Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus

Oh. My. Word.

Where oh where has the time gotten to? What a sneaky speedy month December has turned out to be thus far! And such irony for we blogging Mamas ~ SO MUCH material for posts and absolutely NO TIME to share it all! Rest assured that our family has relished these past few weeks of merriment and filled our days handily with gingerbread baking, tree trimming, parties & outings ~ we even squeezed in a birthday party for our lovely niece who celebrated her Sweet Sixteen!

Evenings of blogging however have given way to frantic wrapping, last minute dashes to the stores, various events & celebrations and a sprinkling of sickness dust too ~ achoo! I had hoped to journal(share) this all, as its especially magical having Tyler home with us this year to share in our traditions and joy! But time slipped away......

Life with 2 dumplings & a somewhat hectic household means flexibility, right? :) SO my new intention is to share a quick silly story or two and a Christmas greeting (above) AND put together a small video of our December happenings next week! Surely the advent of the New Year will bring balance....right? :)

So.....

Are you wondering about the title of this post? LOL Well, a few years ago our precocious girl sprang this MONSTER question on me while we deposited our gifts in the Toys 4 Tots bin.

Lauren: Mama, why are we giving these toys again?

Me: (distractedly) Oh honey, you remember ~ for the kiddos who otherwise wouldn't have gifts at Christmastime.

Lauren: But Mama, doesn't Santa bring presents FOR ALL the good boys & girls?

Me: Ummmmm............ (yes folks, quite the wordsmith under pressure) LOL

Lauren: Mama?

Me: Well, of course Santa brings presents for all the children but his sleigh is only so big and can only bring so many to each child. Remember that you receive extra presents from Mama & Daddy, Lexi, Aunt Beth & the Grandmas & Grandpas......some families are not as fortunate and cannot afford to give extras.

Lauren: O.K.

Yes, she was 4 years old when we discussed that.

THIS year, at age 7 & in First Grade she came home and asked me point blank if Santa was real.
Wha??????????
Wha??????????

NO WAY should the magic be under fire at this tender age!! How? Why? Uh huh.......seems Wyatt ( classmate) has an older brother who is a fountain of knowledge. I told Lauren to run like the wind(away from Wyatt) if words like "the birds & the bees" or "Tooth Fairy" ever pass Wyatt's lips. (grin)

SO I said, "well honey, what do you think?" (Hey, it always works on T.V. ~ reverse psychology and all......)

Lauren: I don't know ~ what do you think? ( drat, she's smarter than me!)

Me: I believe in the spirit of Christmas & Santa. ( I can't lie to her face BUT I DO believe in the spirit of Christmas)

Lauren: O.K. I believe too. Mom?

Me: ( smugly thinking I have dodged a bullet) Hmmmmm?

Lauren: What about the Easter Bunny?

Me: (silently cursing Wyatt's older brother) :)

AND FINALLY ~

2 Fridays ago we attended movie night at Lauren's school. It was a wonderful evening and the kids were encouraged to wear jammies, bring snacks, blankets, etc. and enjoy classic Christmas flicks with their families and friends. Santa was scheduled to make an appearance ~ Ho~ Ho~Ho!

Our family pulled into the lot about 15 minutes before the event. We parked and were gathering up blankets & such when Lauren hollers this out:

Lauren: OH. MY. LANDS. Look, Santa drives a Dodge Ram!

Yes, we had pulled up right next to Santa's Helper himself and were all privy to him parking, leaping out of his pick-up and yes folks, adjusting himself right in front of our family roadster. LOL Thankfully only we adults saw the latter. Ha! Ha~ Ho! ;)


Well, at least he didn't spit. Heh, heh,he........