a moment of Peace

Who blogs on Christmas Day? I guess I do--I am having a rare treat of a quiet house, and am enjoying the moment so much, it inspired me to write. Baby E is napping (for a few more minutes, I hope!) and D just took the 3 energetic girls out for some exercise and fresh air, while there is still some warmth and light to the day.

It has been a lovely day:

Stockings. I posted a while back about an idea for frugal and meaningful Christmas stocking idea for me and D. Well, in addition to the things I had gotten for my own stocking throughout the year, this morning I also found a spoon, D's black dress belt, a Native American leather hair ornament that was mine as a child, a colored pencil. They each represented something D loves about me or is thankful for. How I keep the family fed. How I keep him clothed in things he likes and get his clothes ready for work during the week. How we share a fondness for quality, natural things--and nostalgic ones too. And apparently he likes my artistic side, even my little doodles he finds all over the desk (which my hands just naturally do when I am on the phone). D said he could have put so many more such things in my stocking, and thought this was a great new tradition.

I agree. What better way to start Christmas Day, than with warm fuzzies from my life partner.

Kids. This week, as always after visiting family, the girls went through some pretty trying rebound behaviour. Yesterday there was a point where I stood in the kitchen wanting to cry, thinking, "I don't want it to be Christmas tomorrow. We're not (heart) ready!" So what a wonderful treat today that the girls are back to their sunny selves! That is the best Christmas gift a mom could ask for from her children.

Gifts. When we were kids, my parents tried to purchase Christmas gifts for me and my sisters to give us:
*Something for the body
*Something for the mind
*Something for the spirit

And just the other day I heard someone say that every person in her family receives a total of 3 gifts, because if that number of gifts was good enough for the Baby Jesus, then it is good enough for them. I have been wanting to keep the # of presents to a comfortable limit, and this makes the perfect rationale. Well, it just so happened we ended up with three gifts for each girl from D and I, and they perfectly met the criteria listed above. There was something very satisfying about that--feeling like we did not do too little or too much, but just the right amount.

And then my mother-in-law sent some wrapped gifts home with us from their house, and they show she listens to our needs and requests and truly wants to give us gifts we will enjoy. So I opened a new rice cooker which I had really wanted (mine broke 6 mo ago), a new vegetable scrub brush which I had really needed, and I wore a new cardigan she bought be on Black Friday. And they showed AMAZING restraint with the children, and the amount of gifts were just right! In fact, the best gift from Oma and Opa were a pair of adjustable wooden stilts handmade by Opa--at my suggestion--that they gave the girls last weekend. What is not to love about a gift like that?

(The box of gifts from my parents has not yet arrived--but I know it also has something handmade with love for the girls, which I will just have to share later!)

And this is the first year the girls thought about their own gift-giving. I have never liked the idea of taking them shopping and giving them money to spend on each other--too artificial, and potentially a mine-field of pink plastic princess crap. ; ) But this year with all the creative thinking we have been doing recently in the arena of gift-giving, they each cheerfully and excitedly gave their own things to one another, in love and Christmas spirit. The cutest thing was listening to them today as they opened each individually wrapped piece of leftover Halloween candy, exclaimed with pleasure and said,"I know who to hug!" and went to give that sister a big one.

My gift to myself:





Yes, it did take that long to get my kitchen under control. It is just so hard when every day I am messing it up all over again. So, this is my antique, under-construction, redwood cabin kitchen, on a great day.

And it's not over yet. Still to come: the cozy Christmas story reading in new pj's, and vintage Christmas specials with a side of cocoa and candycane!

Merry Christmas, dear friends and family.