Holidays

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! 
I can't believe Christmas is over!! Well, it is TECHNICALLY over. We are still acting as if it is Christmas every day at my house. All of the lights are on and the Christmas tree is plugged in as soon as we walk downstairs. :)  I do not know what I am going to do once we take all of the decorations down. Little E-man still "ooos and ahhs" over every little thing, EVERY time I plug things in, or light a candle, like it is the first time he has seen them.  So sweet!  I find myself getting sad, thinking of the holidays being over. I LOVE this time of year! So much thought and preparation goes into planning for the holidays. Not just the gift part... though that does take a lot of planning/effort/thought. I'm talking about the "magic" of the season. I remember Christmastime in my early 20's prior to having children. The "magic" was missing. I still loved Christmas and being with family, etc.  But the "magic" was missing. My daughter's first Christmas... there it was! Back again! I think it is being able to witness the season and all of the excitement through their eyes that brings it back to me.
Our family had a wonderful Christmas!  To help keep the magic alive, we had an Elf ("Nimble") come to live with us. He arrived right after we got home from Thanksgiving in Ohio (which I will be posting pictures of a little later). The kids thoroughly enjoyed his presence. He left little notes, hung around in weird places (like the ceiling fan, light fixtures, Christmas tree), he left a special candy canes, hung a Santa hat on our tree, hung tons of paper snowflakes in the family room for Christmas Eve morning, had a tea party with my daughter's stuffed animals (she was actually very angry about this!!), rode on some of the reindeer decor, among other things. Nimble was not as mischievous as other elves that I've heard about.Thankfully our elf encouraged good behavior! ;-)  My daughter enjoyed him, finding him every morning. Surprisingly E-man was TOTALLY into it! He seriously looked for him every morning. They also enjoyed an advent book basket from Grandma Locke.   We tried a new routine this year for Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve with the Locke family, had our own Christmas morning at home and then spent Christmas evening with the Harper family. It seemed to work well and the kids didn't feel rushed around on Christmas. 
Unfortunately I have been unable to visit with either one of my grandfathers due to illness and bad weather. Hopefully we will be making those trips VERY soon!  Anyway, I just wanted to share a few pictures. I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday, had safe travels and spent lots of quality time with loved ones. Keep that Christmas spirit alive!!! 

Christmas Eve with Grandma and Granddad Locke

enjoying the train

CHRISTMAS DAY....

Santa came!!

He plopped right down in the middle of the "choo choo" :)

She loved her "elf" hat

playing his drum from Santa

Christmas afternoon at the Harper house

and they wrapped up their Christmas day... playing with the train. :) 

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Christmas lights

I drove home last night, extra slow through our neighborhood like I always do this time of year, enjoying the sounds of my 15 month old Oohing and Aahing over the Christmas lights. All I could think about was how sweet that sound is,  his babbling and excitement over the lights, and how there are parents/families of 20 sweet, innocent little Elementary aged children who would never hear those sweet sounds from their babies ever, ever again. There are 20 families who will sit helpless, devasted as they decide what to do with the presents that were carefully picked for each of those children. What about the siblings of those children? What about the other children in the school and their families? And those of the adult victims lost in this horrific tragedy? What about the first responders to all of this? What will Christmas now mean for them? And mostly.... WHY?!?! Anyone lost in this type of manner is tragic, but those poor, sweet, innocent little children... in this type of horrific manner? They said goodbye to their parents and went to school that morning, excitement in the air because of the upcoming holiday season, only to leave this earth in an unimaginable way.  My heart is broken for them and for all of the families affected.
I am so scared as a parent of two young children. I am already the type of person who kisses the kids extra EVERY SINGLE TIME I put them in the car .... just in case.  I have been known to say a prayer when one child leaves with  my husband to run errands, or any time they are separated from me. Call me paranoid or a pessimist, I don't care.  I know if something happens I WILL NOT be that parent that says, if only I had kissed them goodbye, etc.   I feel like I appreciate my children and family but it is times like this that makes me even more appreciative.  I'm also thankful that my children are not yet old enough that I have to explain any of this to them right now.  I fear that I do have to prepare myself for this talk. I fear that at some point, some tragedy like this will happen and I will have to explain to my children that the world isn't as wonderful I, as their mother, have tried to paint it.  I wish that I could protect them from this harsh reality forever. There are so many things to worry about as a parent already... nutrition, safety as they begin to crawl, teethe, walk, chemicals in food, are they safe in school, on the school bus, drugs, driving... etc. etc.  The concerns as a parent are overwhelming and endless.  Now add to that the harsh reality of things that are happening in this world, in this time.... *big sigh*
What I do want my children to know is that horrible, horrific things DO happen in this world. I will try my hardest to always, always protect them but sometimes I won't be able to. I want them to know that there is also A LOT OF LOVE AND "GOOD" out there too.  It is easy to get hung up on the negative and all of the "bad" out in the world, especially in the wake of something like this. However, after the dust settles, try to find the peace/the good.  There is always a hero, even if it is one small child holding onto another child's hand to find comfort. There is always love. Be one of those people who can help others by finding peace, finding love and sharing it with others. Never lose faith that there ARE good people out there. To my children, always BE one of those people. Never lose faith in yourself, in your own ability to do good and make positive changes and never lose faith in God.
I hope that the peace and love of this season surrounds all of my family and friends, as well as ALL of those affected by what has happened, so that we may all feel love and comfort.
I also pray that we as a country can come together and that this incident will motivate the necessary people to make the changes needed so this will never, ever happen again.
Take a child, a loved one to see Christmas lights and enjoy those beautiful, musical sounds of excitement and awe. There is something very magical and calming about Christmas lights. Keep a look out for extra bright "lights" in the Christmas sky. There will be 20 of them.