This week we are busy with class parties, wrapping presents and finishing a little bit of shopping. And we are missing Brian. For a second week in a row he’s gone all week traveling. Here’s his schedule for this week: Minneapolis to Geneva to London to Paris to Zurich… to Chicago. He’ll be due for a rest and it will be nice to have him all to ourselves in the next couple weeks.
Because it’s not Christmas until I’ve documented my decorations. And because we finally had some sun shining in the windows today. Here are the things that are making our house feel festive this year.
The girls and I made lots of glittery mini houses. There will be glitter hiding in our banquette cushions and nooks and crannies in the kitchen for a long time.
I love red dotty mushrooms!
A sleigh full of gifts bound for Michigan.
Who’s been eating all the gumdrops?
Surrounded by things we’ve made and special things I’ve collected – I’m in the mood to light candles and quietly enjoy the season.
Of course as I write this the girls are having a huge fight over who gets to lay down on the couch. Oh joy.
I hope my girls keep on enjoying our yearly visit to the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Wonderland Express for a very long time. It’s a sweet holiday outing for us.
They fill a big room with eight model trains running all around miniature famous Chicago buildings. Plus all the plants that make the scenes are amazingly beautiful. The guys that run the trains are really charming – they’re so eager to connect with kids and make it fun for them. They wear striped engineer hats and hand out scavenger hunts. I love the smell of all the fresh evergreens and the lighting makes it so magical. We took Bea’s best buddy, Mabel, and all three girls agreed that their favorite part was the fake snow that falls.
We went in when it was light and when we came out it was getting dark – so we got to see more beautiful light filled trees on our walk back to the visitor center.
I didn’t buy one of those advent calendars with little chocolates behind the doors this year. Instead I found an idea for a different kind of countdown to Christmas. Everyday santa gets a little haircut – until Christmas Day when he will have almost no beard at all.
Here’s santa after just one haircut. We’ve since filled the numbered days with lots of fun holiday stuff that the girls can look forward to. Things like a trip to the ice rink, the last day of school before Christmas, gingerbread house making and a visit to the Christmas Train.
Just a sampling of my favorite drawings from my two little artists:
My girls got to decorate two Christmas trees in two days. We helped mom decorate her tree after we celebrated Thanksgiving on Saturday. The girls were asking all day if it was time to decorate grandma’s tree yet. So much of this time of year is all about anticipation. When mom broke out her boxes of ornaments the girls could hardly contain themselves. Claire is especially fun to watch – she lights up when each ornament comes out of it’s box.
I find taking pictures at this time of year really challenging and frustrating – here are the not so stellar shots that I got.
We got back home on Sunday and surprised the girls with a tree. I went to a nursery that is very close to our house and expected to pay a bit more than I wanted to. BUT… I had a huge happy surprise when I got there. They had natural trees! Brian could tell you all about my excesive Christmas tree ranting. Every year he has to hear me go on and on about my disapointment with conventional Christmas trees. I want a tree that is shaped like a tree! Not one that is shaped like a solid perfect triangle. So when I found a natural tree section I was elated. As I walked among the natural trees I heard a woman say “oh look, Charlie Brown trees”. To me they are not Charlie Brown trees they are real beautiful trees – nature does not need to be improved by pruning.
OK – enough tree preaching. I’ll just say that I had a huge smile on my face when I came back with our tree and we had a nice evening decorating it. Here are a couple more low quality photos:
I’m thankful for warm hugs greeting me at the door, recipes that come out once a year, bustling around a warm kitchen before the big meal, sweet cousins, waking up to the smell of baking pie, holding hands with great grandma and the Rockettes.
There is a lot of not getting along around here lately. So when there are moments like this – moments of giggling and peaceful playing I have to enjoy it.
That’s the puppet show curtain that Jennifer made for the girls. It gets used and loved now and then.
Laowai 