Tag Archives: Christmas

30
Dec
2012

To and From the Shannons

By: Megan

 

We missed Christmas with the Shannons because Elise was sick. 

 

It sucks that we missed Christmas (and all the photo opportunities for me to practice with my new camera!). Even though we couldn’t be together on Christmas, we were still able to exchange gifts. Tim quarantined the kids, Lucy and I to the van when we made a pit stop in Grand Forks. It was sad to wave to family from inside the van and not even be able to hug them, but we really didn’t want to get anyone else sick. We were in the Shannon’s Grand Forks drive long enough to swap wrapped presents and we were on the road again.

This morning we opened the gifts from the Shannons and it was then that I really felt guilty and sad that we couldn’t be with everyone else. Not only did I want to watch them open the gifts we gave them but the kids loved, LOVED the gifts they received from their Grandma, Grandpa, Aunts, Uncles and cousins and I really wish we could have been there so they could have seen the kids reactions. Photos and video (when I figure out how to edit and upload from the new camera) are the only way I can begin to share the joy they felt when opening their gifts.

So here they are. More photos of our kiddos opening gifts that have been generously given to them by people who love them so much.

This pig oinks Christmas songs while walking. I am surprised that Elise hasn’t worn out the batteries yet. She pushes go on the pig, gets on all fours and oinks and crawls right along side it. Tim hates this pig.

I can’t tell you how good it is to see her moving around like this. There is a bit of the sparkle back in her eyes again. Thank God. She had us all scared for a bit.

Michael got the best gift ever. A tornado maker. Remember when he was obsessed with the one at the Children’s Museum? Joy doesn’t begin to describe how excited he was. Well done Uncle Steve.

I don’t know if they coordinated it or if Uncle Ben and Aunt Carmen just know Michael as well as Steve but they nailed Michael’s gift too.

Patrick got an Angry Bird pig “cuddly” (they call all plush toys “cuddlies” and I think it is adorable) which he loved and immediately began acting out Angry Bird scenes.

The boys were equally excited about their new treasure chests full of Jake and the Neverland Pirates booty.

Elise’s OT would probably be just as excited about this new shape sorter as Elise is. Yay for fine motor and planning skills.

The two gifts Tim was most excited about were the Star Wars Legos he got and a pink unicorn that Elise got. Apparently the unicorn hails from a video game that Steve and Tim both play. Where ever its origins, Elise loves the thing.

I was stoked to open multiple pairs of warm socks (even a great pair of leggings). I was bummed to open a really fun looking board game. I was bummed because the Shannons are always so much fun to play games with and it is sort of a tradition to play the new board games late in to the early hours of the morning the night of gift opening. I am really missing board game time this year. The gift I keep smiling about and will bring smiles for a long time is the wine glass Steve got me. It is sitting proudly in my kitchen window sill right now and that is where it will stay because every time I look at it, I laugh.

Grandma and Grandpa Shannon gifted all three of the kids a great devotional that I fell in love with. The devotionals inside are great and very kid friendly but it is the cover art that really draws me to the book. It is already being displayed on the playroom bookshelves. Along with the newly displayed board book are two framed photos that Grandpa and Grandma Shannon gave Tim. I LOVE these photos. It is so fun to see Tim as a child.

Many more photos here. My favorite are the ones with Patrick and his pirate gear. What are your favorite?

29
Dec
2012

If the fates allow

By: Megan

“Through the years we all will be together. If the fates allow…. Have yourself a merry little Christmas now.”

The fates were not on our side this year.

I mentioned that Elise was sick over Christmas Eve (here) and Christmas day (here). She had a fever that couldn’t be broke by Tylenol and cold baths. She wasn’t sleeping and wasn’t eating. This went on for 4 days. Yesterday (Friday), the day we were suppose to head to Grand Forks for the Shannon Christmas, my Mom and I took her to the walk in clinic before hitting the road. It ends up her high temperature, cough, lack of appetite, congestion and runny nose were all symptoms of Influenza A. My poor baby girl was sicker than we realized. She is so strong.

When the clinic confirmed that she tested positive for the flu we knew we couldn’t take her to the Shannon’s. It was quite the let down for all of us but we knew it was the right thing to do. The boys were surprisingly mature about it though they were the sad about missing out on playing with their cousins.

It was a long nine-hour ride home. Elise was very uncomfortable the whole ride. We got in around 10 pm and the kids went straight to bed. Elise slept the best she had in days. What is it about sleeping in your own bed? This morning her fever broke for the first time. There still isn’t even a glimmer of a twinkle in her eyes but I think she is on the road to recovery. The boys however are claiming to be sick. They both look a little pale but neither have a fever, yet. We don’t know if they are “playing sick” because it is unpacking, cleaning and getting everything organized day or if they have caught what Elise has. I hope they are being reluctant helpers and are not sick.

 

27
Dec
2012

Between traditions and leftovers

By: Megan

Traditions are taken seriously in our family, mostly because Beth and I (Beth way more than me) insist on it.  Leftovers are just as much a tradition as singing for gifts. It is my Mom’s reward for cooking two big meals within 36 hours that she doesn’t have to cook the rest of Christmas vacation. If you think Chinese food is the best leftover/reheated food you have obviously never microwaved plates of our Christmas dinner leftovers. Yum.

Our traditions, and our gorging, take up a lot of time but we always manage a bit of down time too. Down time in our family isn’t really a relaxing thing. Downtime is playing outside, and this year we added some intense rounds of Super Mario Brothers.

Be patient with me over the next few weeks months. I am in love with my new Canon Rebel t4i and I am taking a ridiculous amount of photos every day. I am getting better, but it is a slow process. If photos seem oddly focused or the composition is strange, it is just me playing with my camera.

There couldn’t be a more Michael expression than this. This face tells me that Michael is really concerned that whatever he is telling me, he doesn’t think that I will be able to comprehend his level of genius. I can keep up with him now, in a few years I will not be able to say that so confidently.

The cabin is under construction right now so in lieu of a four-wheeler Papa and Daddy had to pull the tube. The kids had a blast even with the lower horsepower.

Because Elise was sick she didn’t get a whole lot of play time outside. What she missed in snow she made up for in books. I bet she had over 75 books read to her over the course of the 6 days we spent in Minot.

Sometimes the dinner prep cut into play time but Auntie Buff made juicing key limes a game that Elise probably won’t remember but Beth will not soon forget.

The obligatory lime pucker pic.

More posts soon and possibly a video of Tim sling-shotting the boys around the corner in the tube. For now, here are loads more photos.

26
Dec
2012

Festivals, Programs, Gifts, Traveling and Food

By: Megan

These past 8 days have been packed full.

 

The boys both had school programs and they were adorable. Is there anything cuter than 4-6 year olds sing-shouting Jingle Bells?! I didn’t think so until both Michael and Patrick took a moment in the middle of their performances to make eye contact with me and wink. So cute.

After Michael’s program the parents got to get their glue and glitter on and help make some sticky Holiday crafts with the kids. So much fun. Michael’s favorite song was Up On the House Top.

We were equally sticky after Patrick’s program but this time it was sugar, not glue. Patrick’s favorite song was 5 Little Christmas Trees.

We spent a lot of time finishing projects late into the night. I am still kicking myself because when we pulled into Minot both Tim and I realized that we forgot to pack two of the Christmas presents we made for family. We were able to finish both a cradle and a doll bed (plans by Ana White), a mattress, quilt and pillow for each bed, wooden swords for the boys (planned and built by Tim), two Jake and the Neverland Pirate vests (that I was cursing here), a handful of hand painted gold doubloons for each of our pirates and the above mentioned forgotten gifts.

The kids, Lucy, Tim and I had a pre-Christmas family Christmas the night before we left, complete with treasure maps leading to the boys’ final gifts of the night.

Before we did gifts, though, we decided to start a new family tradition based of a Jewish tradition that Patrick and I learned about from another family the day that I rolled lefse with his class for “Share your holiday tradition day” at his school. Tzedakah, as the book that was read to Patrick’s class explained it, is the tradition of collecting things (toys, clothes etc) from around your house that you will not use in the coming year and donating them to charity before opening your gifts. Tim and I loved this for many reasons and thought that adopting it as a tradition of our own was a great idea. Each of the kids were required to find 5 toys. Here is what they found.

The kids were pretty proud of what they collected for charity but in all honesty if I told them they had to choose an arm to donate to science in order to open gifts I think they would have made the decision to be a righty or lefty in a split second just to find out what treasures were wrapped under the tree.

Santa came while the kids slept and brought an elf made gift of “Da Da Da Pipes!” Da Da Da pipes is what the boys have dubbed the green pipes on Mario Brothers. The game makes a “da da da” sound effect whenever you go down the pipes. The elves told me that all they did was buy 4 inch pvc pipe and these pvc adaptors, spray paint with primer and then with green spray paint.

Tim and I really had fun making a lot of their gifts this year. It was even more fun to watch them open their homemade gifts. Elise loved her doll beds and the boys loved their pirate gear (Elise had a pirate costume too but lucky for me all that is required for Izzy the pirate is a pink shirt, purple leggings and a pink bandanna, all of which I found a target for less than $15!).

I promise we didn’t forget Lucy. She got a couple new Kong toys and some bones to chew. Here is another example of Elise photo bombing. This was supposed to be Lucy and her new Kong…

All of that Christmas chaos was before we even left for Minot for the first part of our ND Christmas tour.

Merry Christmas to all and to all I promise more pics (that will end up here) and posts soon.