May The Spirit of Christmas.........

bring you peace,
the gladness of Christmas give you hope,
the warmth of Christmas grant you love.

May you always find a smile tucked beneath the tree and a friendly shoulder to lean on,

May childlike innocence & the wonders all around rest in your heart, not just on December 25th, but each day of the year,

May light & peace guide your days,

May the wonders of Christmas never fade, nor its magic cease to amaze,

"It matters not how tall your Christmas tree is ~ to every child it will seem to be 30 feet high,"

May a warm embrace take you by surprise,

May you always make room in your heart for old friends & new,

May you always remember that the best gift around any Christmas tree
is the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.

~ Burton Hills

Wishing you all a merry, joyous and blessed Christmas Season, from our little slice of the blogosphere to yours. See you all in 2011!!!! :)

As long as we know in our hearts what Christmas ought to be,

Christmas is.

XOXO

The Big Man in Red.........Himself

A few weekends back we awoke to a Saturday that had no immediate obligations OR in other words an occurrence so rare that it isn't even recognized in most dictionaries or encyclopedias. The kind of day you dare not whisper aloud lest you find yourself suddenly earnestly scrubbing those neglected floors, cleaning out the closet of no return or worse, your oldest child answers the ever persistent knocking door *ringing doorbell* to admit one or more (ready to play!) kiddos from "the hood".

So we did what any other rational and sane 'parentals' do, thrust the children into a semblance of Christmas finery, loaded the knapsack :) with fundamentals ( mostly kid stuff and my Carmax), squeezed toddler boy chariot into rear of mini van and dashed to the mall in search of bargains and the Big Guy Himself. Oh, knocked back a few Diet Cokes too........I mean I'm not Wonder Woman ya know! :)~

Oooh...rubbing hands together with glee here because you see it worked out splendidly ~ low crowds ( it was still November after all and all Pre Black Friday), no wait for Santa and Daddy was in tow to distract said munchkins while Mama shopped. Oh sweet bliss!!

But I digress. (Shopping I say.....shopping!!) This year's trip to Santa was marked by one very unique experience in that it was our first successful trip to Santa, EVER! For you see each previous year, usually with just our best girl, we would gussy up, stand in what felt like the line from....well, "Foreversville" only to witness her change of heart as her turn neared. Year after year...........2 years in a row we even took the train ride with Santa and pictures we got, but mostly of Me standing by Santa and Lauren in my arms as far over from Santa as humanly possible in the narrow aisle of a train car.

Last year, emboldened by her gaggle of girlfriends, she did finally sit on Santa's lap at a school function (pretty cute stuff too!) but of course our Little Man would only peer out from the safety of my shoulder.

So really? We had no illusions about this year. None. But a funny and wonderful notion kept coming up, prompted by ( of all people) Tyler. HE really really wanted to see Santa and his Big Sis gamely agreed, cause honestly she can't really say no to him anyways. (Unless he's touching her beloved Squinkees or D.S game). Could you look into those dimples and begrudge him?

So we packed the family sleigh and sailed (over the river & through the woods!) to the mall. Delighted we were to find NO LINE for Santa and by golly Tyler marched right up (first) and waited patiently to be lifted high, all the while smiling with glee at the bearded one. No fear ~ no hesitation! Lauren followed and once settled BOTH kids posed for a photo.........at the same time! Looking (at the camera) I mean. Both kids!! :)

And when asked what they would like, Lauren responded with a go-cart ( I know) or a kitten. ( yeah, I know) And Tyler? Who had waited weeks for this moment, blurted out..............

Strawberries!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yup. Strawberries.

And Santa? Bless his heart, he chortled ( oh yes, he really did ) cocked an eyebrow and said that while that was a first for him, he thought he could manage it and maybe tuck in a surprise or two also. LOVE Santa!

Turns out? Tyler wants strawberry gum and he's still chattering up a storm about his 2 visits to "Santa Claussen".

Ho! Ho! Ho! Here's hoping a bit of strawberry gum finds its way into every stocking this year!!! And maybe a go-cart??? *gulp*

And the extra cutie in this photo? Mimi K. couldn't resist a Santa photo over Thanksgiving weekend with cousin Alyssa and Tyler once again requested strawberries....but this time he added the gum part. ;) Plus do you spy Lauren's boots? She calls them her "fashion heels" and its nothing short of a Christmas miracle that she is able to walk in them and stay upright! And ladies she can run like the wind in them.........I've seen her!!! :0