Christmas Day

We made a deal before putting the boys to bed on Christmas Eve that they had to stay in bed until 6am. They could wake us up anytime after 6 and we'd get busy opening presents. Lucky for us, they slept until 6:20!! 

They were excited to open their gifts, but not out-of-control. They didn't even utter a complaint when I asked them to stand together for a picture! 

The boys had a bunch of gifts under the tree this year because Grandma & Grandpa Schrag and the Schrag aunts and uncles all shipped their gifts to our house. But we decided to have the boys open the gifts from us first. Levi got pink high heeled boots. Just kidding. They're from the dress-up clothes, but they certainly worked to confuse him and make him laugh. We'll take him shopping to pick out new cowboy boots next week.

The perk of being up early was the chance to watch the sky change and welcome in the day.

There was lots of commotion as the boys unwrapped gifts and I didn't even try to capture each gift in a picture.
 Ben and I also exchanged gifts - Ben surprised me with Ben Folds concert tickets!!! And got him a Fry Daddy (yum!). :-)
Levi had a huge box under the tree and he'd been very, very, very curious about it and finally it was time to open it.

He took time to read the gift note from Aunt Lia, Uncle Andy, Aunt Sara and Uncle Josh:

And then he opened up the box to discover it was his long awaited drum set!

He was so excited and loud!

And he wanted to get busy setting it up right away.

Our living room was pure chaos.

Noah received a BB gun from his aunts and uncles and has spent several hours outside already "hunting" birds and squirrels.

Little Olivia was desperate to join us. She kept meowing at the window and climbing the screen.

Once all the gifts were unwrapped, Ben went outside to feed cattle (yep, 170 steers arrived earlier this week) and I got breakfast pulled together.

Levi's face doesn't tell this, but we had a lovely breakfast of coffeecake, cheese and oranges. By 8am we were done celebrating Christmas at our house. All that was left was a couple hours of putting things together and playing with everything.

The unwrapping of gifts goes by quickly and children are always ready to move on to the next gift. Our boys never seem truly content with what they got, especially when they realize they've opened all of their gifts. They're incapable of soaking it in and enjoying each gift. But it's usually a couple hours later or maybe even a few days later that they take time to put all their new stuff to good use.
Immediately after breakfast, Levi had water in his new water bottle. Noah was busy trying to learn about his BB gun and Levi was begging us to set up his drum set. After we got the drums set up, Ben moved on to setting up the basketball goal we got for the boys. And while they waited for that to be complete there was lots of drumming and Noah played his new hunting video game. But soon it was time for us to go to my parents for another Christmas!
Mom, despite having had a chemo treatment eight days before Christmas, cooked a wonderful meal for us. Once that was cleaned up, the boys each played their piano pieces. This time Noah tried "Silent Night" as a duet.

And then we exchanged gifts! We missed having Rylee with us, but the boys sure soaked up all the attention they could get.

There were rocket balloons, stomp rockets, bow & arrows and whoopy cushions! Plus, a couple of remote controlled vehicles and a helicopter. I guarantee we have no shortage of flying objects around our house. :-) Although, by the end of Christmas both whoopy cushions had been used so many times they gave out!

Levi couldn't wait to show off his drum set to everyone. He's waited for three Christmas's to get this drum set. The first year I was sure it was simply a phase and that he'd forget about it. But he's consistently asked for one each year.

And now he can pound away and sing his heart out in his room. He got an electric guitar with a microphone from my sister and Miki - that's being put to good use too. :-)

Ben and I have never been more thankful for doors in our lives. :-)
The day after Christmas brought plenty of time for the boys to play. Ben and I worked around the house/farm and the boys played. Hunting, driving, flying, shooting hoops, wearing new clothes, playing new video games, playing kick ball, drumming, singing, reading and more, repeat, repeat, repeat. :-)

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve at our church is always a big deal and this year was no exception. The church was packed full of people and the all the children were excited to get on with the show. Our boys were so anxious/excited/antsy for church that I told Ben in the car on the way to church, "I'm done with Christmas." Sad, huh? But they were nuts and fighting and yelling and hitting and it's only an 8 minute drive! So, once I got them to their classrooms at church and took a deep breath I felt quite a bit better. 

 Like I said, the church was packed and Ben had to help during the service so sitting up in the corner of the balcony wasn't an option. Instead we hung out at the back of the church.

 Levi's class sang a song and then each of them said a line. (This is the first of several blurry photos...shooting from the back of a dark church isn't the best for photos...) He did great! We never practiced his line at home, he learned it in Sunday School and I was so proud of him for saying it clearly so everyone could understand him.

 Next up was the traditional time when children are invited to share a special piece with the congregation. Ben's job was to introduce each child (which sounds simple, but you just never know what those kids will do up there!).
 Noah claimed his heart was racing while he played "Silent Night." But he did the VERY best he's ever done - in front of hundreds of people no less! At home there were a couple spots where he'd pause                         while he figured out what his fingers should to do next, but he barely paused at all that night!

 And then Levi and my mom played "Away in a Manger" as a duet. They decided that morning that doing a duet would be fun (I think it gave Levi the courage to actually get up there and play) and it was wonderful!

 At that point, both Levi and Ben had fulfilled their roles in the program so we set out to find some actual seats so we could watch the musical that the older kids were performing. We snuck in, under the balcony where the shepherds and angels had been sitting, and then I looked up to realize that the Christmas tree and organ were completely blocking our view of the choir loft where Noah was singing!

 Oh well. The other bum deal was that since our seats were originally assigned to the shepherds and angels, who were on stage until the very end of the program, there were no candles in our pews for us to use during the candle lighting at the end of the service. This simply would not work for Levi. He insisted on finding a candle. He was going to go look by himself but I worried he'd be loud with the doors and whatever else, so I followed him. Talk about being all over the place during a church service! We looked in one lobby, nothing. We walked across the back of the church, through all the people in charge of the program, and some shepherds and some wise men, to the other lobby, nothing. Shucks. Finally, just before we went back to our seats I spotted one lone candle up on a coat rack. It was like a Christmas miracle!

 It certainly does feel like a holy moment when the church is lit by candle light and everyone is singing "Silent Night."

But of course, once the candles are blown out the chaos starts up again. The boys were off and running to get their Christmas sacks from down in the basement and then eventually we headed for home.
The boys decided days ago that they wanted to wait and open their gifts on Christmas morning. Last year, we opened gifts on Christmas Eve because of our family gathering schedule on Christmas Day. This year we let them decide when to open gifts. They both agreed that waiting until Christmas morning was a good idea. That all changed on our way home from church....again, that car ride...let's just say the night ended with Levi bawling and screaming and Noah doing his best to act mature and patient. Ben and I ended up sitting on the couch bewildered at how emotionally taxing Christmas is on kids.

Christmas Around Here

Decorating for Christmas is one of my most favorite things to do. I don't go all out, but I like to change how things feel, look and smell in our house. It's part of the changing of the seasons for me. I like to try and use my same old stuff in new ways. And this year it was even more fun because I had a new space to decorate.

I wanted a real tree for our front porch, but that proved to be too much work, so an upside-down tomato cage wrapped in lights is filling that role. :-) At night the porch glows with warm light and feels quite cozy.

 I really like the red lantern lights we found at Target. :-)

 In the kitchen:

 In the dining room:

 (from up above the light fixture in the dining room)

 and like a true adult, I bought a couple poinsettia plants this year

 Our tree has a great shape and fills this corner of our living room nicely.

The TV gets most of our attention in the living room so making the space around it look nice is important to me. 

 I think these decorations will hang around all winter - who doesn't need more sparkle during the dreary winter months?

 From our family to yours, Merry Christmas!

School Christmas Program

Earlier this week, the boys and all their schoolmates put on a great show at their Christmas program! 

Kindergarten through Third Grade make up one choir, then the 4th & 5th Grades are together for choir and finally the 5th Grade band rounds out the show. 

The 3rd graders, as the oldest ones in their choir, got to do some extra special things. Some put costumes on for different songs, but others had speaking parts. Noah did a fine job reading his part!

Levi was quite serious while he was on stage, although he did all the actions and sang every word of every song. Finally, I could piece together the bits of songs I'd been hearing for weeks around the house! Levi was careful not to sing too much at home so the songs would be a surprise at the concert.

Afterwards, Levi was waiting in his classroom. He'd cleaned his desk and was very eager to show it off to me. I think he has fifteen pencils piled up in the pencil tray!

Then he showed me all the fun Christmas things in his classroom including this ornament he made.

Then we went to Noah's classroom and he also wanted to show me his desk. I remember showing my desk off too - wanting my parents to see how clean and organized my stuff was - must be a kid thing.

Noah's teacher Mr. Wiens has a cute little tree up in his room so I got the boys to stand next to it for a photo.

Then a helpful parent made a funny face behind me and actually got the boys to smile. It's amazing what a difference an adult making a crazy face can make. :-)

On our way out of the building Levi showed me this wreath and poem he created (I don't know why, but it makes me giggle).

And Noah had this artwork and wish list to show off.

By the time we were done we were just about the only people left in that wing of the school! But it certainly was a lovely way to kick off the last week of school before Christmas break.

Noah's First Basketball Game

 Third grade is when kids get to start playing Biddy Basketball at our school. It's organized through the Rec Commission and is designed to be a place where kids learn the basics, play games and have fun. Noah is LOVING basketball and can't seem to get enough of it. Our good friend Pat is his coach and Noah's doing his best to eat up all the instruction he can.
Saturday was his first game and our first chance to sit in the stands and watch him play. We had a great time watching him and his teammates out on the court!
First off, they warmed up - stretching, dribbling, layups, passing and shooting.

 Game time! Noah's number 7 and got to be the one to jump for the ball at tip-off. I was way more nervous for him than I'd like to admit.

 He got the tip!

 They played Haven, and thankfully the teams were very evenly matched. There were moments when some kids were completely confused about what to do. But for the most part, the majority of kids knew what to do to keep the game moving.

 Noah surprised us with his assertiveness on the court. A couple of times he dribbled all the way from one end to the other and made a layup! He made a whole bunch of baskets - nearly all layups, just one free throw.

 He seemed to really enjoy himself and that's the important part. We want him to have fun and to learn. Winning is a bonus, but it sure does help in the fun department.

 Pat did a great job of rotating boys in and out, coaching them on and off the court and encouraging them the whole time.

There were a couple of times when Noah hung on to the ball and dribbled all around while teammates shouted to him to pass them the ball. We talked with him after the game about passing the ball and being a team player.

 In the end, the game was tied with just a few seconds left in the game. Noah ended up with the ball and scored the winning two points with a layup!

 It was an incredibly exciting game for Noah's team!

 Each boy on the team did a great job, each one showing their strengths and personalities. I'd been hesitant to bring this new activity to our life (filling up the calendar with practices and games) but after seeing them play I'm convinced it's worth the hassle.