If You Invite Them, They Will Come

In the past I have really enjoyed getting out and about during the Christmas season---light displays, temple square, family parties, Festival of Trees.  Not so much this year.

Please understand, I am feeling very much in the Christmas spirit.  I'm loving the music, the food, the family, and the twinkling lights (on my own tree).  I just don't have it in me to drag my littlest people around the town.  I figure there will be other years for venturing forth.  This year is a stay at home Christmas season.

No complaints from me.  I'm loving it.  I guess it might get old around the middle of January, but I can't get enough of home right now.

The great thing is our family is coming to us!

Daniel and Lori's family (Abe's brother) joined us for a festive dinner on Friday night.  Abe discovered a cranberry Sierra-Mist drink at his sister's house in Spokane over Thanksgiving.  He has been hunting it down all over town and I estimate we went through about five 2-liter bottles over the course of the evening. (Abe note: 1st usage of the season of Betsy's Mom's wonderful Christmas dinnerware)

The kiddos played some Apples to Apples.

 Abe recently got me a subscription to the magazine Family Fun.  Although I did appreciate that he had thought to get me a gift, I was less than enthusiastic about his choice of gift.
I do not like parenting magazines.  I occasionally look at them in a doctors office, but mostly they just make me feel like I'm not doing something I "should" be doing, or I don't have something I "should" have for my child to have a happy life.  And sometimes I disagree so strongly with an article, that it makes me want to argue with someone.  So, I generally avoid such magazines.

But, in all fairness to Family Fun, besides having WAY too many advertisements, there are some really cute ideas and my kids are old enough to pull some of them off on their own.  One such idea, was these cute reindeer cupcakes we made with our cousins. 

 

I was happy to get to do a fun crafty project with my little people.

Three cheers for staying home more!

 

We had a little talent show and Faith and I played our duet of "We Three Kings".  I am doing a piano recital for my students this Wednesday night and Faith is going to play in it.  CUTE.  I probably would not have started her in piano quite yet, but when she sees kids coming to the house almost everyday for lessons and she says in her cute Faith voice, "Mommy, when can I do piano lessons?"  

Well, what would you have done?

We take it very slow, and I try to be exceedingly patient. 

 

This evening was our Clark family Christmas gathering, also at our house.  This is my mother's family-- and here I am with my cousin Christy, who is a couple of years younger than me.  We had lots of little babies and toddlers over, but if there's one thing my house is good for-- it's lots of babies and toddlers.  It was a very enjoyable evening and to top it off...

Grandpa and Grandma Cannon stayed late to play games.  Do you see that glass of red drink at the bottom of the photo?  It's that cranberry Sierra-Mist.  I think we've now consumed seven 2-liter bottles. 

Tomorrow is a sugar-free day at our house.

You may feel sorry for me that I've hosted 2 holiday parties in 2 days.  Don't.  Truly, it is easier for me to host a party here, than to take all my people to a party somewhere else.  It's Cannon.  We don't blame him, but he's not very portable right now.  It was a wonderful weekend and Abe and I quite enjoyed ourselves.  Here's to more parties next weekend-- but I don't think we're hosting any of them.