As I sit in my living room, under the beautiful glow of our Christmas tree, it hits me like a giant wave. An overwhelming sense of loss. Sadness. For a moment, I see her face. Tiny. 17 weeks and 3 days old. Beautiful.
Tag: christmas
Good morning, Christmas!
A Blessed Christmas Day by El Momma
We hope you had a wonderful Christmas day. We definitely did. It was one of those days where it could have been a complete chaotic mess and that would have been okay. Because, what can you really expect from a family with four kids, age five and under!? But, by the end of the day when my husband and I were sitting alone in our living room by the soft glowing lights of the Christmas tree reflecting on the day, we knew our Christmas day was just as it should be. Perfect.
Our day started with 3 very excited little Els. They were anxious to get downstairs and see if Santa left them a present under the Christmas tree. I think this picture captures them in the middle of saying “happy birthday, Jesus!”
We gathered at the table for the birthday party!
We sang the “happy birthday” song three times. One time the candle went out on its own. Then my sister blew it out the second time. Finally, the third time (the charm) the grands blew out the birthday candle. Whew!
Maddux is a sharp dresser. So, he really loved his new winter sweater and wanted to put it on right away. He did. No big deal that it is on backwards!
Leeland, Trinity and Anthony got rocking chairs from Grandmother and Grandfather. The older boys got rocking chairs for Christmas a few years ago. These rocking chairs are so nice. They are solid cherry and have their names and birthdays on them. I hope they will keep them forever and someday their children will rock in them.
After all of the partying, opening of presents, eating, singing and laughing, the kids napped and then watched a movie and I folded clothes and made dinner. Yes, folded clothes. It was glorious! Seriously, with a family of six and all of the rehearsals, preparing for church services, Christmas parties and family events, I managed to keep our clothes clean, but not put away. It took me nearly two hours to complete this task! But, I did it and I felt amazing when it was done! For dinner, I asked the Els what they wanted and the answer was “pancakes.” So, I whipped up a fresh batch of homemade pancakes and they each ate at least three. I think Bakri had five. And then, with full tummies, we put them all to bed, with their pillow pets, of course!
There was still plenty of work to be done in the house, but instead we decided to sit together in the quiet, downstairs. The Christmas tree was lit and we just talked. We talked about Christmas. We talked about our children. We talked about how special the day turned out to be. We talked about the blessing of Christmas. How do we make it about Jesus when the world says it’s about presents? I don’t know the answer to that. But, I do know that we showed our children a lot of love on Christmas. We didn’t give them a lot of presents, but I know they felt the love and hopefully they will learn that is the most precious gift you can give and receive.
May your days be Merry and Bright.
Lots of love,
El Momma
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas!
Aunt Leila with Leeland at dinner.
Maddux with Toy Story toys!
Oooooooooooooooooh, a tricycle!
Grandma and Jiddy
Christopher and Aunt Amira
My first Christmas
Princesses
10 Holiday Survival Tips
10. Most importantly for us as parents during this Advent season, is to teach our children that the focus shouldn’t be inward on ourselves but outward- on what has been done for us- the gift of Jesus. And on what we can do for others. How can we show the love of Christmas this season?
For the past several years we’ve used tinyprints.com for our family Christmas Card. The card examples from 2008 and 2009 are pictured above.
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Advent 2009
The Christmas Eve Carriage Ride
Here is our whole family! What a blessing this was. And such a fun way to end our Christmas Eve. Mary (the woman who invited us to ride) was truly an example of God’s love. She wanted to share her experience and family with us and she did. His love isn’t just for some…it is for all. Thank you, Mary, for your generosity and loving heart.
And, Bakri was so cute on the ride. He asked her if she was an elf. Then he asked if we were on our way to the North Pole. She told him that only reindeer went there and we were being pulled by horses. Later he asked the entire carriage “Are you guys ALL ELVES?” It was so cute!
Merry Christmas!
Our Visit with Santa Claus
Maddux loved his visit with Santa Claus. Seriously, that is what he says. He talks about sitting on Santa’s lap and how he wants Santa to read to him. We haven’t said anything to him about crying. I am guessing he remembers that part, but is just choosing to block it out and pretend like it was a great visit. At least we have these soon to be classic photos of him that we can share for years to come and all get a little giggle!
Bakri, on the other hand, really did love his visit with Santa! He asked Santa for a bicycle. I did my best to lead him into wanting a tricycle first. Moustapha and I figured he’d enjoy a bike after he rides a trike for a little while. Since our house was either under construction or we were out of the house over the last year, we didn’t have driveway access for the kids to ride tricycles. So, now is the time!
Trinity was precious during her visit with Santa. She was unphased by Maddux’s crying and then she really lit up when it was her turn to sit with Santa by herself. My mom got her this beautiful outfit from Janie and Jack which I put her in over and over again during Christmas, because I just thought she looked so beautiful. She is such a sweet baby. I can’t believe she is already 3 months old. It is unbelievable how fast time goes the older you get and the more children you have. Or maybe its both. Or the fact that I am older and have more children. Either way, it is super fast. I just want to hold on to every precious moment!