The Smiths: So Christmas

When Eliza saw the Christmas lights on our house for the first time, she exclaimed, "Oooo look! Look at our house! Our house is sooooooooo Christmas!" It's true. Christmas has come to Houston and we have been busy enjoying every moment of it. Our lights are lit. Our tree is decorated (after hours-days-weeks of painstaking repair). Our presents are wrapped. Our Christmas letters are sent. Our nativity sets are each thoughtfully displayed. Our Christmas treats are delivered. Our practices, programs, and parties have all come and gone. Our home is filled with music and anticipation. And the only thing left is the countdown to Christmas Eve (my favorite day of the entire year) and Christmas day.

If you ask Lydia what she wants for Christmas, she'll say "dollie". It's very cute. If you ask Eliza, she'll say "pink ones", which means she doesn't care what it is. . . as long as it's pink. Isaac is asking Santa for remote control tanks. The same as last year. We thought to argue but then we remembered it was Isaac - the same child who asked for a Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car three years in a row. Clayton wanted a pet until I vetoed it. So he decided to ask Santa for a surprise. Which he later crossed out and changed to "awesome surprise" after worrying that "surprise" alone might yield an array of unpleasant possibilities. After further contemplation, he's now hoping for a remote control helicopter. Brigham decided to swing for the fences and asked for a car. A real car. Like, a real. . . car. I tried to tell him that a car is a silly thing to want unless you are old enough to drive one. But he argued that he'd eventually be old enough and that he wanted one. Um. . . no. So he followed Clayton's lead and is requesting a "surprise" from Santa. Which he also changed to "awesome surprise" and then days later to "cute awesome surprise". And I have it on good authority that he will get just that.

I have been busy sewing gifts for the children, creating homemade gifts for everyone else, making several batches of salted caramels to take caroling, practicing violin music (five different musical numbers this month), practicing piano music with my kids (two recitals and a competition), planning school parties, writing and directing the Primary Christmas program (which we performed at the ward Christmas party and at the assisted living center), getting us all in costume and on cue for the live Nativity production, and keeping up with life otherwise. Here are a ton of "so Christmas" pictures from the last little while:

Christmas Decor:

Our first Christmas in our new home. We have had so much fun putting up (old and new) decorations.

Lydia spends hours everyday with our Little People Nativity set.

Watch this video of her talking, singing, and dancing all about it.

She and Eliza have added a few pieces. I always smile to see Robin Hood, a pirate, and a girl with an ice cream cone visiting baby Jesus.

Christmas Projects:

For letter "O" week, we made "O Christmas Trees" and "O Holy Night" displays with Eliza's preschool friends.

A few handmade cards.

Christmas Caroling:

The boys made all these cute tags for our caramel caroling deliveries. They got very creative with the stick-ons.

Here's a video of our Christmas caroling rehearsal. Eliza chewing on her fingers. Brigham elbowing Isaac throughout. Isaac singing with vibrato (opera style). Clayton flipping into falsetto halfway through. Lydia conducting. Me stifling my laughter. And Nate lecturing. This is how we roll.

Brigham's Class Party:

Yup. Room mom again this year. Brigham's party was simple but fun. We did a craft. We played a game. We ate. We gave his teacher a gift. Eliza had the time of her life. She can't wait until she's old enough for first grade (in five years!).

I had all the kids in the class decorate an index card and write a note to the teacher, which I then used to decorate this gift box tower. I was very proud of myself for thinking up this idea. It turned out so cute. Brigham's teacher was in tears.

Primary Christmas Program:

Brigham was Joseph and his friend, Mary, who is also in his school class, was Mary.

I look forward to this every year. These dear people are such a great audience. And the love the children - each and every one.

There were (amazingly) no wrestling matches during the performance this year! I think because I split my boys up. Instead of standing next to each other as the three wise men, they were a shepherd, wise man, and Joseph. It worked out perfectly.

Live Nativity:

I look forward to participating in this every year too. This year the weather was warm and perfect.

Here is Brigham on the set with his Fanta.

Eliza sitting in the manger.

Our whole family. Nate and the two older boys were shepherds again. Brig and the girls and I were Bethlehem townspeople.

Ward Christmas Party:

I'm grateful to a friend for these pictures. I took a few, including a video of Clayton and Daphne's "Do You Hear What I Hear?" performance on the piano and violin (fabulous!). But I accidentally deleted everything before I had a chance to upload. Boo. Oh well, these pictures are better than mine were anyway.