Pre-Christmas

Preparing for Christmas was filled with the usual hustle and bustle this year:

Decorate Christmas Tree: Check
Keely was like, “mom, get a picture of me putting ornaments on!” This is her totally natural “I’m putting ornaments on the tree” pose.
Dress your kid up like an Elf: Check
I don’t know why but Ben found this hat and just latched on. He would walk around the house pointing at his head saying, “hat.” He was very proud of himself and I have to say pretty cute too. I know his PJ’s are way too small but don’t judge me. The kid grows like a freaking weed! : )
Fly out to help your sickly sister: Check
Okay this wasn’t originally part of the plan but my sister Arah got her tonsils out and I knew that her husband Steve was there to help her over the weekend and then her mom-in-law was there to help her through Tuesday and then she was on her own. I knew she was sick and miserable and I kept walking around with this completely helpless feeling wishing I could be there to help her. I talked to her mom-in-law on Tuesday morning and she told me how much pain Arah was in and how out of it she was and that did it. I asked Shawn if I could go and he got on board and agreed to take the kids for the next 3 days. Thanks to his frequent flyer miles I was on a plane that night. If you can call taking care of a sick person “fun” well I guess this was. Really, it was so nice to have the helpless feeling gone and feel like I could put myself to use for someone I love. I’m grateful that Shawn let me just jump ship and go.Take the kids sledding: Check
Shawn took the kids out sledding with Kristin and Abram while I was gone. Thanks to Kristin who kind of let (or invited) the family to hole up with her family while I was gone (neither Shawn nor Kristin are people who like to be alone) I always knew the kids (and Shawn) were being well taken care of. I love this picture of Ben because it is so him. He’s almost never without a ball.