I know Christmas doesn't come in a box, but...

Out came our Christmas boxes from the garage today and it feels more Christmasy with the decorations strewn about the house. The first thing I brought in was a wood nativity set which Kirby opened up then announced to Sam, "This is our activity!" He spent several minutes setting it up just right, then started pulling out all the decorations from the other boxes. He found some tiny paper chains I made years ago and put them in random places throughout the house: his dresser knobs, on the little bin of Jiorji's diapers, on the TV... He found his stocking and hung it up, remembering just where it went from last year. Sam is just following him around the house, balloon in tow. I know, all kids like balloons, right? But he is OBSESSED! He will carry one around for days, everywhere we go, until ALL the air leaks out. He's not ornery-obsessed, like HAS to have it; he just enjoys it so much that he pleasantly takes it along like it's a friend he's inviting to share his little world.

We watched the First Presidency Christmas devotional together at home and I was so grateful for the Internet so we didn't have to try to keep the kids sitting still at the church. Of course I made pumpkin pie cake for dessert tonight, because that is my tradition for when we watch the Christmas Devotional. It's quite tasty with fresh whipped cream on top. Here's the recipe:

4 eggs
3 cups canned pumpkin
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups evaporated milk
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cloves

Preheat oven to 350. Mix in order given and pour into ungreased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle a box of yellow cake mix over the top, and pour melted butter (1 cube) over the cake mix. Top with 1 cup chopped nuts and bake 1 1/4 hours. Note: I think it'd be better with less cake mix, maybe just half a package.

Jensen Family Band

For today's Countdown activity we sang songs. It was supposed to be Christmas music. First I tried to put on a cassette tape I had of kid Christmas music but Kirby took it out and put in a lullaby tape. Later I played some Christmas music on the piano and Kirby got out his ukulele and played along and said, "Sam, you sing! Sing 'Twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are!'" Which was a great idea, but I happened to be playing Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring.

Greg came home and got out his guitar and we moved into the boys' room (where we hung Christmas lights a week or two ago so it felt festive) and enjoyed some more singing time, this time all singing kid songs together. The picture is dark and I think it's funny how it looks like Kirby is toothless and Greg has a huge beard. We'll keep working on teaching some Christmas songs. The only one Kirby wants to sing so far is this: "Jingle bells are ringing! On Christmas Day!" He sings "Jingle Bells are Ringing" to the tune of "Christmas Bells are Ringing" (Primary Children's Songbook) and the "On Christmas Day!" to the tune of "all through the town" at the end of The Wheels on the Bus.

Anyway, a great time was had by all.



I came across this outfit tonight and had to put it on Jiorji even though she was already in her pajamas. My sister-in-law gave it to me when I was pregnant in 2005, but then I miscarried and didn't think I'd ever have a baby that would fit it at Christmas. Still, I couldn't quite part with it. Sentimental old me. With Jiorji born in July and it being a 0-3 month size, I didn't expect it to fit her either, but it sure does! This just made me happy somehow.

Christmas in a Cup

For today's Countdown to Christmas activity the boys colored pictures for these make-it-yourself mugs.


Greg took a few minutes to sit down and color with the boys.



Kirby's attention span was very limited (big surprise, right?) and his goal seemed to be to cover the whole paper in orange colored pencil scribble as quickly as possible. Shouldn't we all set goals like that, that we know we can achieve and be happy with?

One Hundred and Eighty MORE Elf Hats

This time they were red. And I really didn't get too sick of it until the last five. And those were worth it when Kirby was so excited to see them all there, and I saw some kids putting them on their heads, and one little boy saved his to take home. Today's activity was the ward Christmas party. Oh, and making 3 tons - at least - of fancy mashed sweet potatoes and 180 more elf hats in preparation for said party. My kids hung out with me and enjoyed making many messes. "Mom's doing it, so I can, too!" was the philosophy I guess. By the way, I am thinking of holding off on volunteering to help with things that need 2 hands until Jiorji is weaned. Folding the hats while feeding her was ok, but peeling potatoes was a bit tricky, believe it or not.


I've been a little worried that Kirby would be disappointed this year because we want to keep presents very basic and simple and he's been asking for a BIG trampoline, a Wii, and a big TV (none of which I have any intention of getting) plus many, many small things as they come to his mind. Tonight I asked what he would get if he can have just ONE thing, and told him that's what he should ask Santa for. He'd been trying to remember a long list. When it was his turn, he ran up and hugged Santa. With no hesitation, he declared that he wanted "A little toy boat like at Grandma Richins' house!!" Which happens to be a dollar-store toy she puts in the bathtub when we go there. Sam was a little more shy around Santa, but managed to tell us (not him) that he wants a harmonica. There is hope for a happy, simple Christmas after all!

One Hundred and Eighty Elf Hats

I want to keep Christmas simple and family-focused, with a huge dose of quality time replacing a huge dose of unnecessary consumerism. After reading *this and checking out the link she had for an easy advent calendar to do with kids, I thought how I would love to do that and make this Christmas season more meaningful for my children, BUT (isn't there always a "but"?) I don't have time/energy/patience/ability/"insert any other lame excuse here" to make a cutesy little calendar right now and isn't-it-too-bad-I-didn't-think-of-this-sooner because I'm an all or nothing type and can't start on Day 3 or something. SOOO... I modified the idea and wrote down a bunch of ideas of Christmas Season activities and we're putting them in a bowl and drawing one (or more) out each day. (I prefer to think of myself as "flexible" rather than "disorganized" thank you very much.) A plus of this way of picking Christmas activities is not having to assign days because some things you just can't know ahead of time, like if there will be enough snow for "Go sledding down the big hill at the high school" or if I will have the energy that day for "Make a gingerbread train and and train station and decorate them with way too much candy" (Kirby's idea of course) so this way we can put it back and pick a different one if it doesn't work for that day. Today we watched Dr. Suess's "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."

It's one of Kirby and Sam's favorites so we watch it year round but it was with an especially Christmas feeling that we watched it today. The boys also "decorated" a tree with jingle bells and candy canes. Kirby explained with all his 4-year-old, older-brother wisdom to Sam that these candy canes were not for eating. Then he later modified his decision to "we can eat the ones that break" and suddenly a surprising number were falling off the tree and getting accidentally stepped on. Oops.


Kirby decided to make a Christmas cake. I came in a little late on that one. I explained he needed to measure and follow a recipe if he wanted it to be actual Cake. He said the recipe was a secret and he DID measure: "3 cups of sugar, 3 cups of flour, 3 cups of milk, a LITTLE salt, and a LITTLE duh-nilla (vanilla)." (Well, so much for the secret!) He used my hand mixer and everything, which I just barely rescued from getting dumped in a very soapy sink where Kirby was responsibly washing the dishes from his cake making escapade. Greg let him bake the batter and it was quite the concoction as you can imagine.


He served it up for him and Sam with sprinkles on top.



Oh, and I made 180 elf hats out of napkins for a church Christmas party tomorrow night and of course the boys wanted some to wear after watching me make them all day so we made one for each of them out of tissue paper.

The first few napkin hats - they got better as I went along but my pictures didn't


Sam trying on his own tissue paper elf hat (Kirby wouldn't hold still for a picture in his)


Jiorji was very cooperative and picked this day to be good at taking naps. Love that girl!!!


Anyway, this was a long post because I have really been needing the unique therapy of writing. If you have any ideas for fun Christmas activities, please leave a comment! I am very open to ideas and won't even have to rearrange or reschedule. That's FLEXIBILITY, my friends!

*I love this blog! I've been reading it for just over a year. I stumbled across it when I was looking up info on if you can ride in a hot air balloon when you're pregnant. I've found a lot of similarities with Emily and love her writing style. By the way, if you ever get a chance to go in a hot air balloon, you totally should! (Unless maybe you are pregnant, as I found out, but it didn't really matter because I wasn't. Pregnant that is.) We took my Dad for his birthday and it was AWESOME!!!

Time Out for Fun

Kids are great at reminding us to slow down and take a few minutes for nonsense that ends up making perfect sense. Tonight after dinner I gave Kirby the option of watching a movie or playing a game. He said, "Oh! Oh! Can we play that game where you stand up until they break you down?" With some arm gestures and some explanations, I figured out he meant Red Rover. I told him we would need Daddy to play it, too, so we would have enough people so he ran in and said, "Come on, you Red Rover Player!" Jiorji was our cheerleader on the couch, and the rest of us made two teams of two and played Red Rover in the living room. The boys laughed and laughed, and each round ended with big team hugs! I always thought Red Rover was a little violent but it turns out that with a 2- and 4-year-old, it makes great family entertainment!

I'm Here for You

I was changing Sam's diaper in his room and left Jiorji on my bed. I heard her start crying, then heard the crying move into the living room and stop. When I went to investigate, this is what I found.



These are the moments that make it all worth it!

A Bike Wreck and a Broken Washing Machine

I try to remember to find "Joy in the Journey" and sometimes it is easier than other times. Lately I have been thinking a lot about ways I feel the Lord's love, because that is often how I experience joy. I have been struggling with postpartum depression/post traumatic stress and some days seem pretty dark, but when I ask the Lord to show me his hand in my life, he does. And I must be slow on the uptake, because it seems that I am continually surprised (happily) with how many ways he shows me.

The Washing Machine Story
I love having a washing machine in my house, right there for my convenience. I was driving by the laundromat I used to go to when we lived in an apartment as newlyweds, and I saw a lady entering with a stroller and I thought about how I have never had to take my kids to the laundromat. What a blessing! And I can multi-task laundry and I love that!! Well, the other day, my washing machine broke. I didn't know exactly what was wrong with it, but it wouldn't complete a spin cycle and the water wouldn't drain. So I was without my washing machine for 1/2 a day until Greg came home and fixed it. It turned out this was the culprit:



This is what the other sock looked like, the one that didn't get stuck in the pump:


And Jiorji's socks looked so innocent! Greg pulled the sock out and fixed the pump and we didn't even have to buy any parts and I got to wash more clothes that very night. I realize that is not much of a story, but the point is, I truly do find joy in doing laundry. Yes, I am thankful for being able to do laundry. I like the process and I love the smell of fresh laundry out of the dryer. Love love love!

The Bike Wreck Story
Target fixation.
I think that's what Greg called it later when I calmed down. He was even kind enough not to laugh at what must have been an amusing sight when I essentially grabbed my brakes and skidded over sideways on our recent bike ride together, tipping over and scraping my knee and then getting up again and jumping up and down shaking my hands and saying alternately, "Eew! Ow! Eww!! Ow!! Ew Ew Ew!" And then I started laughing. A sense of humor goes a long way in helping me cope.

So apparently target fixation refers to looking at something you don't want to run into and focusing on it too much instead of on where you DO want to go that you end up where you don't want to be. In my case, this was in a BIG puddle of HUNDREDS of floating, bloated dead WORMS!! Yes, worms! The creepiest thing on earth!! Yuck! I have to say it again, YUCK!!! Anyway, when I regained my composure (Greg's only comment at the time was simply a surprised, "Wow, you've totally lost your composure!") I thought about the recent rain that caused said puddle and that made me happy. We had a few days straight of tons of rain, which was beautiful and very soothing. We don't often get downpours, just "scattered showers," so the rain seemed like a special treat. Also, I felt like a kid again and kind of cool that I wrecked my bike and had a battle scar.

Greg could relate with that happy-in-some-way-that-I-wrecked mentality. A month or two ago (or three? Time flies!) he was riding his (now sold) dirt bike with a neighbor kid and decided in a brief lapse in judgment to try some "sweet jumps" and ended up dislocating his shoulder. The neighbor kid said to him, "Dude, your arm looks like a gummy worm!" But Greg just laughed it off. He said it made him feel young again.

I have to clarify that it's not that we enjoy getting hurt, but perspective can make these things less of a painful experience than a "feeling alive" experience. Sometimes it is pain that leads to greater joy, in part because our capacity to feel is increased - both pain and joy. I found this out after our car accident and when Sam was born and in the NICU; at that point I experienced greater suffering than I ever had, but soon to follow was even greater joy and a richer, more fulfilling life.

It seems like I get the teeny tiny test versions of trials. It must be because I am a big wimp. I get a glimpse of what other people go through, just enough of a trial to gain empathy for those who have much more severe challenges. One thing I've learned though is that there is a lot more to life and human experience than I have yet come to understand, and though sometimes life is very painful, it is worth it, even on the really bad days. God has a plan for us. He loves us and it is a plan of happiness and deep abiding joy. He knows what he's doing when he lets us run into things we'd rather avoid. Worms and all.

"Hey, where's my paring knife, Mommy?"

Does your 4-year-old say that, too? Maybe I give Kirby too much of a free range in the kitchen. Yes, he has what he calls his "own" paring knife, and he uses it pretty deftly. He is currently working on The Apples.

So if you have one or more of these...

And lots of these...

You may need one of these!

And possibly one of these.
We are having a lot of fun at our house with Grandma Richins' apple-peeler-corer-slicer. Kirby asked if we could "borrow it forever." He said we would give the "dehydracker" (dehydrator) back to her "in the summer." Dried apples make a great snack. And making them provides hours of entertainment for Kirby and Sam. I've been having a hard time letting go of summer, but I guess I like fall after all.

While I've been typing this, Sam came in for a free tasting and Kirby set up operations at the bench. "This is easier for me," he explained. "It's soup-der easy!" ("Soup-der" for "super" is one of Kirby's favorite expressions. He likes to ride his bike soup-der fast, and get pushed in the swing soup-der high.) It's been a Soup-der Sunday!

Confessions about Chocolate Chip Cookies

Well, I've done it again. It is bound to happen at least once a year. (I hope it's not more frequent than that, although I really haven't kept track to ensure that it is not!) I made chocolate chip cookies for dinner. It's not like I put it on my menu for Sunday dinner, but that is what it has become. Whereas we had a late lunch and I made cookies at 5:30, nobody seems to care for anything else. I hope that doesn't make me a bad mom; maybe it makes me a cool mom? Milk, anyone?

Happiness is Having a Brother and a Tricycle

...And a little sister!

Apple Pie and The Attack of the Picnic Table

The other day at lunch Kirby asked Greg if they could make apple pie. I had given the boys some grape tomatoes and they were eating them as Kirby was saying, "Apple pie! Apple pie! Apple pie!" The next day I had the tomatoes out again and was putting them back in the fridge and Sam started pointing to them and saying, "Apple pie! Apple pie!" Apparently he thought that's what we had been referring to.

Greg decided it was time for Sam to find out what apple pie REALLY is, which of course meant he needed to make one from scratch. No complaints here! And if you're going to have homemade pie, you of course need homemade ice cream to go with it... And if you're going to have a nice homemade dessert, you need a nice homemade dinner first. So Greg did some research on the Food Network web site and came up with some recipes (and then tweaked them) for some great fish and a potato zucchini gratin. Fabulous! It's been really nice having him take over the cooking since my c-section! Anyway, now Sam knows what apple pie is and we have some new recipes to add to our dinner routine.



And are you wondering about the picnic table reference in the title? Well, Greg was cleaning up from said Fabulous Dinner, which he had slaved away at all afternoon, and he really deserved a rest but I am still not up to getting on my hands and knees to clean up under the boys' little picnic table so he was scrubbing the floor and leaned up on the top of the picnic table to stand up. It wasn't completely snapped on so the physics of this worked like stepping on a rake, and suddenly Greg was back on the floor, wondering what had hit him. I heard the crash from the other room where I was feeding Jiorji and asked if he was ok. "What happened?" I called out. "Don't ask!" he replied. Later he confessed that he'd been whacked in the head by the picnic table, which, for some reason, made me laugh for five minutes straight. Which was a little painful as I'm still healing, but worth it. I guess I just needed some comic relief. Thanks, Greg, for the comfort food and the entertainment!

"We Are A Happy Family"

That is one of Kirby's favorite songs. He generally doesn't like me to sing, but he has never yet told me to stop singing that one. I sing it often and I think it gives him security because it is cheerful and familiar. The world may want you to believe that happiness comes from being "free" and "independent" with "no strings attached." But I find happiness in the security of family ties. There is deep abiding joy in healthy family life. Nothing can compare with a happy feeling of belonging and being loved and knowing that that love is unconditional.