It was not my intention to have my cancer update be the only post last week...not much of a Christmas feeling there...sorry about that. The week was way harder than anticipated, but thanks to a real-life super hero daddy and some local grandparent support, the show went on!
December 14
Shaun's family has a long-standing Christmas cookie tradition and this year Shaun's mom involved the "sweet spot" grands. You have to catch them after they are old enough to be at least a tiny bit helpful but before they are too old and cool to spend the day baking and decorating....this year, four of eight made it. :)
I was thankful for the pictures she sent me of the day and the rest of the family was thankful for the cookies she sent. ;)
While Shaun and I were sitting with the chemo, these happy pictures got sent over. Aiden was clearly missing us sorely.
I didn't really leave bed this day, but the girls came for a little visit. Screen time is a big treat around here for the kids, so I'm ok with them associating mom's chemo treatments with a little time on the laptop.
Shaun went to pick up the girls after knitting club but only Avery came in the house when they returned. Amanda and this neighbor cat spent some time bonding and she came in declaring she really wants a cat and can we please keep him. Not a chance, but I love her heart.
I didn't get to go to their Christmas evening at school, but I'm thankful I was able to be up to do their hair and snap a picture. Avery did a reading from Luke and both girls sang with their classes.
When my mom brought them home (Shaun ducked out early to play ball) she reported they did great and also there was no mention of Santa or Rudolph. Love that!
Shaun took the three littles to a community Christmas party. It was their first personal encounter with Santa. They filled in a letter to him about whether they'd been naughty or nice and what they would like and there was a special mailbox to deposit the letters into. Then they sat on his lap.
The girls played along, and Aiden did too, except Shaun said there was just this little piece of him that was thinking, just in case there is anything to this Santa-guy, I'm going to send the letter in the right slot and make my wishes known. Hopefully it doesn't reinforce Santa's existence, but he is indeed going to receive a remote control car for Christmas this year. :)
Just this week I had the what-do-you-do-about-Santa conversation with a couple friends and then read this post, which pretty well sums up how we've done it around here, I would just add that we place a huge importance on truth here. We need our kids to be able to trust us when we say something...for the big and the little things in life.
However, we didn't do as good as we should have about telling our kids its a secret. Amanda spilled the beans to her first-grade class, prompting a phone call home to us and a letter to all the parents of the class. Live and learn. :)
We celebrated Christmas with Shaun's side of the family and had a lovely day of being together. I'll post more from the day later but one of my favorite parts of the whole event was watching this little guy from across the room. He's just so happy and bright and personable....always ready with a huge grin as he delights in what's going on around him.
We did not "do" santa either with our kids..though we taught them about Saint Nicholas and where the tradition came from. I had a great book we read each year called "Santa are you for real?" My kids still loved seeing "santa" around town and in the mall but knew he was just a fun part of Christmas.
ReplyDeleteI do remember one time at Walmart after Christmas the lady checking us out looked at Alyssa, then 3, and said "what did Santa bring you for Christmas?" she responded "nothing". the look the lady gave me was a cross between shocked and condemning. :)
We did not do Santa either. My sister in law got a letter from the kindergarten teacher this week. Jake announced to his class that santa is a joke. Oh nice.....
ReplyDeleteHave a very blessed CHRISTmas with your family!
We did Santa, until I found our "Santa" gifts in mom & dad's closet. But I wasn't upset because I knew that my mom was more generous than any Santa could be. But then I told my younger cousin and her heart was BROKEN because surely her parents would never LIE to her! So you ladies have done things correctly for sure!
ReplyDeleteLove that last picture - such a cutie-pie!