Brown and Kitten Christmas

It has come and gone, but a Merry Christmas to all!

I love decorating for Christmas.

I love the warmth the tree and the lights bring.

The focus on family, friends, and my Savior is welcome in the bleak mid-winter.

Christmas bells are ringing!

As always, one of our big starts of the Christmas season was the kiddos' Christmas concert. 

This year was in person (yay!), making it the first - and last - year that Kyler and I have no children sitting with us in the audience. How freeing!

Craig did the introduction for one of his class' songs.

And Calista has been looking forward to this year for a while now: probably 6 years! 

She finally got to play the handbells! She was so cute, telling me her hair had to be back so that she didn't get any oils on the bells, and nodding to her friend Christian whenever it was his turn to play a note.

They all did great, even if they won't smile and pose for me. Sigh.

And with the concert out of the way, it's time to prepare for the big day itself!

Christmas eve brought pajamas, obviously.

And, also obviously, Christmas morning brought cinnamon ring roll.

I got up pretty early to make sure we have breakfast before church. Definitely worth it, though, to make my great-grandma's recipe. 

We all got dressed in our Sunday best.

Not a bad looking crew, I think!

After church, it was back into pajamas

to open presents

and start using them!

They're learning the rules and also how to lose with grace.

With Christmas over, we were then able to enjoy the rest of the break from school/work.

We went on a couple of different snowy walks and sledding, too.

And when weather was decent, 

we also just had time to relax and play outside.

When weather wasn't as decent, we went to the library

And used our Christmas gift from Ken and Maria:

Year-long passes to the Science Center!

My favorite part of Christmas break, though, was in the calmer, quieter moments. 

Kyler decided to read aloud The Hobbit to the children. They were into it.

Except when Caleb fell asleep in my arms. Still, even he liked it. "I hope the dragon eats Bilbo!" Caleb said. "Or he gets burnt to a crisp."

The kiddos (with help from Kyler and I) even re-wrote the lyrics to "Whistling In The Dark." Presenting, for the first time in public,

"Riddling In The Dark"

A Hobbit came up to me and said I'd like to exit your cave

Before the goblins catch me and send me to an early grave.

What has it got in his pocketses, not hands or knife or string,

I lost the game and that Thief, Baggins, he stole my precious ring.

(Chorus)

There's only one thing that I know how to do well

And I've often been told that you only can do

What you know how to do well

And that's be you,

Be what you're like,

Be like yourself,

And so let's have a wonderful time

And get on with riddling in the dark.

Riddling in the dark

Riddling in the dark

Riddling in the dark

Riddling in the dark

Riddling in the dark

There's only one thing that I like

And that is riddling in the dark.

A spider came up to me and said I'd like eat you whole

And chew you with a side of dwarf within my webby bowl. 

We were trapped like flies but it was time to save the day.

I take my sword and chop them up: few of them live today.

(Chorus)

A Hobbit came up to me and said I'd like to take burgle your hoard 

And give it to some hungry dwarves, sitting outside, bored. 

But I'd rather go out and burn the town sitting on the lake.

To not inspect my armored chest would certainly be a mistake. 

(Chorus)

Riddling (riddling), riddling (riddling)

Dark (dark), Dark (dark)

Riddling  (riddling), riddling (riddling)

Dark (dark), Dark (dark)

Riddling (riddling), riddling (riddling)

Dark (dark), Dark (dark)

Riddling (riddling), riddling (riddling)

Dark (dark), Dark (dark)

Merry Christmas, everybody! I hope you felt the love of your Savior and that no one stole your precious!

Holly and Jolly, 2021

Our pre-Christmas festivities included a trip to see the zoo lights. 

The sparking lights were pretty fun, 

and watching the red panda and the serval cat have the zoomies was pretty great, too.

This was the first year that all three kiddos participated in the same Christmas concert, but it was virtual. Craig and Calista sang and performed so well. Caleb... mostly just spun in circles rather than sang.

Of course, we put up the Christmas tree

and dressed in fancy clothes in front of it.

After we put up the Christmas tree, Caleb asked every day for weeks if it was Christmas - and Jesus' birthday - yet. And finally, Christmas came!

The kiddos absolutely loved their matching pj's.

They all said they were so soft and comfy. Plus, you can't really tell whose leg is whose. 

On Christmas morning, Calista woke up early and so she got to help make cinnamon ring roll, using her great-great-grandma's recipe.

I love passing on the tradition.

Our biggest Christmas present win: probably Craig's circuit set. 

The colors, light, and sounds were all a lot of fun for them to put together and switch on and off.

Our biggest Christmas present fail: probably Craig's "Don't Read This Book Before Bed."

It spooked him out too much and he couldn't read it at all, much less before bed.

After Christmas, we went and visited Kyler's family in Raymond. It was super cold, so we spent lots of time just hanging out, 

although we did have a family party that included Chinese food, piano and jokes, 

and generally mayhem and running around with cousins.

(The acoustics weren't great, what with the general chaos and the fact that the piano hasn't been tuned in a while. After we got home, we recorded their pieces in a more controlled setting. Enjoy.)

There were only a few times we got to go outside during the break: once for sledding and once on a walk. 

I'm pretty sure we regretted it sledding because the wind chill was still pretty nasty, but the walk was good. 

Even if the kiddos did keep trying to throw snowballs at me while I took their picture. 

The kiddos got a surprise extra week of vacation - thanks Covid - but it was still pretty cold out, so we spent a lot of time making crafts and food, 

going to the library, 

hanging out at home, 

and being silly together. 

All in all, not a bad way to spend a couple of weeks.