Snow on Snow on Snow...

We were treated to a winter wonderland this weekend, courtesy of a substantial snowfall. What a way to get in the Christmas mood! Snow, sugar cookies and Clara walking around the house proclaiming, “ho, ho, ho,” is all anyone needs to be filled with cheer. Somehow, Ben is convinced that it will snow again on Christmas Eve. As long as all the Christmas Eve services at church can go on as planned, we think that is a wonderful idea.

Days of Christmas

The countdown to Christmas has been filled with all sorts of activity and fun. It has been thrilling (and we admit, exhausting) to experience the season fully with two little ones. Thankfully, we have some great friends who have made it possible for us to sneak out for a couple of date nights. Adult conversation and meals that do not involve sippy cups can work wonders at recharging your holiday cheer.

The kids had their preschool performance; all the kids wore their pajamas Polar Express style. Ben loved playing the hand bells and singing with his friends. Clara, upon seeing Leah, ran to her crying and curled up in her lap - we call it the “Mommy Chair” around here. That is, until Clara spied Mark across the room and went running for his lap...those chubby cheeks have daddy's girl written on her dimples. 

Hope you are all having some great days of Christmas too…maybe even fitting in a “long winter’s nap.” We can dream.

Traditions

Every family has unique traditions that for them mean “Christmas.” Some are built on memories from childhood holidays, some are intentional, thoughtful reminders of faith and some just happen along the way, stick, and a new legacy of memory and ritual is born.

Here are a few of our Casa Watson traditions that have come to mean Christmas for our family:

Snickerdoodles & Root Beer with Vince Guaraldi: The roots of this one date back to Mark and Leah’s first Christmas together when we were newly dating. A Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack played (one of the best Christmas albums, ever) and for reasons we can’t recall, decided to drink bottles of old-fashioned, ice-cold IBC root beer. As Leah explained to Mark how the lights must be strung on the tree, he knew at that precise moment Leah would be his bride. Over the years we added warm snickerdoodle cookies to the mix – they are the perfect cookie match for the root beer. Our hope is that each Christmas as we decorate the tree, the kids will be reminded of the love, faith and fun that was the foundation of Casa Watson years ago in that little Santa Barbara family room.

Advent: This is a Watson tradition from Mark’s family that we are enjoying passing down to the next generation. On Sunday evenings we gather round the advent wreath, have a devotion time reading from the Bible, sing a carol or two, say prayers and light the candle for each week. It is amazing to watch the commercial Santa, presents, hype and such, fall away and see the kids glimpse the wonder of the spiritual dimension of Christmas. We found a great kid’s nativity set that lets them play and talk about the birth of Jesus together, as brother and sister (the favorite players seem to be the angel and the camel). Watching Ben and Clara earnestly sing “Away in a Manger” by candlelight and attempt the sign language gestures to the song, makes the world stop for a moment and renew our hope that peace is not impossible. Leah also crafted a little Advent countdown calendar with a different Christmas activity everyday. From making snowflakes and gingerbread houses, to spreading Christmas cheer, to fun outings around town, this is proving to be an excellent method for keeping our celebrating on track during a sometimes busy and burdened time of year.

Elf on the Shelf: Thanks to a great gift from the Bentley family last year, Maurice has joined our family. Maurice is one of Santa’s elves who throughout the Christmas season keeps a watch on “his” family and flies back to report to Santa each night whether things have been more naughty or nice. In the morning Maurice appears in a new location to scope out the days activities. Ben and Clara race around the house every morning to discover his new perch for the day. Whenever Clara finds him, she holds both hands to her face (Home Alone style) and says, “Maurice!” and looks beyond adorable in every way.

Here’s to a joyous, merry little Christmas season enjoying your special traditions.

Santa!

It is a minor Christmas miracle that both kids like Santa. Ben and Clara are fearful of big characters or what is known around our house as, "big, scary puppets." We had another great trip to see Santa at the local photography studio. They have figured out how to do it right- you have an appointment time just for you, Santa and Mrs. Claus greet the kids by name and after pictures you have warm cookies with Santa. What could be better?

We embarked on another St. Nick escapade this past weekend. “Pop-Pop” is in town visiting (Leah’s dad) and we all took a ride on the Santa Train at the NC Museum of Transportation. We took about a half hour ride with Santa and his elves on one of the beautiful old trains. The day was cold and wet…it added to the adventure, to bundle up and wait on the old train platform.

Each child received an orange and a peppermint stick. It is a long standing tradition that dates back to the Great Depression. Kids would line up along the tracks and the crew would toss to the children oranges and candy, for many it was the only Christmas gift they received. Whether our kids understood the meaning or not, they clung to those oranges as true treasures and were so excited to eat them when we returned home.

As much as the kids love Santa they have their limits.  When talking to Ben about leaving out cookies for Santa he said, "O.K., we can do that.  But you need to be sure to save some cookies for me."  Leah told him to check with daddy on that one.

Falling on Our Heads

It has turned cold and rainy. This change in weather is fun and new – raincoats, puddles, umbrellas, popcorn and a movie, playing outside and coming in for a warm bath. Soon, the persistent wet chill will make us stir crazy. So, we embrace the joys of this day, we splash and feel the raindrops on our face and say with enthusiasm…bring on the rain.

A Little Gobble Gobble

We live in North Carolina. At Thanksgiving this still means “Indians and Pilgrims” - we know it is no longer politically correct, but does remind us fondly of our childhood school days.

Ben turned our living room chair into the Mayflower and loaded up gear he would need for the long journey. At the church’s Children’s Morning Out program both Ben and Clara performed the Turkey Gobble dance (see the “gobble, gobble” action shots) and our personal favorite, “The Indians are coming, they don’t make a sound…” dance. Clara also managed to eat her weight in cake – and paid the price with an afternoon tummy ache.

For Thanksgiving Day we enjoyed a cozy and relaxed time as a family. We visited friends in the morning and then spent the afternoon playing “football” outside, making turkey crafts, watching the parade (many thanks for the fast forward wonders of Tivo), drooling over holiday toy ads and eating our feast – which for the kids meant rolls, sweet potato fries, peas and pie.

As the final leaves fall we are called once again to count our blessings, which we know are many. This season also brings our hearts to long for those we love so far away. We are a thankful bunch and we are thankful for you.

Fall Weekend

Last weekend was packed with fun - from family movie night, to a trip to the Hickory Museum of Art, to a jaunt to our favorite Science Center, to raking (and jumping in) the last big bunch of leaves, to ice cream penguins for dessert – simple, good stuff and some really cute kids (at least in our opinion!).