A Christmas celebration

Meet Micah Man and the Jake-a-nator

opening stockings at our Christmas in AR

Jacob learns to ride his first bike!

Micah checks out his scooter with light-up wheels

"I'm not too sure about these tea blossoms, Grammy."

"Ok, now I think they're cool."

Catching snowflakes

You can take the boy out of AR...

A gift from Santa

Christmas morning!

Grammy steals some sugar

Aunt Helen explains the wonders of the fireplace.

The DE crowd visits!

Pop Pop and Micah draft a design at the DE children's museum

Jacob works on a vehicle

Shauna and Matthew - the cute engaged couple!

The boys watch their cookies for Santa baking on Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas to all!

As you might have guessed, these photos are a bit out of order, but that's ok :-)

I never thought I'd say this, but there is a silver lining from last Christmas, when we missed our flight and had to drive to WI and all of that. It's helped us be more flexible with our holiday plans and expectations, and that's priceless when it comes to surviving and enjoying holidays with kids! Yes, some of us got sick during the break. Yes, some of us might have had a teeny-tiny meltdown on the plane (I'm looking at you, Jacob). No, we did not get snow to play in. No, all of the holiday get-togethers that had been planned did not all happen. But some of them did. And we were all healthy for the plane ride home. And we all maintained our sanity while doing that. What's more, there were lots of moments when we enjoyed each other, had a great time with the family and friends we did get to see, and made happy memories. To the best of my ability, I tried to take a note from Dan's book and live more in the moment last week, which is pretty difficult for a planner like myself. Instead of focusing on what we didn't get to do, I just tried to enjoy things as they came.  I found that overall, the week was more enjoyable. Life is peppered with ups and downs. It's hard when your in the down times, but it sure makes the whole meal taste better in the end because you appreciate those ups all the more. Knowing that the downs will pass, as the ups do, makes them bearable. And you have to love the present-ness of kids. Micah had patiently waited all week for snow to fall. One afternoon, we got a small flurry, which prompted an immediate trip outside in hat and coat to "play" in it. As I looked on, silently disappointed for his sake that there wasn't more to the snowfall, Micah said, "You know what? I had a wish and it came true. I wished for snow." A huge smile was on his face.

Whenever people sing that Christmas song about the "bleak mid-winter", I always think about January. December has Christmas with all of its expectation and excitement, but January is about returning to "normal"--taking down the lights, returning to work, and for us, saying goodbye to people we love. I have to admit, it's a little depressing to come back to our house at the end of it all. But instead of dwelling on the fact that it may be a long while before we see our family again, I resolve to appreciate the moments as they come: little boys who are excited about flurries, a beautiful new wreath to hang on our front door, the hope of seeing Christ, not just some day in glory, but in a new way every day. I wish you all a flavor-full new year.