The Well Rounded Mama

He's Seven!

I find it hard to believe that Caleb is seven.  And then again, his birth seems like forever ago. So many things have happened in our lives since that cold May day. Since that time, we have lived in three different countries,  in three different states, and in nine different houses.  We've also welcomed in three more children into our family.  Yes, a lot happens in seven years.

 

And a lot has happened in Caleb's life in these last seven years. He has grown into this amazing little guy with a HUGE heart.  His creativity just oozes out of him and I really cannot wait to see what God has planned for Caleb's gifts.  I know, without a doubt, that there are amazing things in store for this kid.  He's different than other kids, but that's what I love about him. And I hope, more than most anything else, that I can be a mother that fosters that uniqueness and helps him find his God-given potential rather than making his childhood miserable by trying to fit him into a mold that was never meant to contain him or making him feel unloved because his thoughts, feelings, and actions don't look like those around him.  He is loving, creative, passionate, and deep. And if I can teach Caleb to EMBRACE those qualities and to praise God for HIS creativity as he wove him together in my womb, then I will  have succeeded as a mother.

 

Okay, on to lighter stuff!

 

Caleb's birthday was a three day affair.  I do believe our family has a special knack for making birthdays last longer than most!  On Saturday, we let him open his big gift.  We had gotten him a huge box of legos (830 pieces) and we knew he would want to play with them.  If we had waited until Sunday (his actual birthday), he would have been torn between wanting to go out with the family and wanting a chance to play.  So, we avoided the conflict by letting him have them early.  And boy did he play!  He went right to it, following the step by step directions and ended up with an awesome fire truck in about 30 minutes.  He loves searching for just the right piece and he methodically builds.  It's so fun just to watch him!

 

 

Sunday was Caleb's birthday.  After a requested breakfast of French toast, we headed out to the mall.  His birthday activity choice was ice skating, but since ice skating is almost 50% cheaper during the week, we opted to do that on Monday (Jason took a personal day).  We didn't want to do nothing on his actual big day, so he chose to go to one of the play places in town.  After an hour of playing, we headed out to lunch at Pizza Hut (his choice).

On Monday, four excited kids got ready to go ice skating. 

Before going, though, we had to take a few pictures.  My favorite one is posted above.  Doesn't he look so grown up?  He also wanted one with his lego motorcycle.  So Caleb.

 

And I snuck in for a few...

 

 

The kids have been eagerly anticipating this day since we went skating for Alaina's birthday.  Going on a Monday not only meant cheaper prices, but also an almost empty rink.  It was perfect for the kids, and they had a great time!

 

 

I even got on the ice -- for the first time since our honeymoon eleven years ago! (The only other times we have been since then have been when I was very, very pregnant!)

 

 

Jason is such a saint.  He spends most of his time doing this...

 

 

And this...

 

 

And she does a lot of this...

 

 

But it is all worth it when a just-barely-three-year-old does a little of this...

 

 

And some of this...

 

 

It was just one of those times when I felt that if I could just breath deeper,  I might be able to soak in the massive amounts of love I feel for these people...

 

 

I also felt a lot of laughter rising to the surface!

 

____

After skating we grabbed some lunch and then headed home.  I had cupcakes to frost!  Caleb's original plan was to invite "all his best friends" over for cake.  The problem is, the "best friends" that he listed included four other families...that would have made 27 people in one house for cake.  Plan B was that since all of these families also go to our church, we would bring cupcakes to church on Sunday afternoon (we meet as a fellowship at 4pm).  Well, we got back too late on Sunday to get the 50 cupcakes frosted.  So, we came up with plan C: deliver cupcakes to his "best friends" houses.  But first, we enjoyed some cake as a family!

 

 

Happy Birthday, sweet Caleb.  I love you far more than words can express and I feel so blessed to be your mom.  I never wanted to have a son...and then I had you and Levi and I wouldn't trade having my two sons for anything in the world.  You teach me every day about love, life, and fun! I love you!

 

____

 

And that, my friends, completes BIRTHDAY SEASON 2011.  Seven birthdays in three months.  Six birthdays in just eight weeks.  Phew!  We'll be back in January for the beginning of BIRTHDAY SEASON 2012!

I Don't Have Easter Pictures

Easter kind of got the shaft this year.

There were no dyed eggs.  There were no new Easter outfits.  There was no Easter Dinner.  There are no Easter Pictures.

I told Jason that I needed to let Easter know that if it wanted a chance to get celebrated, it really needs to come earlier than April 24.  We have been so busy. I know, I know, everyone is busy, but we are at the tail-end of birthday season and we have had celebrating going on for months.  Just a quick recap:

 

January 30 -- Alaina's birthday

February 14 -- Valentines Day

March 6 -- Katie's birthday

March 17 -- Bethany is born!

April 3 -- My birthday

April 6 -- Jason's birthday

April 17 -- Levi's birthday

April 24 -- Easter

May 1 -- Caleb's birthday

May 8 -- Mother's Day

 

Throw in spring break, a big project, "normal" life, and caring for a new baby and I just didn't have it in me.  After all, like Alaina said, "Mom...what in the world do eggs have to do with Jesus??"  Good question, babe.

So, I gladly bestow the mother of the year award on every mom who had their act together. Because I didn't.  I did send Jason out to the store to grab a few treats for Easter baskets...I don't think I could have totally skipped those.  And on Easter afternoon, after church, I did manange to bake a batch of egg-shaped cookies for the kids to decorate (because really, decorating hard boiled eggs isn't as fun as actually wanting to eat what you decorate.) 

And given the fact that Levi had been up a bunch of times the night before throwing up (from coughing so hard), after our sunrise breakfast potluck and church service, this is what most of the day looked like...complete with mattress pulled into the living room.

And there was a lot of this...

So there you have it...our not so Eastery Easter.  I did take some fun photos of the girls the day before, which hopefully I will share soon.  But right now, I am going to hang out with the hubby who just got back from a trip to Jakarta to pick up Bethany's passport.  You'd think that after all these years it would seem normal, but really, a five week old with a passport? Fun times.

Five Years

 

It's hard to believe that it has been five years since this little guy entered our lives.  Five years ago, on a Monday in Malaysia, my doctor told me that my fluid levels were too low and he induced me right then and there.  Five years ago I waited for my baby to arrive, being very much surprised at the words, "It's a boy" (although we had decided to wait to find out, I was pretty convinced I was having a girl!)  Five years ago little Levi Sebastian entered my life and I have never been the same.

 

I won't even try to come up with words for this kid.  Suffice it to say, he has been a joy from day one.  Never has the world seen a happier kid, an easier kid, or a sweeter kid.  He has never gone through a "hard" stage (we won't talk about potty training, though) and he has been blessing us with big belly laughs since he was three months old.  He is all Jason, in a little boy's body, and I couldn't love him more.

 

His birthday, like everyone else's, fell on a Sunday this year which meant we all got to spend the day together. He chose to go to the zoo for the day, but not before his birthday breakfast.  The plan these last few months was that he wanted to go to McDonald's for breakfast (something we have only done a few times) but at the last minute decided he wanted rainbow sticky rice instead.  He wanted it rainbow colored, but insisted that he did NOT want it in a rainbow shape.  He also instructed me that the words, "BIRTHDAY BOY" were to be on the cake.  His wish was my command!

 

Next, we were headed off to the zoo.  I snapped a few pictures before we left.

 

And I had Jason snap a few (don't mind the wet hair)

And one of the little lady...

 

Now on to the zoo.  You have to understand...Levi LOVES animals.  Loves them more than anything.  So it is only natural that he would want to go to the zoo (wearing one of his many animal shirts). However, let me say that this zoo is pretty sad and pathetic.  There are actually a number of animals but the conditions are so horrific that in the west, I am sure that the zoo owners would be carted off to prison for animal cruelty.  Thankfully, the kids still enjoyed it...along with half our city on a Sunday morning.

My kids loved being able to feed the animals.  We limited it to grass though...unlike the hoards of other people feeding them peanuts, Cha-Chas (like M&M's), and even cigarettes (yes, Jason actually saw an orangutan smoking!) 

 

At least there were some pretty sights...

After the zoo it was off to our what-now-seems-to-be-traditional birthday lunch...pizza and slurpees.  Though I have to admit we have had so many birthdays that the only person who actually wanted pizza and slurpees was Levi...but he was the birthday boy so we couldn't really say no.

 

 

And I have to slip this one in since it was a special day for her too:  one month!

 

That night, we celebrated with some friends. Levi had told me that he wanted chocolate cake with blue icing.  On the morning of his birthday he said what he really wanted was animal cupcakes.  I am not that talented, especially on a few hours notice. So instead, I pulled these off.  They don't look great, but it was the best I could do.  I'm no cookie or cake decorator! But for what they lack in looks, they make up for in taste.  I use this recipe for the cookies (rolled out nice and thick!) with a powdered sugar glaze icing and they are YUM!  Little zebra striped cookies on top of chocolate cupcakes with white icing...animal cupcakes.

 

And never have I seen a cuter or happier boy than when we were all singing to him.

 

 

Little Levi, I hope all your wishes (and more!) come true.  You are such a blessing in our lives and I can't wait to see what God has planned for you.  Keep smiling, keep laughing, and spread that joy to everyone you meet!

 

A Birthday Weekend

Normally, I don't like birthdays.  I like other people's birthdays, just not my own.  I'm not really sure why.  I guess it's just that you think the day should be something special and then when you realize that it is just a day like any other day, it brings you down a bit.  Over the years I have actually somewhat dreaded the day. But this year was different.

 

I am not sure what changed...maybe my attitude, maybe just the post-baby hormones that always put me in a good mood.  In any case, it was a great day (actually, weekend) and I am so thankful and so blessed.

 

My birthday actually got to start on Friday.  Alaina was at school and Jason took the other kids out for most of the day.  Our house helpers didn't come that day either and so I had the house to myself (well, me and Bethany!)  The quiet was bliss and I enjoyed some time to get some things done and to just sit and cuddle with my girl.

 

When Jason and the kids came home, they arrived with gift -- LOTS of them.  I had told Jason that I would like some plants for around the house.  I was thinking just a few...but they came home with something like 12!  And I am so excited...my house has green all over it now.  And the bonus?  I specifically asked for indoor plants I couldn't kill.  We'll see...

 

 

On Saturday morning I got to sneak away for a bit and have coffee and breakfast with my dear friend Abigail.  Time alone to chat as women and moms...the perfect gift. Here we are with our babies (this was taken the next day).

On Saturday night we headed out to the Sheraton Hotel for their prime rib buffet dinner.  But first, we snapped a few photos in the front yard. 

Katie is so cute...but she would much rather take pictures like this:

And then I handed the camera over.  Unfortunately,  I forgot to adjust my settings before handing it over and most were taken with a shutter speed 1/30.  Um, yea...can we say blurry?  Oh well! We managed to salvage a few.

 

So the prime rib buffet at the Sheraton...they have it once a week and I have been wanting to take the whole family there for a long time (Jason and I have been twice in the three years we have been here).  It was an incredible meal...tons of salad, bread, juicy prime rib, fresh fruit, and more.  Definitely food we don't usually get!  The kids had a blast.  It was so fun for them to be able to eat as much as they wanted.  They were stuffed, but they kept going.  I love this picture of Caleb! It's the "I don't know if I can eat another bite but it is ICE CREAM so I have to" look on his face that kills me! And don't you just love the napkin??

 

So Jason saw this picture and said, "I never noticed that centrepiece."  I guess the food was too good to notice the MASSIVE centerpiece on the buffet!

The dessert table...a chocolate fountain with skewers of strawberries and grapes, ice cream, chocolate mousse, tons of cakes, and more!

 

The carving station

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On Sunday (my actual birthday) we went on a hike to a waterfall.  I've done the walk once before, but it had been over a year.  The kids have done it a few times.  We invited our good friends to go with us and so with nine kids age eight and under (including two tiny babies!) we loaded up in cars, drove the 45 minutes to the start, and hiked in.  It was PERFECT.  The kids were amazing...even when they fell in the water, got muddy, and had to cross dodgy bamboo bridges.  The weather was incredible...it was cool and cloud covered while we walked, sunny when we got to the waterfall and the kids played in the water, and cool again when we walked back.  We thought we were about to get poured on as we approached our cars, but instead the sun came back out and we got to have a picnic outside.  Really, it was the perfect morning.  These friends are SO dear to us and I am so thankful they got to celebrate my birthday with us (come to think of it, they were with us last year too -- our two families flew to Malaysia on my bday!)

We took tons of pictures...here are a few for your viewing pleasure...

 

After we got home from our hike, it was time for Jason to head to his church leadership meeting and then we had church.  We stole a few minutes before he left, though, and opened a few gifts.  Coffee mugs, a new bracelet, and a new ring (plus all the plants from Friday).  My family is so sweet!  Look at that cake they made me! Alaina made the frosting all by herself!

After church and dinner, we finally got to eat some cake. Super yummy!

 

Yep...my 34th birthday was a great one!  I am counting my blessings and praying that this next year will be amazing.  My wish (prayer) while blowing out my candles was that our family would see God do BIG things this year.  I have no doubt...

A Third Birthday...

 

...in eight parts

 

As I mentioned after Alaina's birthday, we told the kids that this year they could pick a birthday activity.  With the baby on the way (and then a newborn) during this three-month-all-seven-of-us birthday season, I knew I wasn't up for parties, trips, etc. A family activity was the option this year.  The older kids were easy...they all knew right away what they wanted to do.  But Katie, well, that was a bit harder.  For a long time, all we could get out of her was "Find Dora."

Not really sure what that meant, but she slowly added to her list of things to do and we put together a great day! She wanted to "eat pizza" and get her ears pierced.  She decided on pink sticky rice for breakfast and "black and blue" cupcakes for her cake.  Add in a few ideas of our own and we ended up with a great celebration...in eight parts.

PART ONE: Sticky Rice Breakfast (sticky rice is a Thai meal where glutinous rice is steamed and then mixed with coconut milk).

She's ready!

I love that sticky rice is moldable into anything!

 

PART TWO: Dora Hunt

When your birthday girl says she wants to "find Dora" for her birthday and offers no other clues into her thought process, you just have to make do.  So, Jason hid Dora cards all over the house (as well as two bigger Dora stickers) and little Katie got to "find Dora."  I think she enjoyed herself!

Little hiding spots...

And one sweet little three year old...

 

PART THREE: Some Photos

I wanted to make sure I took a few moments to take some pictures of my sweet little girl.  Last year I never really got any "two year" pictures, and I didn't want to forget this time.  So we stopped for a few minutes on our way into town and snapped away. So glad we did!

 

Could she be any cuter??

 

 

 

There is a fierce love between these two...

 

And I kind of like her too :)

 

PART FOUR: Bike Shopping

My parents gave some us some money to get something for Katie, and we knew it was time to get this sweet little girl a "big girl bike" all her own. So, we took her to Giant (an Indonesian WalMart-like place) and let her pick one out.  She loves her new bike!  Thanks Nana and Grandpop!

 

PART FIVE: Pizza and Slurpees

Next we moved on to the next part of Katie's plan, pizza and slurpees.  Much to our delight, a new little convenience store opened up at the mall and we can actually get slurpees! Of course, in the four weeks the store has been open most of the machines have been broken every time we have gone, but at least the green one was working (my personal favorite).  We then brought our drinks to our favorite pizza place and stuffed ourselves. Katie chose to share a pepperoni pizza with her daddy because it is "SOOOOOO good!"

 

PART SIX: Ear piercing

I grew up in an era where every parent seemed to think that kids had to be a certain age (usually 12) before they could get their ears pierced.  My parents let me do it "early" at age 7 or 8.  When we had kids, I decided that that was silly rule.  My only requirement was that the girl was old enough to 1) ask for them and 2) understand that it would hurt and choose to do it anyway.  Also, due to easy infections, etc., we don't let the girls change their earrings when they are this young and no cheapo earrings.  Other than that, though, I see no problems  in little girls having pierced ears.  In fact, I was pretty excited when Katie said she wanted to do it.

Thankfully there was a place in the same mall that could do it and also had two guns so that both ears could be done at the same time. Katie did GREAT and only cried for a minute or two.

 

Getting her ears marked...

 

Some numbing spray...

A little bit of fear...

 

A few tears and a blankie...

 

Some hugs from Daddy...

 

And then some water and it was all done!

 

PART SEVEN: Cake

After being out a good part of the day and then heading to church (our church meets on Sunday afternoon), we decided to do cake the next day.  Katie really wanted our friends to join us for cupcakes, so we had a nice little celebration. She kept changing her mind on what color frosting she wanted, but finally decided on blue.  Your wish is my command!

 

 

PART EIGHT: Presents    

In all honesty, part eight is still going on.  Katie hasn't opened all her gifts yet (there were really only a few) but we don't mind making the birthday celebration go on for a few days.  I think the kids tend to enjoy it more when they don't get overwhelmed.  She'll probably open up a few more tonight. But last night, she opened up one of her gifts.  She and Levi love to be "matching together" and so when I found these little girl monkey jammies that matched Levi's favorite boy monkey jammies, I knew I had to get them.

 

All ready for bed...

 

Happy Birthday to my sweet Katie!  I love you more than words can say.  You have brought so much joy and so many laughs to our family.  You have also tested every parenting theory we've had and made us work much harder than our other kids have. But the hard work is paying off and we wouldn't trade you for anything! We love seeing the sweet little girl you are becoming and we can't WAIT to watch you as a big sister...you're going to be great!

 

Christmas...Part Two

One of the things I asked my family for for Christmas was time to try to get some family pictures. Photos are obviously very important to me, but usually they aren't of all of us and they almost never include me.  Now, I don't actually ENJOY having my picture taken but I think that it is so important to be a part of things.  When my kids are older and look back through albums I want them to see ME...to see me being a part of them...to see my loving them...to see me with their dad.  Someday when I am gone (and I sure hope it is later rather than sooner!) or just far away, I know that photos with me in them will be precious to them.  I also want to have more photos of all of the kids together...capturing these fleeting moments in time. The brother-sister relationship is one of the few that lasts a lifetime and I want to preserve the special bond that these kids have.

And so, I asked for the gift of time.  Time before the chaos of Christmas morning was in full-force...time when the kids would be themselves and we could just play.

 

Thankfully, they obliged with no complaints (even though they had yet to open a stocking or gift!) I didn't want to drag everyone out of the house so we had to utilize the space and lighting at our house.  The quality of the photos is lacking, but the interaction was captured, and for that I am thankful.  I know you won't enjoy these as much as my mama heart does, but I will share anyway...

 

Sweet Caleb being my light tester as I get the camera, tripod, and timer set up

 

Sweet Sisters...

 

Brothers and best buddies...

 

My four loves....

 

And some snow...

 

They love when I tell them it's okay to be goofy...

Time for mom and dad (and a remote timer)...

 

And time for tickles...

 

And time for playing with snow...

 

And time for stuffing little people full of snow...

 

Find a ribbon hidden within the snow...

 

Waiting for Santa to come visit... (the camera must have gotten bumped because the couch is chopped off in these...oh well!)

 

Kisses for kids...

 

And attacks kisses for mom...

 

What's that?  We see Santa!

 

Some Santa hugs...

And some Santa cuddles...

And then Mrs. Claus needed some time to prep the turkey and finish up some homemade marshmallows.  So Santa and his little elves decided to spread some Christmas cheer to our friends. But first he had to hitch up his sleigh...

 

And open the pens...

Make sure the elves were on securely...

 

Be careful about oncoming traffic...

 

And off they go!

 

Spreading Christmas cheer... (totally stolen from friends' Facebook pages)

Christmas...Part One

I've had a hard time motivating myself to go through and sort Christmas photos. With lots of other stuff going on...time as a family, cooking, playing with the kids, watching the kids enjoy new toys, being sick, upgrading computer stuff, and just living life, things like going through photos just hasn't made the top of the priority list.  But, I don't want to go too long because I really want to remember and savor this year.

Christmas was wonderful!  It was just one of those days that I just sat back and watched and thought to myself about a billion times, "I love my family!" Even though I was blessed with some sweet and thoughtful gifts, by far the greatest gift was just being able to be a part of this magical little group of people. I am in total awe of my kids...the way God has designed them each so individually and creatively. Alaina's huge heart, Caleb's incredible enthusiasm, Levi's comical acts, Katie's sweet and sassy antics...I just love them all.  And I love a day like Christmas when it is just us and we are all together just sharing time and space.  Really, the day was perfect.

And so, as I seek to remember and capture some of the memories (though the deepest ones can never be caught by a camera), I will share.  For some reason with me, whether it is photos, thoughts, or words, once I share them others I am able to fully feel their impact.  So I share as much for me as for my friends and family.

I'll start with Christmas Eve.

Christmas Eve was low key, which I was thankful for.  Although shopping and wrapping had been done for a while, there was still quite a bit left on the to-do list.  Thankfully, things got checked off one by one and I was very, very grateful for help from Jason and our house helpers. We finished up a special gift for Caleb, made birthday cupcakes for Jesus, decorated cookies for "Santa", baked bread for homemade stuffing, prepared our traditional Christmas Eve dinner, opened a gift from Grandma (with Grandma and Grandpa watching on Skype), sang Happy Birthday to Jesus (and our house helper), filled stockings, and more. It was a long day, but it felt good to go to bed with everything done and ready for the next morning.

Homemade breadsticks to go with our traditional spaghetti dinner

 

Birthday cupcakes for Jesus (with one given to our dear house helper, whose birthday is on Christmas day).

 

Getting ready to open a gift and talk to Grandma

 

Our gift opening always goes youngest to oldest...so Katie starts in.

 

Four silly kids after opening their Christmas jammies

 

Getting ready to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus (minus the Christmas jammies, which we were saving from the inevitable icing spillage)

 

Filling stockings after the kids were in bed (will there every be a year that I won't overestimate what will fit inside a stocking???)

 

Preparing our "white Christmas" with 10 pounds of cotton batting

 

And then it was off to dreamland...

Gingerbread + Peppermint

 

We haven't done a ton of Christmasy activities over here this year.  Sure, we've decorated the house, iced cookies, and watched a few Christmas videos, but we haven't done nearly as much as I would if I weren't baby-growing. I was feeling a little guilty so I decided that I wanted to do something fun last Friday.  So, we whipped up a batch of playdough...holiday style.

We actually made two batches.  We made one gingerbread batch and one peppermint batch. Had I planned ahead, I would have made sure that I actually had things like ginger and ground cloves.  But no, it was 100% spur of the moment so we had to make do with what we had.  I threw in some cinnamon, nutmeg, a little cocoa to darken the brown, and simmered some whole cloves with the liquid before adding the flour. The result was that our gingerbread playdough wasn't nearly as yummy smelling as I had hoped, but at least the kids still had fun.

The peppermint, on the other hand, was divine.  Red playdough + peppermint extract = totally yummy.  My hands smelled like peppermint all day! After playing for a while we added some gold glitter for even more holiday fun :)

Making playdough is so easy...I really don't know why I don't do it more often.  I've tried a number of recipes over the years.  Here is what we used on Friday:

 

HOMEMADE PLAYDOUGH

2 cups water
1 cup salt
4 teaspoons cream of tartar
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups flour

 

In a large pot add the water, coloring, oil, salt, and cream of tarter. Heat gently over mediul low.  When the mixture is warm, add the flour and mix well.  Keep stirring as the dough thickens. Remove the dough from the pot and let cool.  Once cool, knead for a minute or two and it is ready to play with!

Store in zip lock bags in when not in use.

 

___

 

I wonder what other fun flavors/smells we could try??

Santa's Photo Booth

As I said in an earlier post, we don't really "do" Santa.  Meaning, we don't try to convince our kids that he is REAL or lead them to believe that there is a jolly 'ol man that brings them gifts or fills their stockings.  That said, Santa can be a fun part of Christmas...no different than balloons on birthdays and turkeys on Thanksgiving.

 

I have been wanting to do some fun -- but different -- kind of Christmas pictures with the kids. I begged one of the talented ladies at the Sweet Shoppe (where I sell my designs) to make a set of Christmas "photo booth" props.  With lightning speed, they were done and so the kids and I had some fun.  I want to do some more of these -- perhaps even with me in them -- but our first run with them has made me very happy!  Get your own and make some fun family memories!

 

 

<------ You can see more photos (in a larger size) in the Santa's Photo Booth Album to the left

Christmas Q&A

I saw this on a blog last week, and thought it was fun.  So, here is everything you wanted (or didn't want) to know about me and Christmas:

 

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot chocolate, definitely. I think egg nog is gross.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Well, we don't really "do" Santa around here.  Jason dresses up as Santa but the kids know it is dad and that Santa is just a fun part of Christmas.  We have never tried to get them to believe that Santa is real.  We just feel that no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, we won't ever lie to our kids or lead them to believe in something that isn't true.  That said, it really depends on the gifts.  If the gifts are small enough, they are wrapped.  If they are something big (like bikes), they get set out.  The kids know they are all from us (including stockings).  I didn't believe in Santa growing up but we still had "Santa gifts" (which was just another way of talking about our big gifts).

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? White, white, white.  I am so selfish in this regard.  Jason (and most likely the kids) would love colored lights but I hate them with a passion.  I think, if I remember correctly though, that we did compromise last year and put colored lights on the small tree in our school room.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? We used to.  Hmmm...wonder where it went??

5. When do you put your decorations up? Depends on when I feel motivated.  Usually, sometime the week after Thanksgiving.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? Stuffing.  Mmmm....

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? Sitting at the top of the stairs with all my siblings waiting for the parental units to say we could come downstairs (we knew full well that they were filling our stockings).  When we got the go word, we would all run down as fast as we could and look at all our Santa gifts.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I have no recollection of ever believing in Santa.  I might have, but if I did, it stopped at a very young age.  Maybe it was because I was such a snoop and usually found all of my gifts long before Christmas.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? As a kid I did.  Actually, I think that we often started a few days before Christmas (we had a LOT of gifts).  With our kids, yes, we open one gift on Christmas Eve.  It is always new Christmas jammies.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? The kids get out all the ornaments and put them everywhere (with the little kids hanging them all on the bottom.) Later I go back and tidy things up a bit.  We have an assortment of ornaments -- a few from when Jason and I were kids, a few we have collected over the years, and the small (but growing) collection of the kids ornaments.  We buy them a new one each year so that when they move out of the house, they have a small assortment to start with.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Well, since we live a few degrees off the equator, this is a moot point.  However, I did grow up in Michigan so I have a few thoughts. I LOVE snow on Christmas morning when it is falling in huge flakes outside my window and I am cuddled up inside with hot coffee.  I HATE snow when the gift opening is over and I have to go out in it.

However, I am in love with our white Christmas here in Indonesia (aka 10 lbs of white cotton batting). Makes for a fun (and warm) morning!

12. Can you ice skate? Sure, but not very well.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Nothing stands out.

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? This is definitely two-fold for me.  I love the purposeful thoughts pointed towards Christ and His sacrifice to be born into this world.  This was huge for me when I was 8 months pregnant with Alaina and gearing up for giving birth in India.  I reminded myself that if Christ could arrive in a barn and be put into a feeding trough, then a hospital in India was good enough for me.  The second important thing about Christmas is the feelings of tradition and family.  I love times that bring us together as a family and I love building memories.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? I am usually far too full from the main meal to eat dessert.  I don't think we ever even had dessert growing up.  But I DO love peanut brittle around the holidays (and have been hoarding the sometimes-hard-to-find-in-Indonesia corn syrup so that I can make it this year).

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Right now I love that our kids are still young and the traditions are still in the making.  But, if I had to pick an existing one, I know I would never give up spaghetti on Christmas Eve.  I know it sounds weird, but I have had it every year since I was a kid.

17. What tops your tree? A star (that each kid takes a turn putting on).

18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving? Giving, definitely. I love the planning and giving of gifts, especially when I know the person can see the love I put into it.  I don't like giving when I know the person won't like it (or anything) anyway...then it is just obligation. 

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? O Holy Night.  By far.  I LOVE it.  I even had my bridesmaids walk down the aisle to it (I was married at 7pm one week before Christmas). I think my bridesmaids had more fun dancing to Cotton Eyed Joe at the reception.

(You are quite welcome, Lindy and Ada!)

20. Candy Canes: Yuck or Yum? I like the fruity flavored ones.  Does that count?

21 Favorite Christmas Show?  Miracle on 24th Street (the 1994 remake).

22. Saddest Christmas Song? No idea.