Okay mamas, after catching up on a lot of the questions on here from today, i'm in DIRE need of something warm and fuzzy. thought i would share our magical moment from last night and see if anyone else has had any yet.
last night my hubby was off work (he usually works 5-6 nights per week so it doesn't seem to happen often) and we packed the kiddo into the car with a blanket, turned on some christmas carols, and went driving to look at christmas lights. everyone got along so great, hubby and i were holding hands, we got hot chocolate, we had a blast, and we saw probably the most breathtakingly gorgeous lights we've ever seen. it was truly one of those magical moments that you remember. it was perfect. really reminded me, that life is still to be lived. my child is still here. i have an amazing family. i can NOT spend any more (entire) days mourning. yes, i still get sad at moments. yes, my heart aches for everyone in Newtown. yes, this country has some HUGE issues to tackle. but i have a responsibility to MY child, not to ruin christmas. to enjoy him and love him and make it magical for him. and in doing, i actually grabbed a little of the magic for myself too. what a blessing it was.
anyone else have any magical moments yet? i'd love to hear them, and i bet lots of us could use it!
Aw you guys are the best! great moments, and thank you so much for sharing. i'm off to watch the news...*sigh*...but i will keep coming back to read these wonderful warm fuzzy stories. thank you!
I took my kiddos (3 and 5) to see Santa the other day and my daughter (5) was just so mesmerized to see him that she couldn't even ask for anything! He kept asking her what she wanted and she just kept saying...I don't know, but I LOVE you, Santa! And then threw her arms around him. :)
We went to a "Christmas Around the World" /craft fair event. My son just started getting too wild and I decided it was time to leave. I was bummed because it was dinnertime and I was hoping to eat there. So at his point, I am dealing with a meltdown.
On the way out, my son wanted to see the live nativity that was out in front. He calmed right down. He was so mesmerized and wanted to be right up by the manger. He stayed there for a really long while. It was Christmas right then for me and for him. Just a moment of peaceful reflection, like a clam in the storm.
Well, we've had a funny moment - last weekend we were driving by a tree lot when my son says "Mommy, are there plant trees that look just like real artificial christmas trees?" Ummm Yes dear....
Every year I love decorating our tree together, reminiscing over the special ornaments and getting the trains running under the tree.
Other than that, a high point was taking my son to Toys R Us to pick out stuff for Toys for Tots. I love to see the decisions he makes and to see Jim developing his giving nature!
Magic, YES!
On Saturday, I went to Silver Dollar City (Branson, MO) with my Mom, both my sons, & my niece. They have a new show this year...."It's a Wonderful Life". During the show, the sun went down....& we walked out of the theater into a world of Magical Lights. (sigh) It was beautiful & took our breath away! It doesn't matter that we've been going each Christmas for the past 25+ years.....what matters is that it was Magic!
& last night, I shared a dilemma with my husband: my Mom wanted a pair of "special" shoes....an oddball color, hard-to-find style. I was afraid that if I waited too long...& we couldn't find the shoes, then I wouldn't be able to order the other gift my Mom wanted. Soooo, I ordered the other gift before shopping for the shoes with my Mom. The day we found her shoes....well, the other gift was delivered. Dang....2 gifts....same price & her "big" gift to boot. (sigh)
Sooo, I shared this with my husband. I told him I hated sending back the other gift, & he immediately said, "give her both. She's always there to help us...no matter what". I had tears in my eyes. I am so thankful he knows her worth. She's gonna kick our asses....but oh, well! :)
Similar sort of thing for us as well. Not so much because of the tragedy at Sandy Hook, but bc my kids were just horribly sick for a little more than two weeks. Really awful, all three had a terrible stomach bug and couldn't eat for a week and then somehow managed to all get the flu even though we hadn't left the house in a week. So with all that we didn't get up a tree, we missed so many fun events that we were so looking forward to etc. Well last Friday, everyone was seriously on the mend so we put up the tree, and it was so wonderful. It was so much sweeter bc it had taken so long to just get to that basic thing, we were all overjoyed. Then on Saturday night we went to our favorite neighborhood armed with candy canes and went light looking while listening to carols on the radio. It was wonderful, we laughed so much, the baby drifted off to sleep, the big boys were cherubs, my hubs and I felt like big kids, it was awesome. Just to feel good enough to be anywhere was so wonderful. Thanks for sharing your moment and Merry Christmas!
I took my 5 yo DD to see the Nutcracker for the first time this past Saturday night - she loved it!
Aaaaw, how nice!
My kids are 20, 18, and 15. It's been a few years since the unwrapping presents fever where I would make sure everyone got the same number. Last few years it's been only gift cards and cash.
It occurred to me today, that I have only ONE actual present that needs to be unwrapped, for my daughter (15), whereas everything else comes in those little gift card bags and cash in cards.
She asked for a bottle of Gucci Guilty (AH-HAHAHA!) which I bought ages ago.
So tonight, I just gave it to her. Explaining how I didn't want only ONE of them to have a present to actually unwrap.
OMG, she burst into tears and threw her arms around me and said Thank You SOOOOO much!" And lemme tell ya we are not a really huggy kinda EMO family either.
I was just so surprised by her reaction like she won the damn lottery or something. Geez, just a bottle of perfume!
Good stuff, Christmas is, isn't it?
Nice post.
:)
We had alot of laughs trying to get our annual Christmas picture - the 19th one!
Great post - thank you. <3
We did take our two non-believers and one believer to see Santa this year. Santa remembered the doll one of the non-believers brought with her and teased her about cutting it's hair. Theyre born again Santa fans-which is nice. Puts the fun back in it.
The kids say great stuff everyday that makes me feel good. Our six year old was recently approached by a younger boy. I asked her why she ran away and she said "cuz I don't wanna have to RAISE my HUSBAND!". So wise.
I asked my 5 year old what she wanted for Christmas and she said, "A teddy bear." I said, "I know that's what you want from Santa, but do you want Mommy and Daddy to buy you anything?" She said, "No, just a teddy bear." :) Guess who has about 50 presents anyway? Lol.
She got her video email from Santa today and it was so magical to see her eyes light up when he knew so much about her! I almost cried because it's so adorable how innocent and and adorable she is. I've always appreciated my kids, but since the shooting, I'm holding in a little more of the magic that comes with little ones and Christmas.
My sister's kids are teenagers, and no fun, so she borrowed my 3 year old to go toy shopping with for the giving trees. She let her pick out whatever she wanted to give the other kids and they had a great afternoon together. My little brought home a few presents too, but she was with her aunt, so of course she did! This was a couple of weekends ago. Then, last night I was talking to her about rearranging and moving her kitchen into the living room so she could play with it better. She was so excited that she got an empty box and filled it up with toys and clothes that she wanted to give to other little girls who needed them. (She had seen Caillou do this). It was so sweet. I had to take out her new jacket, her 2nd favorite baby doll, and her cup holder for her carseat that she had been looking for all day :) but, it was so wonderful to see how she could share with others.
We've enjoyed a few things. We went to see a local production of "A Christmas Carol" which was very well done. The message to Scrooge becomes more and more relevant to our politics, it is scary. But it was a fine performance.
Just putting up the tree this year was magical. I love how special the room looks.
Merry Christmas!
Updated
We've enjoyed a few things. We went to see a local production of "A Christmas Carol" which was very well done. The message to Scrooge becomes more and more relevant to our politics, it is scary. But it was a fine performance.
Just putting up the tree this year was magical. I love how special the room looks.
Merry Christmas!
OMG these 2 stories below are so CUTE!
We went to the "Holiday" concert at my 6-year old's school last night. He was not performing. Most of the acts were pretty bad but heartfelt for sure. A friend from my son's class came and sat with him. The two boys along with my 4-year old daughter cut up and had the best time playing together. The joy that I saw on my son's face just from having his little friend next to him was just priceless.
I think one of the most wonderful moments this year was volunteering at the Salvation Army distribution center yesterday as parents came to pick up the angel gifts that had been donated to their families. While there is so much need in the world, there is also an unbelievable amount of generosity. In DFW, over 59,000 angels received gifts. Every single one is checked to make sure that at minimum they received an item or two that is needed and an item or two that is wished (ie - toy). Angels who were not adopted from the mall trees are filled from the items that were donated in toy drives. If a gift totally missed the mark (for example, a purple coat purchased for a boy), it was switched out for an appropriate item. To see the parents coming in to pick up their Christmas items and the happiness it brought them was fabulous. And, behind the scenes, the volunteers were having a great time, too. I will definitely do it again next year...really made me feel the meaning of Christmas.
I've had some fabulous family moments this year, too, though.
Getting a phone call from my brother telling me he is coming to my house for Christmas. This is unheard of since my brother doesn't like celebrating holidays with family. He has always had a rough time with it. It means a lot that he is doing this for me, and for our relationship.
Thank you for sharing that magical moment! I thought I was the only one feeling like I've been mourning the loss of these poor children and familes in Newtown. Not the only one but I have been crying off an on since it happened. I have a 5 year old son and all I could think about was something like this happening to him and his school. I have a difficult time remaining positive to begin with. I have just been trying to pray and like you said just try to live in the moment and be thankful that my son is alive and well. As far as magical moments, my son is CRAZY for the elf on the shelf! They have one at school and he just talks about him all the time (his name is Frankie). He was even upset on the weekends because he couldn't go to school and see him. My stepmom got him one over the weekend and we brought him home (he named him Buddy). It's just been fun coming up with different places to put him at night and to see him shoot out of bed every morning to find him :) God Bless and Merry Christmas!!
last night i went to my childrens Christmas program and it was amazing and beautiful. this year seemed to touch me even more and with a packed church and two kids i dont usually get to see both of them but where hubby and i chose to sit this year we could see them BOTH. it was wonderful. on the way home they both fell asleep in the car. i was reminded how blessed i really am.
merry christmas to you and your family
