How did you spend the snow day?

Imagine being startled out of bed by the phone just minutes before your alarm goes off to be told there was no school.  That is exactly what happened this morning and it was a phone call I've been waiting to get for months!  My list of snow day tasks was put on hold today.  Instead I chose to spend some time doing some winter snow creating.  For over a month Leah and Elizabeth have both been asking when we were going to make a snowman.  My response has been the same, "when the snow is good for packing."  So today when I stepped outside to let our dog out I checked the snow and it was perfect!  For almost 2 hours we created our very first snow dog.  It was a lot of work, but SO much fun.

What did you get for Christmas?

Since the Christmas holiday I've heard people ask Leah and Elizabeth what they got for Christmas.  It may seem like a simple question, but I started thinking about it and wondered what did they get for Christmas?  Our family did get a lot of nice presents.  For example, both girls got Zoobles, Squinkies, Webkinz, and Zhu Zhu Pets.  Tim got some hunting gear and a new drill and I got luggage, crafting supplies, and an ipod shuffle.  Along with the great gifts we got time together as a family.  We spent the majority of 2 weekends traveling to Illinois and back for multiple Christmas parties and we also attended several different parties in Michigan.  Being able to celebrate with our families this Christmas season was what we all got!

Should we cut down a Christmas tree this year?

At the beginning of the month Tim and I had an ongoing conversation about whether or not to go to a tree farm and cut down a Christmas tree this year.  Having grown up with a fake tree I had never cut my own tree so I was definitely interested.  However, instead of taking the adventure we chose our yearly tradition of going to Ruch's tree farm and choosing from their pre-cut trees.  Since finishing our lower level about 5 years ago we've actually purchased 2 trees.  A larger one stands on the upper level in our living room and a much smaller one stands in our family room in the lower level.  We've joked about the smaller trees that we've bought the last couple of years.  They have been either very short and chubby or slightly resemble Charlie Brown's Christmas tree.  This year our tree choosing was the extreme opposite.  We literally held up 2 trees and within 5 minutes of arrival we had both trees wrapped up and ready to take home in the back of Tim's pick-up.  While I was secretly sad we didn't get the experience of cutting down our own trees, I was pleased that our family tradition was such a success.  Leah and Elizabeth especially enjoyed the trip because the owner of the farm gave them their first candy canes of the season which they ate on the short car ride back to our house.   

Did you have fun passing out candy?

On the last day of November Leah, Elizabeth, and I marched in a parade downtown Holland.  This was the first time any of us had ever seen the Christmas parade, let alone participate in it.  I wasn't quite sure what was going to happen, but when the gym I recently joined asked for moms with children between the ages of 4 and 7 I volunteered our services without hesitating.  The idea was for the moms to pass out free day passes to the gym while the kids pass out candy to kids along the street.  Leah and Elizabeth knew about the parade about a week in advance and Elizabeth literally counted down each day.  On the day of the parade Elizabeth's excitement could hardly be contained.  It was a brisk night so we bundled up and drove toward downtown.  Finding a parking spot was a lot easier than I thought.  We walked toward our group and the girls were given elf hats and a neon necklace.  Then the wait began.  The wind was super cold and Elizabeth quickly realized that the parade was not all that she dreamed it would be.  Leah was ready to leave before the parade started too, but I convinced them otherwise.  As soon as we started moving it was much better.  Leah did a fabulous job being an elf while Elizabeth walked right next to me with big crocodile tears frozen on her face because she was so cold.  Thankfully we were toward the front of the parade (27 out of 77) so we were able to finish the parade and then walk back to our car while viewing the rest of the entries.  It was fun to see the town all lit up and the many different people that our family knows.  Leah and I are all set to do it again next year.  We'll just have to see about Elizabeth!

How did you spend your Thanksgiving?

We spent Thanksgiving this year in Michigan with Tim's family.  I've always enjoyed the Thanksgiving meal and it is especially tasty when someone else helps prepare the meal.  I love turkey (the dark meat is my favorite) and could eat mounds of mashed potatoes with gravy.  Corn is my favorite vegetable starch and Tim's sister makes yummy sweet potatoes that I've enjoyed eating in recent years.  I usually look forward to apple pie for dessert, but this year I gobbled down rich chocolate cake in celebration of my niece's 15th birthday.  While I enjoy all of the food associated with the holiday I never really eat a whole lot.  It is just nice to be with family and be thankful.  Of course, it has now become a tradition to watch the Lions lose on Thanksgiving too.  Go BEARS!

What are you thankful for?

Each November our family focuses on gratitude.  To symbolize our gratitude we make a tree and every year it turns out a little different.  To make the tree this year we started by writing down 20 things we were thankful for on different pieces of paper.  Once we were all finished writing we took turns reading our strips.  Afterward we made individual chains that were hung on a tree branch chosen from the woods behind our house.  This tree will remain up in our home until we start decorating for Christmas next weekend.  Hopefully until then it will serve as a reminder for us to have an attitude of gratitude.