The Christmas Spirit

Family. Faith. Friends. 

Those three little words represent what the holidays are all about. We've been busy the last couple weeks attending Christmas programs and parties, celebrating with family and friends and eating entirely too many cookies. As Andy Williams put it, it really is "the most wonderful time of the year." 

December is busy enough, but when you add two sick kiddos to the mix - that doesn't help. Both Harper and Emmett were struck by the cold bug again leaving them with running noses and fevers. It's never fun to see your babes feeling lousy, but they powered through like champs. Harper wasn't feeling great on her birthday (we even made a trip to the doctor) but by the time Thursday rolled around she was feeling much better, just in time for her preschool Christmas program. Kids filled the stairs at Lord of Life and shared the story of Christmas. Plenty of smiles filled the crowd while antsy 3, 4 and 5 year olds sang snippets of songs. It was pretty adorable and Harper sang loud and proud - just as I knew she would. :) 

My Aunt Joan and Betty came into town for a long weekend, which has become a December tradition. It's always fun having them here and Harper wouldn't leave Betty's side the entire time. Since I had to work 2 of the 4 days they were here - I didn't get to spend as much time hanging out as I would have liked, but we did make the most of the time we had together.  

We took Betty to Mystic Lake since she's of legal gambling age here in Minnesota. In Missouri, she has to wait until she's 21 - but judging by our time at Mystic, I don't think she'll be running to the boats on her 21st. She hated the idea of losing any money. She put $5 in a machine and lost $4.70 of it. She looked at her Mom and said, "I could have bought 4 McChickens and still had $.70 left over. This is dumb." That still goes down as my favorite quotes from the night. We didn't have any big winners, but we had a ton of fun in the process and we all knew Grandma would have been proud that we dragged Betty there. Every time we go to that casino I can feel her presence. I miss that gambling loving lady! 

 

Since my parents were heading down to Missouri for the Christmas holiday, we celebrated with them a little early (like we do every year). Emmett loved opening presents. Once he got the paper off, he was on to the next gift. He didn't seem to care what was under the paper - he just wanted to tear, tear, tear! Both kiddos got some really nice stuff, but Harper's four wheeler was the biggest hit. She strapped on her helmet and took off into the cul-de-sac. I'm not sure who was more excited, Harper or my Dad! It was another wonderful Schumer Christmas. 

The Christmas parties continued at dance. The girls showcased the two dances they've been working on and as usual it was heart melting. It's so cute to see them focused and enjoying themselves. We also got a sneak-peek of their costumes for recital and listened to their song. If it's anything like last year, I can hardly wait!

I decided to take the 23rd off work and Mitch did too. We spent the morning as a family, making pancakes and laying around - one of my favorite things to do with just the 4 of us. That afternoon Mitch made appointments for the two of us to get massages before the holiday hoopla began. It was such a nice little surprise.

The 60 minutes was incredible and I'm pretty sure I fell asleep a few times. I left feeling relaxed and refreshed. Mitch's deep tissue sounded intense, but he said it was exactly what he needed. By the end of the night both of our backs were sore. I guess that just means we should probably go back for another massage soon. :)

That night we went over to Bob and Deb's to have dinner since Matt and Jen were in town. It's been awhile since we've seen them, so it was fun to catch up and see that baby bump! Mitch and Matt talked about going to see Star Wars once the kids went to bed, so Jen and I decided we should have our own girl movie date too. While the boys nerded out to Star Wars, we were busy laughing hysterically at Sisters. You really can't go wrong with the Tina Fey, Amy Poehler duo. It was a fun outing with the sister-in-law, I just hope we can do that more someday soon! (this is a plea for them to move closer! :)) 

We woke up Christmas Eve ready for a busy day. After much deliberation, we decided to go to the 11am church service which actually worked out wonderfully. Emmett got to hang out with his usual nursery crew and Harper joined us in worship. We quickly learned Harper's dress was leaving a trail of glitter everywhere she went. The pew was COVERED in silver sparkles, I guess we just made it extra festive. The service was a great and a nice reminder about what Christmas is all about.  

 

Christmas Eve night we headed over to Tim and Tracy's for dinner, but first we set out cookies for Santa and two peeled carrots for his reindeer. We weren't sure what time we would be home, but it was likely to be after bedtime. We couldn't miss the tradition of leaving those tasty treats for our visitor.

Dinner at the Dunnwald's was a blast. It always is when we get together with them. Harper and Emmett  entertained us with their piano playing, or I guess it was more like piano banging. Either way, the both loved it. On the way home we stopped at this house I insist on visiting every year. It's covered in lights, inflatables and lit figures. It's gaudy and beautiful all at the same time, if that's possible. I made Harper jump out and take a picture with me. I think she shares the same love for over-the-top Christmas lights.

Mitch was up first Christmas morning. He's still that 7-year-old boy at heart who is too excited to sleep. It was a late night for the kids, so at 8am they were still snoozing. We decided to wake them up to get Christmas morning moving. 

Harper went downstairs right away to check the plate and glass of milk she left. She was in awe that the cookies and carrots had been eaten plus a note and a bag of goodies was left behind. Just as she asked, Santa brought her a new package of Shopkins and Emmett some new dinosaurs. Christmas was already off to a great start!

We spent the morning at home opening stockings and presents. Watching those kiddos get so excited was truly the best feeling. Their joy and excitement was contagious. I didn't take long for our living room to be littered with paper scraps and opened boxes. Those moments of mess and chaos are ones I hope to never forget. 

The rest of our day was spent in our jammies - relaxing and playing with our new gifts. Pure perfection. 

We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas.

Until next time..
The Helleens