Burl Ives

Last Monday was Biz's very first SNOW DAY!  And we were doubly blessed because Dada got a snow day, too!  So, no school and no work. Hmm..what should we do?  No worries, we had no trouble finding ways to occupy ourselves.

Of course, the boys wanted to head out and play in the snow first thing.  Biz woke me up fully dressed and ready to go.  I told him he had to at least hold off until after breakfast.  Neither Eric nor I particularly enjoy being out in the snow and cold, but we knew that the boys would only need about thirty minutes and then they would have it out of their system for the day.  So, we suited them up and off they went.

Biz  couldn't wait to have a snow ball fight and make a snow man.  Seth just wanted to run around screaming in the snow.  The snow's consistency was not very cooperative with Biz's ideas to form snow balls or men, but we did the best with what we had.  We are definitely not professional snow man builders, but I thought we did a pretty good job with some pretty unpackable snow.  After our masterpiece was finished, complete with a carrot nose and grass hair (compliments of Seth),  Eric asked what we should name our newly made friend.  From the depths of his incredibly imaginable brain, Biz spouted off, "Burl Ives."  I have no idea where that came from or if Biz even knew who in the world he was.  My only guess is that after listening to weeks and weeks of Christmas music in the car and at home, you start to pick up on some of the classic singers.  Whatever the reason, that is what came out of his mouth and that is what our snow man was named.

He was a good snowman and hung around for a few days.  Each morning, Biz and Seth would run to the window and look for him.  "Yep, Burl Ives is still here," they would say.  It was a sad day when he melted away, but his memory lives on...in our hearts.

Here's to you, Burl!

Eager Anticipation

I caught this little one peeking in on Baby Jesus today. 

Seth is so excited that it is his year to pull out Baby Jesus to complete our nativity on Christmas Eve.  Every morning he asks me, "Is it Christmas yet?"

It has been such a blessing to share the story of Jesus' birth with the boys through our Advent calendar and tradition again this year.  The boys take turns pulling out a piece of the nativity each day, along with a scripture verse from the birth stories of Jesus in Luke and Matthew. We then add our newest scripture to the story and reread it each day. On Christmas Eve, each verse of the story will have been revealed, pieced together and the nativity complete.  Then the celebrating can begin! Our prayer is that it will keep the focus on what this time of year is truly about...anticipating the coming of our Lord and Savior.  May the Word of God be planted, so it will abide in their (and ours) little hearts always.

They have both really enjoyed it this year and it is extra special now that Caleb can read our scripture verse for the day to add to the birth story.  It is definitely my favorite Christmas tradition and it appears to be the boys', too.  They look forward to it every day.

Cutest Reindeer EVER!

Seth's very first school program was last week and we learned something about our buddy...he is not quite as shy in front of a crowd as we thought he would be.  He is actually quite the performer! 

I learn more and more about my boys each day and just when I think I have them figured out, they throw me for a loop.  They definitely keep me on my toes. 

Caleb has always had a bold personality and Seth has always been a bit more reserved.  Not that I would call Seth "quiet" by any means, but he has never had to be the center of attention.  However, when it comes to performing in front of a big audience, Caleb, who has absolutely no qualms about being the center of attention, doesn't often seek out that experience (unless it is immediate family or close friends).  With his personality, you would think that he would have been born to perform and the bigger the crowd the better.  Actually, it has just been in this last year that Caleb has seemed comfortable "on stage."  Seth, on the other hand, was not the least bit nervous about his debut.  And he sang his little heart out.  I was surprised.  There was no hint of reservation and he could not wait for the show to begin.  He was ready to perform and that he did. 

It was a cute program and the kiddos all did such a great job.  I think Seth's favorite part of the performance was singing, "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer."  He has even randomly broken into its rendition while we have been out in other public places recently...And loudly, I might add.

He also did a great job singing and playing, "The Little Drummer Boy." 

He took his drumming VERY seriously!

And REALLY got into it.

We were very proud of our sweet little drumming reindeer!

Birthday Surprise!

With much help from Tante, the boys had an extra special birthday surprise for me this year.  Since Eric had to work the night of my birthday, Tante invited the boys and I over for the evening.  She and the boys had been having secret phone calls for a week in order to get their birthday plan in order.  When we arrived at her house, they all sent me upstairs to relax, while Tante helped the boys get to work preparing my delicious surprise birthday dinner. 

When it was all ready, the boys blindfolded me and led me down the stairs.  In all of the excitement, Caleb led me right into the door frame of the dining room.  Ouch! 

Once I determined that I was not bleeding, I removed my blindfold.  The pain was quickly forgotten when I saw the wonderful banquet that was lovingly put before me...Pigs in a blanket, corn, grapes and pomegranate.  Did I mention the boys planned the menu on their own?

It was so sweet!  And to top it off, they prepared for me birthday brownies.  YUM!

They added a flare of excitement to turning thirty-three.

I am richly blessed!!

The Finishing Touch

Yay! For the first time ever, we extended our Christmas decorations beyond our front door.

I have always wanted to put up outside Christmas lights, but it was something I said we would do when we owned a "house" house. I don't know why I had never considered doing it for our town house.

Actually, it was Biz's idea. He tossed it out there and after a little thought, we were like, "Why not?" So, Biz and Daddy got to work...again. This time, outside.

We may not have a "house" house yet, but we certainly have a home. A warm, cozy, all that we need, home.

Thanks boys for making it a little extra sparkly this Christmas!

"Our" Ornament

With Sethie starting preschool this year and Biz becoming a kindergartener, we thought it would be appropriate to find a school themed ornament this year to be "our" ornament.  I had envisioned a chalkboard or something with an apple on it, but what we found instead was perfect...for us. 

Eric and I both really love geography and maps.  Give me a good map and I am set for hours.  Yes, I know that sounds a little geeky, but I think Eric finds that attractive, so it is all good.

I have really had a heart for showing the boys just how big our world is and that there is a lot out there beyond ourselves. Biz got his first US map puzzle when he was two, but I don't think he has had a real awareness of a world beyond our country until recently.  We have been talking a lot about geography, continents, and flying across the oceans lately.  Biz has been interested in finding places on the map that he hears about or we read about in the Bible.  Sethie loves to point out Africa on the map, since he knows Maggie is in Kenya and Tante and Uncle Tim recently visited there.  Any time someone says they are going on a trip, he thinks they are going to Africa. 

We hung both a US map and a world map in the playroom recently and did a fun activity with the boys where we used diffrent colored stars for each family member to indicate which states and countries he/she had visited.  The boys really enjoyed it.  Of course, Eric and I did, too.  We also bought the boys an inflatable globe, which for now, has served more as a kicking object for Sethie.

So, it has been a year of geography and learning about places beyond our borders.  When we walked into Bed, Bath, and Beyond, we were not looking for "our" ornament, but when we passed by the ornaments, there it was.  Just hanging there.  And we instantly knew it was "our" ornament for 2010.

Favorite Day of the Year

This is what we woke up to the day after Thanksgiving:

It may look like a storm blew through our living room, but what you are seeing is organization at its best.  Caleb got up before the rest of the family (well, he usually does that anyway) and then took it upon himself to sort and organize all of the Christmas tree branches according to their size.  That's my boy!  He did a good job, too. He even wrote me a little note that was waiting for me on my nightstand on this particular morning.  It read: 

Hi Mom
I cat wat for For the tree to be up!

It was so much fun to watch his excitement as he nearly jumped out of his skin in anticipation for our favorite day of the year.  Eric worked the evening of Thanksgiving, so I let the boys stay up a little later than normal.  Actually, it was a lot later than normal, but that was okay.  We watched Elf together and sipped boiled custard while we waited for Daddy to get home.  Eric swung by our friends' house to pick up our stored Christmas decorations on his way home from work, so that everything would be ready and waiting the following morning.  Caleb would have started putting up the tree right then, if we had let him.  Instead, he rose at the crack of dawn ready to get to work.

My favorite family tradition is our day after Thanksgiving tradition.   Yay! We stay in our pjs all day, and we eat leftovers, make mint chocolate chip cookies (however, I forgot the mint chocolate ice cream this year..bummer), turn on the Christmas music, set up our Advent calendar, watch Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas and decorate!  Not combing our hair seems to have become part of this tradition, too. We make no plans and have no company.  It is just our day together.  And what a fun day it is!  The boys love it, and Eric and I look forward to it all year.  It is a blessed time together and the perfect preparation day for the upcoming celebration of the birth of our Saviour.  Love it! Love it!  Love it! 

 





Daddy and Caleb do the heavy duty tree assembling and light detangling.  Seth and my job is to stay out of the way.  It is a system that works, so we don't mess with it.

Seth has his own special place of entertainment that he likes to occupy while Daddy and Caleb do their thing. 

He also found other creative ways to "help."  He made it his mission to get the stockings good and ready to go.  He stretched, tested, and made sure they were a good fit before being hung.

He took his job very seriously.

When the tree was ready to go, we were all in for the decorating.  This was the first year that Seth was eager to take part in the tree decorating and he really got into it! He was excited about the ornmaments and putting them on the tree.  We don't really have a family tree decorating strategy, per se, but it was interesting to watch the little gears in Seth's mind work.  He definitely had a decorating plan for the tree.  He chose to group together all of the candy cane ornaments in little bunches.  Then the gingerbread ornaments, then the picture ornaments, and so forth.  When he wasn't looking, I spread them out a little.  Shhh.... 

 

The decoration that I am most eager to display each year is the Willow Tree Nativity that was given to me by my mom.  It is extremely special to me and definitely the centerpiece of all of the Christmas decor.  My heart just leaps as I carefully take each piece out of its box.  I usually do this while the boys are distracted to avoid any "help." However, this year the boys were a big help with the Advent calender. That was welcomed help, since those pieces are not breakable.  They were both able to take an active role in putting it all together.  The Advent calendar is definitely something the boys look forward to and ask about throughout the year. They helped me stuff the calendar pockets with a piece of the Playmobil nativity and a scripture verse from the birth story of Jesus that we will read each day of Advent in anticipation of celebrating Jesus' birth on Christmas day.  This year, it is cool having Caleb read us the daily Advent scripture.  

What a fun and productive day!  After all of our cleaning and decorating, it was time to relax!  And what better way to do that than with homemade pizza and a little Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas?  None that I know of.

Have a very blessed Christmas season, knowing that you are loved by your heavenly Father, who sent His son, Jesus, to earth and that is why we celebrate.  He made a humble entrance and an extraordinary impact. He is life!  He is peace!  He is love!  Praise Him and may He be glorified!!

Love,

The PJ clad, Hair in disarray, blessed beyond words Workman Family