Merry Christmas to All and to All A Good Night!

Dearest Joshua and Luke,

Merry Christmas 2009! This is a time for tradition for our family, and we have an interesting one at that. For the last several, several years, we start out with 4 pm children's mass. Next, we go to McDonald's for dinner. Then, when we get home, Santa Claus has been to our house, and there are so many presents to open! Our traditions include leaving cookies and milk for Santa, carrots for the reindeer, and most importantly - singing happy birthday to baby Jesus. In the last, we have made cupcakes and cake, but this year we made cookies since you both like cookies better. It was a special recipe that we found just for Joshua - completely egg free! Everyone has been asking for the recipe, so the cookies were a big hit even with Santa! We also use an Advent calendar with fun, magnetic, Christmas items to count down the days until Christmas. And I can not forget to mention, Herbie, the elf, who has been visiting us for the last two years. He reports your behavior to Santa between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Right now, he is probably vacationing in Hawaii with Santa Claus!



And presents there were! Building seemed to be the theme this year - Legos, more Legos, Star Wars legos, Magna Blocks, foam building blocks, Lego people...to name a few. Star Wars stuff was also a big hit! It is interesting that you both like Star Wars, but you have never seen the movie! You were both spoiled rotten with presents from so many family and friends.

We were very lucky to have Grammy and Papa, Grandma Nichols, and Aunt Tina and John to join us this year for our Christmas celebration. All of them in attendance made the day extra special. Even though Nana and Papa Ed could not be with us this year, we thought about them a lot and said special prayers for better health for Papa Ed. We miss him and Nana so much, but we understand that they are both working hard at getting Papa Ed better. We were very blessed with some special time with Nana and

Aunt Lisa at Aunt Lisa's house the day after Christmas. It was so much fun to see her house, and how much she has done to it herself. She does not hesitate to pick up a saw, screwdriver, hammer, whatever it takes to do a job.

We were also blessed with visits with Miss Sarah, the best nanny in the world, Aunt Roxanne and Uncle Robert, and big brother, Carr. We missed Miss Sarah at our Christmas Eve gathering

this year, but it was fun to spend extra time with her at our house. And it is always great to see Aunt Roxanne and Uncle Robert. We do not see them near enough even though we live so close, but they are always fun to visit with. We love them very much, and of course they spoil the boys so much, too! Big brother, Carr, surprised us with a visit on Christmas Eve. He helped the boys decorate the sugar cookies, and it was great to catch up with him. Carr has been a member of Mama's family since Mama was in about second grade. He is very special to Daddy and me, and it is important to us that you know him, too. Again, we live close by, but do not see each other's families often enough.

It is so easy for you to tell us the true meaning of Christmas now. Always keep this in your hearts and minds especially at Christmas, but throughout the year.

Love always,

Mama

Happy Easter - I Mean Merry Christmas!

Dear Joshua and Luke,

Yes, there were two little bunnies at our house today. In a very lazy day, you built a bunny hole in the living room. It was actually an end table covered with tons of blankets, covers, etc. It was so much fun making bunny ears and masks. You both kept coming up to me asking for carrots and lettuce. It was so much fun! Other highlights today included listening to Luke sing "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" and "I'm so glad my mama is home today!" Gotta love it! I love being home with you both this week, too.

We spent the evening with Grandma Nichols. We drove through the shrine one more time. It was even more fun with Grandma Nichols along with us. We always knew that you two were little angels most of the time, but now we are sure! We also lit two candles - one for Grandpa Al and one for Richard. This would have been mom and dad's 52nd wedding anniversary, and Richard would have been 60 years old today. We really miss you both.

I love you to the moon and back and back again!

Love,

Mama

Please Pray for the Republicans &/Or Is There Candy in Heaven?

Dearest Joshua and Luke,

Things are especially busy now with Christmas upon us. I am trying very hard to keep reminding all of us the "reason for the season" for a lack of better words due to my creative juices running so low this week. Things will get more calm once we get through this week. A couple of funnies from the week:

Luke: "Where is God."

Daddy: "He is everywhere."

Luke: "Where is Jesus?
Daddy: "He is everywhere, too"

Luke: "Where is heaven?"

Daddy: "A special place that God has prepared for us."

Luke: "Is there candy in heaven?"

Luke is my candy - sweets guy. He would eat candy morning, noon, and night if we would let him. We know one of the keys to his heart. This conversation reminds me of, "
Is There An Ice Cream Factory in Heaven?" which was one of Joshua's questions earlier this year.

Here is the dialogue of one of our evening prayers:

"Dear Jesus - Please pray for all of the Grandmas, Grandpas, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins, and all the people that love Joshua and Luke....Miss Sarah, Miss Vicki, Miss Jan........" Please especially pray for Nana and Papa Ed, Grammy and Papa Mort.........................And we all say anyone or anything special we need to pray about. Joshua says, "Please pray for the republicans." Daddy says, "Who are the Republicans?" Joshua looks a little confused and not sure.....After the conversation turns to Glenn Beck, and we discuss that he is not a republican, I knew it was definitely bedtime. Where does he get this from?

Love, Mama

There's Always Room For One More - Lesson #567

Dear Joshua and Luke,

One thing that has always been important to me is to make sure that everyone is always included in things. That is something that has always been important to Daddy and me. For example through the years, Daddy and I have known people that live by themselves or who do not have a lot of family around the area, and we have made a point to ask them into our lives, into our home, and especially into our family gatherings. Many have accepted the invitation, and some have decided not to for whatever reason.

But I believe that the most important thing is that people are asked into your life ~ especially those people that need others. We all need other people at some level or another and at different times in our lives. In a simpler way to look at things, I think it is always important to ask other friends to play especially if you notice them playing by themselves. Also, it is always nice to be welcoming to others when they need a place to sit and you have open seats at your table, on the bench at church, when you are in an elevator, etc. ....... I think you get the idea. And finally, when I am playing with your brother, and you come over and want my attention, I believe that I always have room for one more next to me. I love you both so very much!

Friday night was especially fun at church. You both met St. Nicholas, the patron saint of our church. It was fun meeting new friends at church as well as listening to St. Nicholas's stories. You both enjoyed hearing the stories and making the candy cane ornament. It was also a lot of fun spending time with the big teenagers at church. They did a great job of helping you and reading you stories about Jesus and the history of the candy cane. St. Nicholas was important for a lot of reasons. He is the patron saint for poor people. He reminds us to take care of the poor and the most vulnerable people in our world - older people, people who have lost jobs, sick and lonely people, etc. It is important for all of us to remember those people in our lives that are most vulnerable at this time in our lives. There are more people than there have ever been that are struggling due to a job loss or because of illness or injury that is keeping them from work. We are going to work extra hard at remembering them and praying for them especially during this time of year.
Finally, I could not resist the cute picture of Luke trying to wear the Christmas stockings this year. He is a ham...not sure where he gets it from. I love you both more today than yesterday.

Love,
Mama