Do you remember?

Do you remember the anticipation of Santa's arrival? The countless Christmas lists and special requests that you hoped would plead your case to St. Nick? Do you remember being unable to sleep the night before, staring out the window, catching a glimpse of Rudolph's shiny-red-nose? Did you ever wake up in the wee hours of the morning hoping to see Santa himself? Once morning finally arrived, did you rush to the tree to see how many gifts had your name scribbled on the tags? Did you promptly empty your stocking and begin your day with a healthy dose of sugary treats?

Where did the time go?

Gone are the days of tossing and turning all night, unable to sleep, waiting for Santa. Instead, I'm up all night, rushing to wrap, fill and place items without being discovered by the little ones who can't sleep.

My Christmas Eve was filled with three hours of wrapping in the afternoon, making a lovely ham dinner, letting the kids open the gifts from their Aunt and Uncle and trying to convince the little ones that I just heard Santa's sleigh pass by because they were still awake! Once we finally had them tucked into bed, I finished up wrapping gifts, stuffing stockings and becoming increasingly upset by the fact that I was doing this all alone. Apparently, the other Elf in the house doesn't like to purchase or wrap gifts. So as I pressed on doing my Motherly duties, the Elf responded to a mutual aid call and was gone until almost 4am Christmas morning.

Perhaps it's just part of being a Mom an Adult, but I couldn't be happier that Christmas is over now! Last night and especially today, I felt defeated. I put in hours of prep work, making sure everything would fall into place. I made sure I prepped for several weeks in order to be certain the kids would even have gifts. I wanted to be sure the children would have an enjoyable Christmas filled with wonderful memories. And in the end, it paid off.

I, on the other hand, feel let down. The other Elf made sure to purchase one gift for one child and then for good measure, he bought himself something too. He made sure he bought something for his Mom and his Dad. And yet, somehow he failed to realize that maybe the slightest bit of recognition for the other household Elf would be greatly appreciated!

What did I get for Christmas? Nothing. No box of chocolates or scented candles. No back massage or even an offer for dinner out. Not a single thing!

At least I was able to enjoy the moments of watching the kids open their gifts. I'd have to say, they were all thankful and happy with what they received. One of my favorite quotes from the morning came from Austin (8).

"Awesome! A box of 64 crayons with a built in sharpener!"

Yes, he really was happy about something as simple as a box of crayola crayons.

Imagine that, he enjoys even the simplest things. He's just like his Mother! Too bad his Dad didn't take the time to realize that.

Before I go, I wanted to share another quote:

"Daddy said we don't have to ask for milk because milk is free."

Thanks, Emilee. Could you let your Dad know that I would have enjoyed something simple and free, you know, like a hot bubble bath and a good back rub!

Tomorrow, I go in for the first set of Cardiac testing. Do you think they may tell me I have a broken heart?

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

So much anticipation...BSM!

Only ten more days!

The lists have been made, the tree has been cut and everyone looks forward to Christmas Day with excitement.

Even the dogs are anxious!



I happened to capture this shot while trying to get shots of the animals with their Christmas gear on. I just love how how it captured Beuford's tongue!

What a whirlwind!

Twas the Night before Christmas and all through the house...

And then...

Tim's fire pager goes off...
I can't sleep....I get online
Finally decide to go to bed
I toss and turn until well after 3am...
Wake up at 8am to find Jonathon and Husband "missing"
Rush upstairs to find a trail of wrapping paper (oh NO)
Quickly evulate the damage.
Three gifts unwrapped.
Resume search for the culprit
Find the stinker sound asleep in the crook of his daddys arm on the couch.
Everyone in the house is sound asleep at 8:00 AM
Take photos of the girls snuggled together
Pour a cup of soda and walk around the corner to see Hubby waking up.
Chat briefly with hubby after moving the sneaky little child we call Jonathon to a spot of his own.
Talking about how odd that it's Christmas morning and we're awake yet the kids are not.
Suddenly, we hear someone stirring.
We hear giggles.
And water.
It's Christmas morning, and our oldest two children are taking a shower before coming out to see their loot. WHAT?!?!
I listen in on some of their conversation through the main bathroom wall. I hear them discussing what they hope they got, what they know they didn't get, and what they wish they would get.
My heart is happy and sad at the same time.
Suddenly Kate comes rushing to the potty. I scared her!!
Soon after, Em followed.
We look over their stockings.
Boys emerge in towels, not expecting the family to be up.
Boys quickly disappear to get dressed and return to join us.
Go through stockings, play with laptops (kids), and begin opening gifts.
Finish opening gifts and take photo by tree of kids.
Almost 10am
Guess who's still sleeping! Yep, the lil stinker!
Jonathon finally wakes up, opens his gifts and plays a while.
We make and eat Ham Dinner with friends.
We settle in for the evening around 10pm.
Jonathon has a fever.

And then....

Tim's fire pager goes off...
Tim leaves...
Comes home somewhere after 1 or 2am
Emilee starts to puke.

December 26th:
Morning comes and Momma stays in bed...until 12:30.
Daddy takes the four older kids with him
Mommy rocks Jonathon who falls asleep.
Mommy and Jonathon nap.
Jonathon wakes up when Daddy gets home.
Mommy sleeps...
and sleeps...
and finally gets out of bed at 6:30PM

And now, it's after midnight and I'm wide awake!

Merry Christmas

To each of you, we wish you a very Merry Christmas today.

I hope your day is filled with love, laughter and many wonderful memories.

It is officially CHRISTMAS EVE!

Photo's from Christmas at the Inlaws



Are you getting antsy yet? Oh, we are here in our house! Everyone is anticipating the "big man in red"...or everyone except Jacob. You know, because he *knows* (or that's what he tells me)!! Regardless, the excitement is keeping the kids wired and the adults on their toes.

Today, we had Christmas at the inlaws. Shortly after we arrived, we lost all power! So, we had Christmas with nothing other than the love that filled the room. The kids enjoyed their time with everyone. We received an awesome pair of microfleece sheets. Let me tell you, they are a little slice of Heaven.

After I put them on the bed, I snuggled right in.

You know, just to see how they felt.

And then I closed my eyes.

You know, just to see what it felt like if I were really sleeping on them.

And then, well...okay, so I really did fall asleep. But only briefly!

The sheets are a big hit (for me)! Tim, on the other hand, says they make his skin crawl. I just laughed and told him obviously his parents intended for him to sleep on the couch then! (smile)

The girls each received a set of Barbie-like dolls with clothes and such. They also each received a full sized keyboard. They are *thrilled* but disappointed at the same time. Of course, not due to what they received but because Mommy didn't have 12D batteries. *sigh* Yes, I need to hit the store tomorrow!

Jacob received a microscope kit and a tape measure. He's getting at the age of wanting real tools. So, he's slowly adding to his collection.

Austin received a huge 15,000 pc lego set. Yes, that is 15 thousand. I'm not sure what the inlaws were thinking...other than it's going to be a hell of a lot of fun for Austin to play with and a pain in the ass for momma to clean up! *sigh* They're only kids once, right? (remind me of that when I step on one of those awful pieces)

Jonathon received a train set (toddler-appropriate) that he LOVES and a little car set similar to hotwheels. He has been playing with them like crazy. Actually, the other kids have been playing with the train more than Jonathon has! It was a definate hit in our house!

I have a few more things to get wrapped tonight (or tomorrow). We've had a full house this weekend. We've been doing many crafts and having lots of fun! The girls have had other little girls here to play with. On Saturday, all of the kids put on a Christmas concert for the adults. I helped them get their hair done and then they picked outfits out of the dress up box. The concert was a success! It was such a joy to see them laughing and singing and just enjoying the moment. Even the more reserved kids let loose and belted out the songs!

I can't believe that it is Christmas Eve. Time has gotten away from me. I never sent out the Christmas cards. I never sent out our Christmas letter. And I never had their pictures printed off. So...plan on receiving a New Years Letter instead! :)

I hope you all are enjoying this Holiday Season with your family and friends. May you create many wonderful memories this year that last a lifetime.

Merry Christmas from Our house to yours!

I love him so much!

to mom and
dad from
Austin
Christmas
is all abot
love and
care. so
I learnd
that it is really
abot that I just
whont you
to know that I love
you. I hope
you have
a great christmas.
I love you.
to Katelyn and
Emilee and Jacob
and Jonneathin and
dad and mom. ps
to you all
from Austin

This is from my sweet precious son. He made this at school and wrote this letter out. I have kept the typos exactly as they were. He has me speechless and teary eyed.

Our Ice Cream Social

Here is a photo of the kids after their ice cream. Do you realize how hard it is to get a good photograph of five children?




It's nearly impossible! Jacob with his crossed eyes, Austin sucking on his lip and Jonathon devouring his icecream. The girls sure know how to work it though.

What? You gave it to me, mom!




Boy, this is pretty yummy ice cream! And look, I can really work this spoon.



I'm going to eat...eat....eat every single bite.



And when my spoon will no longer work for me, I will be forced to take desperate measures.



I will drink every last drop from my bowl.



What do you think you're looking at? Don't EVEN think about it...



Um, Austin you better step back away from my bowl.



Emilee's pretty smart. She got her own bowl of ice cream. No sharing for her.

Christmas Past...

Now that I'm getting (ahem) older, it seems that the whole atmosphere of Christmas has changed. I'm not talking subtle changes. These are huge, drastic changes. Often times, I find myself trying to recreate the "magic" I once felt as a kid so that my children feel that same "magic." Well, and so I can feel it once again as well.

I understand I'm not a kid anymore and that it's now about my kids. The traditions I once knew have faded and I find myself longing for those days again. The many nights we spent at my Grandparents on Christmas Eve surrounded by our Aunts, Uncles and Cousins. The surprise visits from Santa, who knew the exact time that we were going to all be there. The nights we laid in bed, unable to sleep out of sheer excitement. The many nose prints we left on our bedroom window as we peered out into the night sky trying to spot Rudolph. We saw him. We really really did. His bright red nose was leading Santa's sleigh right to our house.

Even after I married and started my family, the spirit was still there. It wasn't until we lost some very dear family members that Christmas was changed forever. The routine was broken. Things changed. And the new traditions and routines started.

Our Christmas traditions have changed. Uncle Steve has been gone for nine years. Grandpa passed away over eight years ago. Grandma has moved. The Christmas eve visit at Grandma's house has dwindled. It's not how it was when I was growing up. It's the holidays that remind you of what it used to be like. I miss my Grandpa. Very very much. I remember vividly how he would sit in his recliner, watching his children, grandchildren and even great grandchildren opening the gifts they were able to give. I remember his father, my great grandfather, sitting in the opposite corner in the other recliner so many years ago. The hustle and bustle mixed in with the squeals of delight that filled the house was sometimes overwhelming. The counter was lined with delicious foods and Grandma's homemade meatballs. The snackbar was lined with Grandma's homemade cookies and candy that she made every single year. The house was lined wall to wall with family and many many children. As kids, we would take our treasures we received and find a place to play. Even the bathroom was found to be a good play area on Christmas Eve. It's these things, these wonderful memories that cause my heart to feel heavy this holiday season. To know that my children won't have these same magical memories. To know that they won't get to experience the same Christmas Eve that I was able to for so many years breaks my heart. To know that they will never know the Grandpa that I knew or have the memories that I have of such a wonderful man, breaks my heart.

I try to keep traditions going for my kids. Christmas eve, so far, we still make a trip to Grandma's, where Great Grandma and many other extended family drop by. However, many of them no longer show up. And Christmas Day, we spend here at home. We cook a mid afternoon ham dinner and invite those interested in stopping by to do so. We have one family that usually joins us on Christmas day with their little one. That's it. Christmas with my side of the family is nonexistent. Christmas with the inlaws is held whenever most can attend, usually trying to keep it around the weekend before.

My wish is that my children feel that "magic" that I felt growing up. The excitement of going to Grandma & Grandpa's house. The nights that you can't fall asleep because your too anxious for Santa. I hope I'm creating that magic for them. And I hope they too create it for their children. Or maybe, just maybe, Tim and I will be able to create the magic for our grandchildren just as my grandparents always did for me.

Many Blessings to each of you this Christmas!

It's getting closer

Christmas is coming and I'm finding myself not quite prepared. The tree has been up and decoreated for a few weeks now. We've done many Christmas crafts and even some cookies. And most of the gifts are purchased and wrapped. I sure hope Santa has all his things in order, at least. Somehow, I doubt that he's quite ready either. I'm hoping he has all of those stocking stuffers and a nice "big" ticket item for them. Lord knows, I don't. I don't even have the Christmas Cards out. Yipes! This year, time just got away from me.

We have our Christmas with the inlaws on Sunday. I just can't believe that it is this close already. Tonight we finished some Glitter Crafts. The kids enjoyed that. They have been playing in the snow every single day and loving that as well.

This is the last week for the kids and Tim. They will return after the first of the year. (Which really isn't very far away either)

I hope you are all doing well. I promise to blog with a few more "stories" but tonight, I'm exhausted.

G'night!

Horray! It's Saved!

The excitement is building here for the anticipated holiday of Christmas. The kids are getting more excited with each passing day. I love to see the magic in their eyes. The stories that they tell and the pure joy that they express over every aspect of the holiday is so fufilling.

Those that know us know that we are not a very religious family. Even so, we have our spiritual chats about our beliefs and yes, the true meaning of Christmas. Before it was even December, Austin asked me if we could bake a cake for Christmas this year. I knew why but thought I'd ask him to get his point of view. His response was, "To celebrate Jesus's Birthday. You know he was born on Christmas Day, right Mom?" Oh, how it touched my heart. I agreed that we would bake a birthday cake in His honor and also reminded him that his very own Great Grandpa was born on Christmas Day too! Amazing what children know even though they have never been to Church before, isn't it?

This weekend was quite exciting eventful stressful. After my middle of the night trip to the ER on Thursday and arriving home Friday evening, I was higher than a kite and unable to care for myself let alone my own children sent right to bed. I woke up Saturday still feeling groggy, sore and just not quite put together. However, we did manage to fufill part of our plans for the day.

We started our day by going out to lunch with our very good friends and then went to pick out our Christmas Trees together. The weather was quite chilly and Jonathon was not too happy about planting his mittenless hands directly into a frigid pile of snow but we managed to get the trees without too many problems.

Let me share a little secret about picking the perfect Christmas Tree! As a child, I remember spending an awfully long time deciding as a family if this tree was any more perfect than the tree three rows back and six rows to the left. I remember marking one tree with a scarf or a human and the rest of us marching back and forth between the two chosen trees until a decision was made. Back then, it seemed like it took an eternity.

Now, as an adult, the tree picking is a totally different senerio.

We all pile out at the tree farm, grab a cart and throw pile as many children on it while the others bicker about who gets to pull the cart. Obviously, one person had an easy ride around the tree farm!




We walk to the farthest section of the tree farm, in the coldest December weather, to find the most perfect tree ever. We look around for a whopping three four okay, five minutes before deciding that we've found the tree that will both fit in our livingroom and look stunning with a variety of beautifully wrapped gifts underneath it. We have a brief, "This one okay? You sure? This one it is, then. conversation with the kids and Tim assumes the position of the designated tree cutter. And by golly, this year, before I could even have my camera up and ready to go, he had the tree already cut down!



We loaded it and trotted back to the shaker. After having it drilled, shaken, wrapped and loaded, we took a quick wagon ride while sitting on ice cubes little plastic seats all while freezing our buns off.




(Our friend with her daughter and our girls)

On our way home, the majority of us wanted to stay home to decorate the tree, listen to Christmas carols and just have family time. We checked with our friends and switched plans to just hang at our house.

The decorations were hauled out, the tree stand was brought in and the tree was placed on the stand. By the way, we have the most perfect tree stand ever. No adjusting. Ever. That is, unless your husband decides to chop a tree off that is taller than your ceilings, has the tree farm trim the bottom but not nearly enough, and once the tree is placed on the stand the tree top and the ceiling become one. Yeah, unless that happens. Or worse.

Since testosterone was running throughout the house, the men decided to cut more of the trunk off, redrill the hole, and reset the tree on the stand. Cut-Drill-Stand. One problem, gentlemen. The hole isn't drilled big enough to put it on the stand.

AhHa! No problem for the testosterone filled genius here (ahem, my husband)! Lets take a hammer and wack on the bottom of the tree stand, driving the spike of the stand up into the bottom of the tree trunk deep within the not-quite-big-enough-hole that you pre-drilled. No Problem. Right?

Wrong!!!!

About the fifth whack, the hammer smashed right through the water bowl of the tree stand leaving a nice gaping hole. *sigh*

After a phone call to the tree farm to find out a replacement bowl could be purchased for $4 but not picked up until Sunday and realizing that the children would be greatly upset by not getting to decorate their tree that night, we came up with a quick fix.

After retrieving an old plastic mixing bowl, our friend swapped out the bowl from our cupboard with the broken bowl off the tree stand. The hole in the trunk was drilled a bit more and with more careful hammering, the tree was firmly planted on the stand. With a working water dish, even!

And this, my friends, is

The Year that Uncle Damon Saved Christmas!

We continued the evening decorating the tree, listening to Christmas carols, eating dinner and watching movies. What a memorable evening!

More photos from our tree hunting:


(Emilee & Katelyn)


(Emilee, Katelyn & Paige)


(Friend cutting their tree down)

Stockings

Tonight is filled with Christmas Carols and more crafts made by the kids. Tonight, they wanted to make stockings. I have been trying to upload the photos of the family room and the Olympic Stair Jumping but they are taking forever. If your interested in taking a peek, just drop me an email at Becsbunch@aol.com and I'll pass them along.

The rest of the night will be filled with popcorn and trying to find some Christmas shows.

Maybe tomorrow will be a macaroni necklace or something.

Time to be with the kids. I may be back later this evening.

The simple things...

I'm a simple person. I'm not one that needs expensive, fancy items to make me happy. For me, simple is just easier. Better. Our house, our vehicles, our belongings...all simple. Of course, when it comes to how we would like our home decorated, we have to compromise. Tim is a collector. Of everything. For me, less is more! And well, with five children of our own and two more all week long, everything must be child-friendly! So when it comes to decorating our house, well I'm sure you can just imagine. We have what I think to be a cluttered, mismatched, child-friendly area we call Home. But, it's simple! Easier. Perfect!

It's beginning to look very festive in our family room! Tonight we unpacked our figurines, snowglobes, snowmen and santa's. I was going to wait and do it another day but the kids were too excited. We hung lights around the room and each child started decorating their "special area" that we created for them.

The special area consists of wrapping paper taped up on the wall creating a large area for them to decorate as they see fit. They have drawn pictures, cut shapes out, I see a hand print on Katelyn's, Austin has all types of snowflakes, and Em has covered hers with scribbles. :) Each of them are wonderful and show their own little imaginations.

Tonight we had a good friend over with her son and we all made paper chains before eating pizza for dinner. Then it was time for Olympic Stair Jumping and of course, photo opportunities! (By the way, wrapping paper makes great backdrops for photos).

I'll share pictures of our little family room. This is my little room. It sits in the middle of Tim's den on one side and our bedroom on the other. I like to call it the middle ground of the man-caves! Of course, the laundry room is obviously mine too (unfortunately)! It's not quite finished yet (as you'll see from the sheets of drywall still sitting against the wall). The walls need to be mudded, sanded and painted still. But when it's finished, it will be Firefighter themed. (Yes, I choose that theme).

Enjoy the photos!! Have a great evening!

More Christmas Cheer

Another day of Christmas activities around here. We used tape, glue sticks, construction paper, crayons, scissors, markers, and an outdated calendar. Actually, I had purchased a desk calendar on clearance for $1.75 because it started in Aug 2007. I really just wanted it for the first of the year. So, we just found a creative way to use up the extra pages. We covered the Date at the top of the pages with a little construction paper and got creative with covering up the dates on the calendar too. It worked! That's all that counts, right?

I'll share the end results with you! The kids are so proud. So, we have each of their masterpieces displayed in our family room!

Since Jonathon was napping, he didn't get to participate in the craft events. That is, unles you count him trying to rip every single masterpiece his siblings were trying to make before he actually fell asleep! *sigh* So, here he is trying to convince me to open the container of drywall screws.

The answer was still No, even with those adorable eyes!


The craft events today were to put together a calendar for each kid. They all had their own ideas.


Jacob used a normal December calendar. On each day, he put the words to "Jingle Bells". It was quite unique and completely his idea! Then he colored and cut out a picture and put it along side his calendar. Each child also colored another picture which we hung above their calendar.


Austin had a similar idea. Instead, he covered each day with a "bulb" that was red or green. Under each flap is the number of days left until Christmas. On each flap, he wrote the words to "Jolly Old St. Nicholas". Again, his own idea and a very good one!!



Katelyn and Emilee did pretty much the same thing by numbering the days like a regular calendar. With each day that passes, they will put a colored bulb over that day. This week, they want all green bulbs. Next week will be red.



Then we have our 25 Days of Christmas Calendar that tells the kids what we have planned. Under each flap is the days remaining until Christmas Day. The kids want to rip off each flap after we've completed it. I'm still admiring it though. This was a group effort.

We never got to the paper chains today but we did practice for our home Christmas Concert. Austin, Katelyn & Emilee plan to put on a little show for us here. They have picked a group of songs to sing and are very excited!

Only 22 days left!

Twenty Five Days of Christmas!

The Holiday Season seems to sneak up on many people. Most of them are too busy or overwhelmed to even sit back and enjoy themselves. You rush around to find the perfect Christmas Tree, spend the evening watching the kids throw ornaments on it in complete random order (only to rearrange them after the children have gone to bed). You rush out to buy the perfect gift for Grandma, Auntie, and little Sally down the road. You might even get lucky enough to throw together a batch of cookies, thanks to the premade cookie dough. The question is, Have you enjoyed your Holiday Season? Often times, the answer is, No. We have been known to fall into that trap before too.

So, we came up The Twenty Five Days of Christmas. Of course, I am sure it is just a variation of someone elses tradition. However, we just format it to fit the needs of our family and therefore, adopt it as one of Our Family Traditions.

A few have asked how it works, so I'll share that with you now.

Beginning December 1st, we choose an activity to do each and every night, together as a family. You can decide ahead of time what you want to do and have it written out on a calendar or you could draw from container each day to see what you are going to do. I like to be a bit more prepared so I plan things ahead of time.

Here is a sampling of what our Twenty Five Days of Christmas looks like:

December 1st: Rearrange the house for Holiday decorations
Watch a Christmas Movie while eating popcorn

December 2nd: Cut a Christmas Tree out of green construction paper and decorate it with items from around the house. (Ex: string, fruit loops, beans)

December 3rd: Make a paper garland and/or Christmas Calendar to count down the days.

December 4th: Decorate Christmas Cards

December 5th: Cut out paper snowflakes and hang them from the ceiling.

December 6th: Allow the children to decorate their bedroom doors for the season (remember to keep all masterpieces out of reach of little fingers).

December 7th: Unpack all Christmas decorations for the tree and house.

December 8th: Go find a Christmas Tree. Attend the Christmas Light Parade in town.

....and more!

So, do you have any suggestions (as we still have a couple days open) of fun things to do as a family. If we don't use it, I'm sure others out there reading could benefit from your ideas! Please share!

Family Traditions

Inquiring minds want to know...

What are your family traditions?

Please do share with us all.

More on our traditions to come.