2/365: "Laughing Faces, Happy Smiles..."

"...and Peace throughout the year!"

In my house we leave our Christmas decorations up until Epiphany on January 6th.  One of my favorite memories growing up is the "Twelfth Night" parties we used to have at our Pastor's house in Epping.  We would all bring our undecorated trees and have a huge bonfire in the backyard.  We would sing Christmas carols, eat lots of delicious food, drink hot chocolate and someone would read "The Legend of Old Befana" to all of us kids.  It was something I looked forward to every Christmas season.  

One of my treasured Christmas decorations is this old guy, St. Nicholas himself.  

He is a jolly old elf, with an emphasis on the "old" part.  I think I was about Olivia's age when my parents were taking him off of the top of the refrigerator so that I could press the button on his belly and hear him sing "Jingle Bells".  For years I remember the excitement of seeing him emerge from the decoration box the day after Thanksgiving.  I remember coming home from college and pressing his belly and listening to the squeal as his old music box tried to get up to speed.  His voice would moan and groan the words instead of sing them.  After a few plays he would be back to his old self.  Well, this guy is still singing his tune, only now my kids get to press his belly.  My kids get excited when they see him come out of the decoration box.  My kids get to listen to him moan and groan the words to Jingle Bells and we all laugh every time.

Merry Christmas everyone!  Remember, the twelve days of Christmas started when Jesus was born!!

A Very Merry Christmas, Part Deux

The day after Christmas we got together with Damien's family at his parents house.  Cameron and Olivia were very excited to spend time with their cousins.  Cousin friendship is so awesome!

 

Patiently waiting for the next gift.  Paw Paw had a system that could not be broken or interfered with.  All of the kids did a great job waiting.  And we all know that waiting is the hardest part!

The Jesse boots!  Olivia was so excited when she saw these (and she has not gone a day since without wearing them).

And then came the rest of the ensemble.  She was thrilled!  Beyond thrilled!  I just love this series of photos as she realizes what she has just uncovered.

Cameron was just as thrilled.  When he realized what was under the paper (How to Train Your Dragon's "Toothless and Hiccup") he started to hyperventilate.  It was so funny!  Every time he was super excited about his gift he would stand up and hold it over his head like he was holding the Superbowl trophy.

This picture of Cole just cracks me right up!  He takes off the wrapping paper and holds up the box and says, "Hey, Mom, it's a box!"  I thought it was so funny because we do that all the time in our house.  Too cute!

Olivia just could not wait to dress up in her Jesse costume.  Thank you Grammy and Paw Paw.  She just loves it!  She also got a princess crown and light up shoes that she spends a lot of time in.  Thank you Kelly, Brendan, Cole and Charlotte!

After gift opening, the kids got to spend a lot of time playing together.  Olivia and Charlotte really got a kick out of Grammy's vibrating pillow. 

It's always a fantastic time at the Sevin Family Christmas Party!

Still trying to catch up, so stay tuned for a Snow Much Fun post tomorrow.  Merry 5th Day of Christmas everyone!

A Very Merry Christmas

Christmas Day was so much fun.  It began very early (5 a.m. early) and ended very early (6 p.m. early).  The first thing Cameron said when his eyes opened was, "Mommy, cookies and milk."  Then he had to check out the bedroom window to see if the reindeer food was gone.  Of course, it was!  By 5:30 a.m. Damien and I were awake enough to get up and go downstairs.  When they saw those presents under that tree they were too excited for words.  Literally.  I imagined them coming down the stairs screaming with delight, but they were actually completely silent.  It was pretty cool.

The rest of the day was pretty loud.  A frenzy of gift opening and the squeals of delight I was looking for.  Every gift opened was met with a smile even if it was not "the one" they were waiting for.  

After our traditional big breakfast of eggs, egg nog french toast, bacon (local, happy pigs) mimosas and fruit salad, the kids got to work playing with everything.  I feel like we may have overdone it this year, but it was worth it.  

The kids have been endlessly entertained for the past few days with all the new things in the house.  I feel like they may stay entertained for a few more days, at least!  The favorites at the moment are the dragons, new baby, Rudolph, Jesse costume, dragon book and the race track.  Tomorrow it may change, but for now they are all smiles :) 

We were missing my brother Wit terribly yesterday.  Well, I was anyway.  He always cooks the breakfast and I was a little sad doing it without him.  We got to speak to him on Skype, and see him.  He looks great!  I just wish I could hug him.

Merry Christmas everyone!

'Twas the Night

And oh what a night it was!  The evening began with Chinese food, as does every Christmas Eve since I can remember.  It was delicious, and nobody had to clean their kitchen later.  Perfect!

Then it was off to Christmas Eve service at our church.  The kids were very excited to hear Mommy and Nana play the bells.  I was nervous.  There were A LOT of people there!  But the bells, the choir, the soloists all sounded beautiful.  The service was wonderful.  Cameron was thrilled to hold a lit candle during Silent Night. 

During the Children's Sermon our pastor handed out candy canes.  She must have known they needed a little sugar boost right before bed.  Oh well, it's Christmas and the kids were so happy to be eating a candy cane in church.

When we got home, it was late.  Right into pajamas, sprinkle reindeer food on the lawn, put cookies out for Santa and off to bed they went.  Santa has come to the Sevin house and I look forward to Cameron and Olivia's faces as they come down the stairs to see this:

The Four Gifts of Christmas

"Christmastime is here,

happiness and cheer.

Fun for all that children call

their favorite time of year."

The snow is falling (and falling, and falling.)  It finally feels like winter in New England.  The tree is up, the lights are on the house and we are reading "The Night Before Christmas" every night before bed.  Olivia tells us that she will let Santa sit on our couch and eat cookies and drink milk, but he can't stay forever.

We are also talking a lot about what Christmas really means.  Cameron and Olivia know that Christmas is celebrated as the day that Jesus was born and that Jesus is God's son.  In our discussions we talk about giving and what it means to give.  We are spending time this week going through our books and toys and filling a box to bring to St. Vincent De Paul Society.

But, of course, my kids are also very aware of the fact that Christmas means Santa will come and bring them presents.  Cameron actually wrote his Christmas list this year, which I found to be pretty amazing! This year is also the first year that both kids sat on (or near) Santa's lap for a photo.

Even if you have made a choice, as we have, to buy local or handmade and avoid commercialized plastic toys for your children, I still think that the "present" part of Christmas can be overwhelming.  No matter what "type" of gifts there are, if there are too many the spirit of the day seems overshadowed by the wrapping paper flying all over the room in the flurry of gift-opening.  It is hard for a child (my children) to appreciate the gift they just opened if they are being told to put it down and open the next box.  In our house, when the kids start to feel overwhelmed, I start to feel overwhelmed. 
"You are only as happy as your happiest child."  (That's a quote from The Middle, a sitcom I watched the other day.)

The Four Gifts of Christmas is something that I have been thinking about for the past year.  It started last year when my sister-in-law Kelly told me about a Four Gifts idea she read in an article.  The four gifts were one thing the child wanted, one gift they need, one thing to wear, and one to read. Then I found an article about another woman's struggles with Christmas gift-giving.

Three of the Four Gifts of Christmas are categorized by the gifts the Three Kings brought Jesus - Gold, Frankincense and Myrhh.  The Gold gift is wrapped in gold paper and is a gift they want or need and is "worth gold" to them.  The Frankincense gift is a gift to support their spiritual faith.  The Myrhh gift is associated with their individual hobbies or interests.  The fourth gift is the Santa gift.  A surprise, but something that is unique to them.

The author, Dawn Anderson, has many more children than me, and her reasons for starting this are quite different than mine.  But the meaning behind it is the same.  I want Christmas to be more meaningful and memorable.

My personal parenting choices being what they are, I have mixed the two ideas and came up with my own version, using the labels, but changing the meanings:

Gold - a gift they really want. 
Frankincense - A gift of warmth or something to wear.
Myrhh - A gift to support their creativity.
Santa - A wooden toy.  Something fun that may or may not be on their list.



"This year can be different. It can be a merry Christmas, indeed."

Halloween

Hand made costumes, lots of friends, good food, yummy candy and unseasonably warm weather all made for a great Halloween this year!  On Friday my parents and I took the kids to the outlets for some trick-or-treating.  Beastie joined us and his father met us there.  The costumes we saw were great.  Some really frightening people out there!  But these kids were just adorable:

Cameron really played the role of Knight very well.  He was chivalrous and handsome and brave.  Olivia growled and breathed fire on people.  Beastie was a terrific Zebra and avoided being eaten by lions or hyenas.   It was a bit tricky for Cameron to hold his sword, shield and pumpkin.  In the end he gave up the sword for the candy collecting pumpkin bucket.

Olivia rode on Grampa's shoulders quite a bit.  It's OK.  She could breathe fire and collect candy just fine from there!

I really have no idea what Cameron was looking at in this photo, but he captures the mood of the night.  Exciting and fun!!  Here's to new traditions!

The next day we met Grammy and Paw Paw at the Tilton Diner for lunch.  The kids got their pumpkins of treats and posed for photos with the ghouls outside the restaurant.  Olivia loves hands.  Real or fake.  Whenever we go to a store where there are mannequins she goes around and gives them all "five".  It's pretty funny.  She decided she wanted to hold this ghoul's hand.

We spent Halloween night at our dear friends' The Blackwelders.  We trick-or-treated in their neighborhood and then went back to the house for potions and food.  Here is my little dragon and knight from behind getting candy from an alien: 

Let the Holiday Season commence!  Bring on the snow!  I'm totally ready for it :)

This Can't Wait

I cannot wait until Halloween to post this photo.  My Mom did an awesome job on the kids' costumes as usual!  There is nothing like a handmade costume on Halloween.  Authentic and no one else will have the same one.  So enjoy this photo of my Knight in Shining Armor and his little purple dragon!
Oh, and that awesome sword and shield are from one of my favorite online toy stores, Nova Natural.

The Fair

Yesterday we went to the Sandwich Fair.  Damien and I have been going to this fair together since we met in 2000.  I am somewhat of a fair "snob".  I compare all other fairs to the Sandwich Fair, and no other meets my expectations.  I didn't take many photos this year.  I was too busy enjoying my children enjoying the fair.

We have so many great memories from this fair, and this year was no exception.  Actually, this year was better!  Our friend, Tyler (Uncley Tyler) joined us and thank goodness he did.  We had an extra child with us and it was great to have an extra adult.  That, and the fact that we LOVE Uncley Tyler.  He is family.

On our way up the drive from the parking lot a van drove by.  Tyler and I were both thinking the same thing.  Something like, "Where does he get off driving right to the gate?"  That's when I saw Governor Lynch in the passenger seat.  Damien had to go back to the car, so he missed the whole thing.  We were about 40 feet from his parked car and I stopped the kids as the Governor stepped out.  I said, "Hey kids, wave to the Governor."  They did.  And the Governor walked right over to us.  It is my second time meeting him (he served me ice cream once in front of the State House).  He is a very pleasant, kind man.  He talked to my kids, asked us questions and told us to have a wonderful time at the fair.

Our first stop inside the gate was at the Jumbo Donut stand.  Yum!  We shared, of course.  There was plenty of donut to go around.

Next we visited all the animals.  We put Cameron in a cage, which he thought was very amusing!  So did the goat next to him.

Every year my kids play in the"kid cage" and this year was more of the same.  Running.  Olivia and Cameron are best friends and they absolutely love playing with each other.

Maria didn't go in the kid cage.  She was happy to sit on the rocks and eat her Mac and Cheese.

One big difference this year for me was that I didn't eat fair food, with the exception of French Fries.  They were delicious.

We took the children on some rides.  The pink pills were my favorites.  (Sorry, no photo, but they do look like little pink pills.)  Olivia, as always, enjoyed the Merry-Go-Round.  It is her most favorite amusement park ride.  Maria enjoyed it as well.

I love the new fair memories we made this year.  Even better than last year!

Storyland - A Four Year Tradition

Every year, for the past four years, we take a trip to Glen, NH to spend the day at Story Land. It is a tradition for our family and my parents to go in September. The weather is cooler, the crowds are smaller and we always end up with a beautiful day!

September 10, 2006
On the Swan Boat

September 22, 2007
Outside the Slipshot Safari Tour

September 21, 2008
The Humpty Dumpty Wall

September 13, 2009
The Story Land Framed Photo :)

This year we were blessed with another beautiful day. It was warm in the sun and cool in the shade. I love this weather!


After three years we finally realized that instead of going right when we walk through the gate, we should go left. You avoid two things by doing this: crowds and the big playground that we can never seem to get the kids out of. We thought it best to save the playground for last. We felt really good about our decision, because for the first time we were able to go on the Antique Cars. For the past three years we have either been too tired or the line has been too long.

Cameron drives Daddy and Grampa.

Olivia and Nana on the Great Balloon Chase

Cameron being frightened by a coral reef!

Wildlife. This big frog hopped right in front of us!

Cameron loved the Turtle Twirl

and the Flying Fish.

While Cameron and Daddy were on the rides Olivia, Nana, Grampa and I found this pretty gazebo with benches. It was shady and a good place to rest. Nana did some knitting, Grampa did some resting and I took photos of Olivia posing. She's hilarious!

When we finally made it around to the "beginning" (the playground area), it was still just as difficult to get the kids out, but at least we were done for the day and not just beginning. As you can see, while they were tired, they were still having fun! Well, I guess you can't tell in Cameron's photo, but trust me, he was having fun :)

And of course, the token Humpty Dumpty shot!