Coming Out of the (Christmas) Closet

I'm ready to come right out with it and admit that I love Christmas. My husband will be shocked, embarrassed, and saddened at this admission but I can't hide it anymore. It's just fun. Eli is singing Advent songs (in German) constantly and listens to the Psalty's Christmas tape several times each day (okay, that one I don't love). Mary often points to the star at the top of our tree ("stah!, stah!") and I've caught both of them playing with the ornaments and snow globe (I need to find a nativity set they can play with - let me know if you have ideas). It started early for us with St. Nicolas Day - the kids got smaller gifts...

Throughout December my favorites are reading the Christmas stories, special candles, giving gifts to our friends and neighbors, and of course watching the kids open presents. We did BIG Christmas for the kids early as we leave tomorrow morning for the States. Adopting the European tradition of wooden toys, Eli received two big trucks (dump truck and auto transporter with 2 wooden cars) and Mary has her kitchen (with pots, cooking utensils, tea set). They love them and we've had hours of fun playing since opening them last Saturday.

I always feel especially blessed this time of year remembering what an incredible gift Jesus was and is to us and how much of a blessing it is to give to others and share the real story of Christmas. Merry Christmas to all of you and God Bless!

Surviving (December) to Tell the Tale

Advent is a strange time of year here in Germany. Celebrated to a greater degree then Christmas and completely secular, it is primarily characterized by candles, singing about St. Nicolas, and Stollen (like fruit cake, but tastes good). The absolute must for every household, indeed for every person in that household, is an Advent Calendar with 24 little doors (for each day of December before Christmas Day) containing chocolate or toys or pictures of naked people. Yes. You read that correctly. Advent Calendars come in every variety, none of them remotely related to the story of Christ. Eli was given a HotWheels version by our neighbor. Not surprisingly, he likes it.

December 6 is, of course, Saint Nicolas Day, when children put a boot or shoe outside the door the evening before and find a small toy, chocolate, oranges, and nuts inside in the morning. Plus many parties with appearances by Santa and more of the same (I have a LOT of oranges and cheap chocolate bars in residence at this time). Last weekend was overwhelming with a soccer celebration (Eli did get a cool bag with his initials monogrammed on it), tumbling class party, and a birthday party at our neighbors house... which brings me to my next point.

Mothers really should trust their instincts when it comes to 'gut feelings' about their children getting sick, even before the evidence is in. We were invited to our neighbors' birthday party. This is a big deal. Birthdays are very important days to adults in Germany and to be invited to a party means you are finally IN, accepted and all that. Just before walking over, Eli seemed a bit unwell and I wondered.... So we are there for 5 minutes and just about to partake of a spread of food better than a cruise line buffet when Eli sits down on the floor and throws up. Everywhere. How very, very awkward. Despite being a no-child couple, they are child-lovers and were gracious while I apologized profusely. Kevin carried him home, I cleaned up and nobody got to eat.

We survived a crush of people at the Stuttgart Christmas Market last Sunday and sent Eli to school on Monday. This was not wise. Tuesday at 4am he began barking (coughing) like a seal between crying fits. Sigh. So he was home for two days and I desperately tried to keep him busy. I hope we can make it through these current school-spread bugs before we fly.

What else happened last week? Oh yes. Mary got a shot and our much-loved doctor said she's leaving the practice. Eli put my razor in his mouth to see 'what would happen' (we have discovered that it causes the tongue to bleed painfully) and he knocked over some candles with burning hot wax onto the table. Another party in the freezing cold for the toddlers with Saint Nicolas on a horse (Mary was the only child not afraid of him). Finally, Thursday, I continued the fun by deciding to make shaped sugar cookies with the kids. The kitchen looked like a war zone and my heart rate has still not returned to normal. I believe the kids had fun cutting shapes but it was hard to tell with all the flour, sugar, fighting for cookie cutters and dough real-estate, shoving to get bite-sized doughy snacks, and general chaos. No, I did not remember to take pictures. But I did when we decorated on Friday.

And December isn't even half done yet.

Put Away the T-shirts

Eli has learned that God sometimes answers prayer in his favor. He asked for snow. It came. This is more surprising than usual since none came last year. A few Saturdays back the kids are jumping on us in our bed (at what age can parents bar the children from invading their room?) and we suggested that Eli look out the window. It is 8:00am. SNOWWWWWW!!!!!!!!! A cacophony of excited yelling, quick dressing, and loud breakfast immediately followed. We were fully geared and outside by 9:00am. And we were the only people outside. Our children made the first boot-prints on the nearby soccer field, several snow angels, and threw snow balls. We had no plans that day and it was our best family day in a long, long time. We played for an hour, drank hot chocolate, decorated the house for Christmas, and found a tree that afternoon. The kids were in heaven. It was great.