'Tis the season

Boy does it pay to have retired teachers as grandmas. Henry and Bryn will someday realize just how lucky they are. When my mom was down last Friday she brought with her all the stuff needed to make some gingerbread houses (straight from her days teaching first grade). When I called home to check on things, my mom told me that the houses were finished by 8am!! Henry asked her if she could put his up high where he couldn't reach it since it seemed to be driving him nuts having a plate full of sweet things (his parents never let him eat) within reach. Thank goodness the frosting turned into the consistency of cement and his roaming fingertips can no longer steal a bit of icing. Bryn has also managed to "accidentally" lose some of her candy.

They are so proud of their creations; they quickly take their friends to the kitchen to show off their artwork.

You may notice that one house doesn't have a Frosty out front...... Henry ate it!

Who is the scruffy creature sitting on our table you ask..... that's Lewis the elf (brought to us by Norb and Karyl) who is supposed to be keeping them on their best behavior since he reports directly to Santa.

What now may be a tradition (now that it's 2 years running) , we have decided to forgo the endless gifts and buying for all the kids and instead let them focus their boundless energy on doing something for others. We invited some friends over and the kids went wild with all the candy canes, stickers, bows and markers and made bags full of goodies to drop off at the nursing home not far from our house. Courtney with her girls Hadley, Aidyn and Lennon, and Jill with her kids Emily and Elliot, filled our house with noise and fun and proved that it's much more fun to give than receive. We missed our friends Kristi, Abbey and Sam who were homebound with winter ills. Even though they didn't make it over Kristi dropped off cards they made that we handed out.

When we arrived at the nursing home, there were about 10 residents already waiting for us at the door. It was fun watching the residents soak up all the positive energy as the kids emptied out their goody bags. To watch your child walk up to a stranger and wish them Happy Holidays and see the twinkle they put in their eyes is just unbelievable. The residents and nursing staff were so thankful, it makes me want to hike on over on a weekly basis. All us moms agreed....this is what Christmas is about.

We all headed back here to play, eat lunch, and play some more. Emily, who is 7, is a bilingual teacher in the making. She dreamed up games for the 3 year olds to play and then gave them lessons on our chalkboard in Spanish. What respect she is getting huh?