Year 2, Day 359: Christmas 2017

We did get to have a fairly good Christmas Eve.  It wasn't exactly as I imagined it.  The Charlie Brown Christmas wasn't free on Amazon, so we substituted a few clips of Charlie Brown characters in mini stories and an old 1948 cartoon about Rudolph and Dreamland that Amazon Prime had for free.  We also talked to my sister and nephew while we ate supper near the Christmas tree in front of the fire.  Then we all scattered to get ready for bed and to finish up chores and last minute preparations for Christmas Day.  All the while, we had to entertain Abishai and keep him from getting toys out or eating Santa's cookies.  We got Keturah and Abishai finally settled down and asleep so Justin could help put out the presents.  This year Santa dropped off presents to be wrapped early both to Grandma and Grandpa's and to our house, so Keturah and Justin have seen all the wrapped presents anyway.  I managed to keep some of them a surprise though by just handing them something already hidden in a box and telling them to wrap that box.  Now it's just up to Benaiah to go to bed so I can fill the stockings and put a barrier of some kind at the end of the hallway so little man won't go ripping open things.  Then it's bedtime.  Then the marathon begins on Christmas Day.

 Christmas went much smoother on my end than I had expected.  We did have some small skirmishes between children, like when Abishai bonked Justin over the head with the lid to a cookie tin, with full force which sent Justin into full blown tears.  But we all got up at a decent time,...scratch that,...Keturah said she woke up at 3:15 AM!  And then she got her stocking at 5:11 AM.  Then she knocked her gate over at 6:40 am and woke the rest of us up with the loud thud.  But we were up and moving, starting with stockings a little after 7pm. Some of us had some breakfast of eggnog and cranberry bread, as well as some oranges.  Jared started a fire for us as well and we were ready to start our gift giving time by 9 am.  That's a win!

 Abishai really understands the whole present concept this year and so he tore into stocking and almost tore open all the candy!  He kept asking for it throughout the day, too.  He was a little disappointed that he got a garbage truck and not an excavator.  He also got Cars 3 movie and some replacement books for a set of books he has almost destroyed because of heavy use.  Abishai was off the wall busy, so we couldn't read the Christmas story.  We prayed and moved on.

Benaiah was "Santa" this year and gave out all the gifts.  We've kept track of who has given out gifts and who receives the first gift from 2012 and on on a little yellow lined piece of paper and we've come full circle!  Benaiah received some body spray/shampoo/deodorant from Old Spice, an IOU for a fun activity or movie or video game, and some flavored water he likes.  I know, kind of lame, but that's how it is when you get older and your parents don't have the money to spend on fancy big boy toys.  Justin opened a Minecraft start-stop animation station that you use with an electronic device.  He really wanted a Lego set, but he didn't indicate that until much later in the asking cycle.  He and I received the Newsboys concert tickets I am so stoked for with some of the best seats in the house for that price!  And he got a certificate explaining we were erasing the rest of the debt he owes us for his new DS and game, etc.  That's an expensive debt forgiven/paid in full moment right there.

Keturah got the Supergirl 12 inch doll she wanted with the lockers and accessories, but I forgot it would need batteries!  So to Amazon I went, bought them, and sent them to Shauna's house because we will be there for a week.  Whoops!  She also got a matching shirt for herself and her 18 inch doll, Joanna, as well as PJ's, shoes, and a little bag for Joanna.  Keturah also got an IOU for some fun entertainment.  Jared received the same IOU (see a theme where we didn't fork over money this month for these things?), the board game "Clue," and underwear.  I finished out with a sign Jared made me for me that says, "You Are Loved," the concert ticket, and the Michael W. Smith preordered CD called "A Million Lights" that will be out in February.  AND he just annoucned a second full length live worship album coming out two weeks later than that!  And it's a preorder will be on Dec. 29th, so I plan to do that as well.

In fact, I'm sitting in a hotel right now in Cool Springs, TN (just south of Nashville), a mere 4 miles from Franklin, TN where Michael W. Smith and many, many, many other music artists live that I love!  And the new worship album was recorded at the Rocketown Club, which again is just a mere few miles away!  I haven't been through this area in years, probably since we went to Florida in Christmas 2011.  It's one of my favorite towns because of all the cool things that happens here.  Like the movie that my friend and I were extras in, which was filmed a couple of miles away.  It's called "The Second Chance" and guests stars Michael W. Smith of course.  Anyway, it excites me.  And yes, at one time he and others were my idols, and I still look up to them, although I have moved on to other idols (like education).

So, the morning moved at a nice comfortable speed, with time to play with the toys a bit while I started cleaning up and doing finally preparations for departure.  In fact, I was so well prepared (well, they all were!), that we were ready 30 minutes early!  So we had to wait on Grandpa to finish things up.  Then we could all our stuff in the van! Wow was it full!  The seats are a bit cramped because it's a 15 passenger van.  Think: Airplane seats but worse!  Ok, I managed to get my legs stretch a couple of different ways, but could not nap because it as SO COLD!  We had managed to block the rear heating panels with all our stuff!  It got a bit warmer after we moved our stuff out of the way, but I'm still "thawing" a couple of ours after getting to our hotel for the night.  We drove for a little over 5 hrs today and will have 7-8 hrs tomorrow.  We had snow yesterday, but the road were wide and clear today.  I could feel all the bumps in the back of the van though.  We all got snacks of some kind when we stopped, and I got a hot beverage to help with the thawing.  But Abishai napped well, and everyone else slept a little bit.  I call that a win.

Then we came to our hotel, had a picnic supper, and the kids headed to the pool with Grandpa and Daddy.  They didn't stay long.  Benaiah still has the flu and his head is pounding and his cough sounds very rough.  Nora has already had the flu, so we don't have to worry as much about it spreading.  And we are staying at the Mustard Seed guest house (used for the ministry's guests), so hopefully some of the germs can be contained.  Tonight, everyone has their electronics, showers have been had, and I think most of us are ready for an early bedtime.  I might sneak downstairs for a sugary treat.  I tried not to bring chocolate because it would melt, but now I want it badly.  It's probably super expensive.  I can wait.

And now I'm so sleepy and it's time to load them up and move them out.  The pictures I mean.  Here goes!

Watching cartoons from the late 1940's last night!

Last one!  The big Santa chocolate!

Jared bought some colorful fire things to add to the fair and it makes the heart glow different colors, lots of blues, greens, and purples!  We did it on Christmas Eve and Christma morning!

We FaceTimed with Auggie, who is now 7 years old and Auntie Stefanie!

Aw, even the movement and sound of the dog coming in and out of the room couldn't wake up Abishai. 

Simple and sweet Jared made for me!

All ready to go a-visiting!

My 'nack!

Always a hotel with a pool and free breakfast. Always!

They didn't last very long though, and I think Abishai might be sensitive to the chlorine because his cheeks are red and blotchy.

Gathering fireword this morning.  Redneck in his white t-shirt and no coat.  It was 17 degees F today befroe the windchill.

Rough housing the dog, who will miss us terribly, but has some awesome dog sitters!

Christmas Eve dinner! Ham, muenster cheese, spicy brown mustard, pickled herring, and rye bread! (as well as the GF free version as well.

Eating our snack in front of the Christmas tree.

"I'll watch the tv show," the teenager proclaimed.  Well, he played with his cube instead.  At least it wasn't the iPod!

Helping Daddy wrap last minute gifts on Christmas Day.

"It's my blue!" Keturah exclaimed!

Yule log.

Humble Christmas tree.

Leaving cookies and eggnog for Santa, and carrots for the reindeer.

Keturah's letter to Santa.

Santa's helper!

Santa eats the cookies (or puts them back) and drinks the eggnog (the teen helps with tht) and leaves a note!

Finally, stockings are hung with care.

"I know exactly what to do!" Rip!

Open it! And we got Abishai a plastic nose to go with the phrase we use on them all the time "Where's your nose?"

More presents?

Light 'em up!

Keturah's loot!  She was the most excited of all of us (she still believes in Santa) and she's super excited about going to NOLA.  She says "NOlA" but most don't know what that is.  It's short for New Orleans, Louisiana and I think it's a nickname they call themselves.  Or our family made it up 10 years ago when Aaron and Shauna moved there.  I don't know.

Daddy, look what I got! Candy!

Wake up, you two!

"My gun, Daddy!" No, it's Daddy's gun!

Benaiah's turn!  Barely any excitement in that face, but I commend him for waking up quickly so we could get on with the very full day.

Abishai kept swiping everyone's MM's!  It's a good thing I kept these 4 little jars because they made the perfect container for a few MM's in each of the kids' stockings.  Jared and I got tea and a little candy in our stockings.  Oh, and the kids at clementines, per Justin's request.

Benaiah asked for 99% chocolate.  He thoroughly enjoyed it!  He shared some with Justin who didn't realize it wouldn't taste at all like the weak Hershey's milk chocolate.  I've been craving that kind of chocolate but I typically avoid it because of the dairy.  The deeper/darker the chocolate, the less chance it has dairy in it.  I bought it on Amazon and no it didn't melt because it was plenty cold outside the last couple of weeks.

All are ready and waiting.

We always unwrap Baby Jesus first and Abishai, thanks to the great job that Mrs. Joanna does in the nurseries, knew exactly what he was.

"Ah, Abishai's feet are SO COLD it hurts!" - Benaiah

Abishai barely needed any help this year.  FYI, we always wrap all 3 gifts in the same wrapping paper for each person.  Yes, I like to keep it themed.  So, Abishai got snowmen on his paper!  We also had a lot of paper to choose from because we got a ton of rolls after Christmas last year.

Books!  And then he already pulled out one of the tabs on one before we could blink.  Maybe they aren't meant for younger children.  Oh well, it's better than the set we have now.

"Bob" aka Jared - "Yup, Christmas."

IOU for a fun activity - like a date night/movie night with Melinda!

I've been saving this American Girl shirt - one for her and one for her doll - for 3 months!  It came in the big lot of clothes I bought for her back in the fall.  I grabbed them out of the bag before she had the chance to rifle through it.  She was super happy about it and wore it all day!

Benaiaha, aka Santa, with his IOU for a fun activity.

"Justin, open up your toy so I can play with it!"  The figures are about the same size of Lego minifigures so Justin gave Abishai his other Lego minifigures and he wasn't having it.  Christmas mornings with toddlers, yeah!

Hm, what's this?  Cars 3 on DVD!

Benaiah asked for this "Hint" water aka, yes, it's non carbonated water with a hint of flavor.  Yes, we know we could make our own flavored water.  But hey, it's consumable and won't permanently take up space in my house.  And we'll recycle the bottles.  Win!

Keturah dressing Joanna in her new clothes!

We've used this box for several years with these colored foam pieces in it.  I think Abishai thought they were the toy, lol.  Justin's "forgiveness of debt" came in the box.

One of Jared's favorite movies from his teen years is "Clue."  I'm not sure if he likes playing the board game but I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!  And now my kids are old enough to play it, so I can't wait to hook them on it!

I gave Justin the camera so I could have at least one picture of myself opening gifts.  So, here it is!  Nice shot, Justin!

A little fuzzy, but simple and sweet.  And it's about Jared loving me (not just God).  Great scriptures to go with it.  Sweet!

Too old for cheap toys, it's now time to switch over to cheap smell good stuff.  Then he proceeded to take a shower and douse himself in the bodyspray.  Wow! I don't mind it, but Grandma will.

Abishai kept saying, "Excavator? Dump truck?" And then he opened it and it was a garbage truck.  *facepalm* I had it in my mind to get the garbage truck for like two months and didn't think about his other favorites.  And if he doesn't get them from Grandpa and Grandma, then his birthday is in two months and I'll get them then.  We do have a large dump truck already.  I got this brand, not because it's ultra safe or made from recycled whatever, but because it was simple and had less moving parts that could break.  He was already zipping around the house with it, just like he does with his bus, before he left, and he brought it with him on vacation.  I think he's over his disappointment.

Happy girl.

Facepalm again for Mommy who didn't have the right batteries, but she's old enough to understand and be patient.  She fiddled with it all day today on the way to TN.  It's Supergirl, during her high school years, from a cartoon version.  The show is ok, and they include the "evil" characters like Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn, which are the two Keturah really wants.  They portray the characters as naughty but not pure evil, like lost children, more than pure enemies.  Anyway, Keturah really wanted the lockers set and my favorite, Wonder Woman was pretty expensive just for the doll.  Yeah for Supergirl!

Justin opened his "big" gift of the Newsboys concert tickets after his head got bonked by Abishai, so he was out of sorts.  I didn't get the reaction I was expecting, but I'm sure once Justin internalizes it, he will be super excited.  I'm taking him and not Benaiah because Justin latched onto one of the past band members that are coming back for this tour, Phil Joel, and he loves the older Newsboys music.  I have always planned to take the kids to concerts like my mother did for me, even if it's music I'm not a big fan of or know nothing about.  Benaiah was helping Justin read the papers because Justin was not processing quick enough to Benaiah's liking.

See, he's already filling his garbage truck with cars.  Yeah!

Cool fire for Christmas!

And while Mom hustles about, the boys hit the electronics!  I didn't feel overwhelmed, and they did help when asked.  I don't usually have many tasks they can help with anyway. 

A white Christmas!  Yeah!!  First time in 7 years Gary said to one of his brothers on the phone today.

Yes, this is what we call a white Christmas.  The ground has some coverage.  It will be gone in a day or two perhaps.  And it won't accumulate with other snows.

"I touch my snow!" He wanted to out but I didn't have time to do that with him.  Then he put his own boots on, without socks, on the wrong feet, because he wanted to take his bus outside to play with in the snow.  The snow does make it messier though because when it melts, there's a ton of mud.  At least on PEI, it was wet when it melted, but we didn't have mud until late spring.

Can you tell where the dog went?

15 passenger van we rented!  It's even harder to her the people up front!  But we have some space between us.  Still feels cramped, but what can you do?  Nothing, except stop having so many babies, right?  Lol.  And rent bigger vehicles for longer trips (or take two vehicles).

The last row of 4 seats held all the stuff that 8 people need plus presents.  Full to the brim!  And there's no room behind the seats because they butt up against the back doors.

Everyone except Jared took a nap.  Benaiah said I did, and I might have a for a few minutes because at one point I lost track of time, but I don't sleep well in the car.

Two of the rows were split up in 2 seats on one side and 1 seat on the other side.  I got a one seat.

Louisville, KY!  Going over the Ohio R.!  The kids couldn't care any less.  I don't travel this route as often as a lot of people I know, so it always excites me to recognize places I've been.

Especially the "Bruce Wayne" tower in Nashville, TN, as I call it.  It reminds me of Batman's pointy ears on his mask.  I have a handful of memories from downtown Nashville from that movie shoot weekend.  That's it.  Jared and I went to a conference down there, but it was at one of the Gaylord resorts.  That's about it.  And I have only a handful of memories for Lousiville as well, from the one time we were there when Justin was under 2 years old when Aaron and Shauna lived there during their first year of marriage.  We went to the Louisville Slugger Museum, a science/history museum, and then Jared and I went to Churchill Downs and yes I had a mint Julep and I would drink that again!  I've been to the Ketucky Horse Park in Lexington a couple of times, once with my mom.  Remember, I was going to be a large animal veterinary, work with horses, and I even applied to the University of Kentucky.  Plus, there's hills and mountains in KY (and TN).  But not enough snow.