to everything all over again.
-And last of all, (but it probably should've been put first!) I know it's cliche, but I've had to re-focus on the "reason for the season." It's this: A little baby was born in the humblest of circumstances. He didn't have to come to earth and suffer for us, but he did. Because he loves us. At Christmastime, we show our gratitude for his sacrifice by remembering him and by showing each other a little more love than we usually do. Love was his gift to us, and it is the most precious gift we can give to each other.

Well, I'll bet you want to dip into that great wealth of knowledge that I found amongst the 7 million "holiday stress" hits on the net. ;) Here's one I really liked: It's a great list of 12 articles on the topic.

So, if you see me (or don't see me at a party), and I seem to have unplugged from the "merriment" for little bit, don't think I'm Scroogey, 'kay? Just trying to stay sane. ;)

Merry Christmas!

10-month-old Liam

Our baby angel, all tuckered out after our Christmas Tree adventure.

Christmas Tree Hunt

Liam's first year on the hunt! (and first hike ever) :)

And they're off! See Daddy with Baby on board? Too cute.

What a day for a hike! Made me wonder why we don't do this more often -- minus the bringing-a-Christmas-tree-home part, of course. 

Beautiful, beautiful day! Not to chilly, either. About 50 degrees?

That's the one. See Trent at the base? Yes, he is standing at ground level. And yes, we did have to trim a little off the bottom.

Hat hair!

Cute boys. Check out Liam's 4 chompers!

Brotherly love.

Just to prove I was actually there. :)

Camden found a "stick." I have boys. Did you know?

*insert Home-Improvement-style man grunt here*

Heading back down the mountain.

On our way back home.

Saving the World

Camden decided to do something special instead of presents for his birthday this year...

Here's how the invitations went (Yes, I am putting it up because I thought it turned out super cute and was rather proud of myself for the in-theme writing ... because I'm dorky like that.):

Attention all superheroes! Captain Point Sword requests your presence at a special meeting to discuss how to save people in trouble!

Our theme for his 5th birthday this year is: "Real Superheroes: Saving the World One Can at a Time." In place of gifts, please bring a donation for our local food bank. Camden will be making the delivery himself ... and just in time for Thanksgiving!

Please come in costume, but bring your school clothes with you.We know some of you have to fly off to school afterward, so we will have everyone fed and returned to their secret identity when the moms arrive at noon. We will provide lunch and 15 tokens for each superhero in attendance. See you at headquarters! (It's the Chuck E.'s at County Line and Quebec.)

He ended up with quite a haul. Thanks to all the families for putting together BAGS and BOXES of food, rather than just the one or two cans we expected! I was truly impressed and really quite touched. 

Cutest delivery boys I ever did see!

After church on Sunday, we loaded everything up on the stroller (which took some doing!) and walked it down to All Souls. Their food bank is two houses down from us, and that's where Cam wanted to food to go. He is such an amazing kid, and I love his big heart. And I have no doubt in my mind that he will change the world.

Family Party

The Feists came for cake and ice cream. Pumpkin bundt cake and rainbow sherbet, actually, at the birthday boy's request. Such a funny kid. I gave him his choice of any fancy superhero cake he wanted, and he chose pumpkin cake sprinkled with powdered sugar -- his daddy's favorite since his second birthday, about 30 years ago. We did cupcakes with superheroes stuck in them for the friend party, but they weren't that fantastic, so I didn't bother with pics.

*sigh*

Camden's expression says it all.

Whew.

Liam and Grandma

The whole gang.

And the littlest Feist. He wasn't sure what to think about it all. :)