Before we went my MIL watched the kids for a couple hours so my dh and I could get stocking stuffers for the kids.
We did a name draw for Pat's family. His parents got us and my MIL made us a beautiful quilt!! Here it is:
I kind of had a meltdown Saturday morning. Hannah and I had a difference of opinion on how she should do her hair. Now that it's short, it has a lot of curl unless she plasters it down the sides of her head so it doesn't look "poofy." I can't stand it when she does that to her hair, so after she did that, I tried to fix it. That made her mad & hurt that I didn't respect her way of doing her hair and then I was mad & hurt because she wouldn't listen to my hair advice. She rolled her eyes at me and my dh saw that and then he got mad. But, he kept his cool and things were ok.
I went upstairs to take a shower and cried and cried and prayed in the shower. I knew I had made a big deal over her hair which shouldn't have been a big deal. I think what bothered me the most is that she didn't want my advice. Also, things have been so busy lately, it felt like we had a disconnect.
I worry so much about being close with my kids even after they grow up. It would break my heart if my kids didn't care if they saw me when they grow up. I want to be sure to tie heart-strings with them so they WANT to come back!
Pat came in and talked to me about it and said that we should go out for a mom-daughter date. The thing is, we're together every day-shouldn't we be good and connected already? Hannah came in my room while I was dressing and we talked some more. She was such a sweetheart-she was sorry that I was so upset, but I told her it wasn't her fault. Her opinion was that we need to take more time out together just to talk. We decided together that we would both pray about it respecting each other's ideas more and to pray for each other.
Because of that little episode, she and I had a wonderful time together this weekend!!
Sunday we went to a new church and it was fantastic!! I really was able to feel the joy of Christ's birth.
Back home, Hannah & I made pan rolls, apple pie and pumpkin pie while listening to Christmas music. I really enjoyed that. Susanna climbed up on a stool to help every so often. No, she wasn't really much help. LOL
Pat & Jonah did some things outside. We got the house tidied up, had dinner and then we gave the kids a present to open. They each got new pajamas, which they put on and then we all got in the car to drive around and look at Christmas lights while singing along with the Christmas music on the radio. Susanna is really into the lights this year. We also brought a tray of cookies to give to the Fire Dept and the Police Dept. We really really enjoyed doing that and they appreciated being thought of on Christmas Eve while most people are home with their families. The kids want to do it again next year and I think we'll give a cookie tray to the ER, too.
We do Santa Claus on a small scale, so the kids set out milk and cookies for him and they also sprinkled reindeer food on the lawn.
We read our Advent reading out of Tabitha's travels and we opened the 6th box of "What God Wants for Christmas" and did the reading with that.
Christmas morning was so nice. I got up before everyone else and enjoyed tea, the quiet, the lights on the tree and my own reflective thoughts. I also went outside to look at the sunrise as it was so beautiful. I always notice the sunrise on Christmas morning. This year we don't have snow, which is unusual.
I got our advent reading ready and a plate of pumpkin bread & cranberry-applesauce bread ready on the table. Susanna sleeps until almost 8:00, so when everyone else was up, we sat at the table and read out Advent readings with the candles lit. Jonah had a hard time waiting, but we were enthralled with the last readings of Tabitha's Travels. Last year we read Jotham's Journey. It was just as moving. The only hitch during that was the puppy had explosive diarrhea right behind the table (he even splattered the wall) and it smelled so bad that Hannah ran outside and threw up off the front porch. I opened the windows and was gagging myself.
Hannah & Jonah then watched a movie called "The Legend of the Candy Cane."
Susanna finally got up and the kids really liked what they got. It was a great day of hanging out, playing games, eating and watching "The Christmas Story."
We had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, mixed veggies, rolls and cranberry sauce for dinner with pies for dessert.
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