Time Lapse

Time passes quickly between postings.....last one was celebrating Halloween and now Thanksgiving has come and gone and Christmas is full speed ahead!
We stayed home for Thanksgiving and Steven, Whitney and Audrey joined us for dinner. Audrey is Whitney's baby and so therefore has become my Granddaughter. She is 19 months old and quite a character. I spent most of the day in the kitchen, as it should be on Thanksgiving and just enjoyed a change in the daily routine. I chose to work on Black Friday as I cannot imagine anything I want bad enough to fight the crowds at 5am for. There were not many in our building and we spent part of the day decorating for Christmas. John brought Luke and Lily over to help decorate the tree. It was one of those work days that felt more like a holiday. On Saturday of that weekend we took Audrey for the day and on into Sunday. I forgot what it was like to have a baby in the house. She tried her very best to keep up with her 5 year old Aunt and Uncle. She refused to take a real nap, instead choosing to cat nap on the way home from the zoo. After dinner Audrey and Lily took a bath together and then I got Audrey all warm in her polar fleece onsie and then I rocked her and sang "Silent Night" and she was out like a light! This trick always worked on Lily at that age as well. I put her down in Lily's futon bed and she slept from 7pm-5:30am. At that point we snuggled for awhile while she woke up. There were three in the bed that night, a double bed: Lily, Audrey and me. I did not get much sleep just because I was so worried that Audrey would get squished! She came to church with me and the kids and stayed in the nursery and did just fine. We took her out to Steven's afterwards and she did not want to leave the comfort of Grandma's arms! So sweet. Now of course I'm building up a supply of baby clothes and necessities for the next visit.
Last weekend we made a trip down to Branson to ride the "Polar Express". It is a full sized train used in the summer as the "scenic railway" but for his adventure it was decorated for a trip to the North Pole. The kids wore their pjs, just like in the movie. We were served cookies and hot chocolate while we made the trip. Once we reached the North Pole we could look out and see elves doing cartwheels and hand springs and then we spied Santa! He climbed abroad the train and traveled back with us, visiting each child, signing their books, listening to their hearts desire, and presenting them with an official bell off his sleigh. The kids loved it. The weather was cold and nasty and really felt like Winter.
In the weeks ahead we have a school musical performance and then a children's Christmas performance at church. Luke and Lily are going to be angels in the play, "The Littlest Angel". No speaking part, they just have to look angelic and act angelic. The first part is easy, the second.....well....Luke is going to be dressed all in white in his martial arts outfit complete with a gold belt and halo while Lily will be all white in her former flower girl dress with sparkles on her face. It is a fun time of the year.

John picked up an "Elf on the Shelf" from the bookstore the other day and we have been having a good time with it. The concept is this little elf who you must name in order for his magic to work. He then sits all day and listens to what goes on. At night he flies to the North Pole to give Santa a behavior report. The next morning he is in a different location and the kids have to find him. The debate of course has been on whether he is real or not. Surprisingly it is Luke who insists that the elf is plastic and not real, while Lily seems to be a true believer and is kind of creeped out over the idea of a live elf sitting there just staring at her. Yesterday when the elf was found in a new location on the top of a picture frame Luke immediately asked who had moved him there. I told him that spot was chosen by the elf, "Elmo-Romeo" (the name the kids compromised on) and he scrunched up his face and said "really Mama? are you just kidding?" I told him that I did not move him so it must be true. I have not noticed an improvement in behavior though, Luke mooned the elf the first day he was in the house. Hummmm....maybe Santa should not deliver this year, or at least attach a warning letter for next year. I'll have to see how that all plays out.