New Year's Eve Countdown

New Year's can have the tendency to be anti-climatic when you're a kid and you go to bed at 7pm.  I decided to do a special countdown with the kids this year to give them an opportunity to join in the fun.  I made a paper bag to open each hour between 3 and 7pm.  When Livi woke up from her nap it was time to open the first bag!  The first activity was decorating party hats.  They really got into this and so did Grandma and Grandpa.  They used stickers, ribbon, pom-poms, and markers to customize their hats.  

Toddler Tantrum

Our second activity was a Treasure Hunt.  Each time had to find all of the things on the lists.  They did well and had fun.  Next time I could've made the list a little longer as this was all done in about 7 minutes!  It was fun regardless!

Our third activity was making their own homemade "snow." We used 1/2 cup hair conditioner to 2 cups baking soda and mixed it together in a big pan.  They could make snowballs in the snow and enjoyed squishing it around. But, it made a big mess!  Nothing a broom and a rag couldn't fix, but still...

Our fourth activity was to make homemade noisemakers.  They decorated two paper plates and then stapled them together with some nuts inside.  We attached a popsicle stick and voila - the perfect not-too-noisy noisemaker to welcome the new year!

Our final activity for the big event at 7pm was a balloon drop!  Mom and I attached a sheet of wrapping paper to our ceiling fan in the living room and filled it up with balloons.  When the countdown ended, I pulled the rip-cord and down came all the balloons onto the excited kiddos. It worked great and they had a blast!

The adults spent the rest of the evening playing games and visiting and since we're getting old, we used the New York countdown as our official countdown, so we could head to bed.  Happy New Year, everybody!

Twelve years

Twelve years ago I was a senior in college.  Most of friends were a year older than I, so they had graduated and moved on to new places and new jobs.  Brigid had a new boyfriend, which consumed most of her time.  For the first time in my college life, I felt lonely.  Instead of being complacent, I decided to do something about it.  I got in touch with my friend, Brandon, who was having a New Year's gathering at his parents' home in Reedsburg.  He had moved to Milwaukee after graduating and was living with another SMU friend, Lance.  I decided to go to the party.  I didn't know at that time that that single decision to go was the reason I met my husband!

Eric was a good friend of Brandon's.  They met working at Hal Leonard and became fast friends.  I don't remember a lot of the details from that night (not because of drinking - I was drinking sparkling grape juice!) but I do recall laughing a lot, having a burping contest with Eric (I won!) and watching A LOT of video game playing.  

After the party, Eric and I found each other on Facebook and exchanged AIM screen names. We chatted everyday - sometimes multiple times.  What we found was witty banter and a desire to learn more about each other.  I went down to Milwaukee in February, which was when Eric took me out on our first official date.  

And here we are today - twelve years later.  We've both finished college and Master's degrees, held a variety of different jobs, gotten married, owned two houses, had two kids and a dog, and have a crazy, weird, wonderful life.  Throughout all this time, our witty banter and desire to keep learning about the other has never changed.  I'm glad I took the risk all those years ago, and I'm glad to have this guy by my side.  

Saturday with Family

Saturday was a wonderful day spent with our family.  Mom, Patti, Sara, and I went shopping around town, looking for those crazy Christmas markdowns and certainly didn't come away empty handed!  We absolutely loaded the vehicle with some great buys that will be fun to pull out next Christmas!  Best of all, it was fun to spend the time together!

Later that evening, the whole crew came over to our house for chili and cornbread.  We all enjoyed the food and the company.  It was a great start to our New Year's celebration weekend!

Danzinger Christmas

After our less than stellar Christmas morning, we got the car packed up and headed out for the long trip to Grandma and Grandpa's house in Durand.  I was feeling pretty proud of how efficiently we got on the road and how smoothly things were going, until Eric happened to glance at the dash and realize we were within twelve miles of running out of gas.  Knowing there was no gas station for at least thirty miles, I made the executive decision to turn the car around and hit up the gas station a few miles back.  Fortunately, we made it without incident, because it was would have NOT been fun to run out of gas on Christmas Day when it was far below zero!  

We arrived to Grandma and Grandpa's right after lunch and our kids quickly found some cousins to play with - Ian, Maddex, Romen, and Kate.  We love that they have cousins to play with at these family gatherings.  It makes it fun for them and so much less stressful for us!  

Grandma Edie was feeling great and it was such a treat to get to see her truly enjoying herself and her family.  Being in the middle of chemo treatments, hosting Christmas was quite a big undertaking.  But, she handled it with the same poise and grace as usual.  It did my heart good to see her like this.  She seemed so much stronger than last month when I saw her.  She told me that she WILL be here next Christmas.  I'm glad to see her spunk!

We ate good food and opened gifts.  Nolan got an awesome remote control racecar.  Olivia got the most beautiful Princess Anna dress I've ever seen.  I can't wait for her to play in it!  I was brought to tears when all the granddaughters got a beautiful "Because I love you" Grandmother bracelet.  They also gifted us some cash which will be put toward our future downstairs remodel project.  It was a good day spent with our wonderful family.  

We spent the night and Grandpa Jim and Grandma Marcia's house and woke up the next morning to another mountain of presents under the tree.  (Do you think my kids are spoiled?!)  Uncle Luke and Auntie Annalyse joined us and we spent a relaxing morning opening presents and visiting.  Nolan got an awesome car track, lego set, superhero action figures, and some science sets.  Olivia got a horseback riding dolly named Elliot (perfect, right?), an Elsa princess dress, and some adorable clothes.  The grand finale was their very own pint-sized saddle to use to ride the horses!  We're really hoping Nolan will want to do leadline at a show this summer.  We'll see...!

We spent the rest of the day eating delicious food, playing games (pegs and jokers), watching Christmas movies, and just relaxing.  We are so thankful for our loving family and the time we get to spend with them.  Our Christmas schedule is quite intense, and even stressful at times; but how blessed are we to have so many loved ones!  So many that want to spend time with us.  So many that we want to spend time with.  We are so very lucky.  Merry Christmas!

Christmas morning

Christmas morning didn't quite start the way that I imagined.  I envisioned Nolan and Livi running excitedly into my room, telling me that Santa came and wanting to open presents.  Instead, Nolan calmly walked into my room to tell me he had pooped his pants.  Umm, what??  The kid hasn't had a bathroom accident since he was potty training over two years ago!  As I  began to clean him up,  I asked him more about what happened.  Apparently, the night before, when I told him that Santa can only come when the kids are sleeping, he heard "you must not leave your room under any circumstance or Santa won't bring you presents."  So, my son voluntarily pooped his pants as to avoid accidentally bumping into Santa and keep him from leaving presents.  Overall, he didn't seem too upset about it, but it did require throwing his underwear away, washing his jammies and the bathroom rug, a shower, and cleaning the bathroom.  It was not exactly what I had in mind to start our Christmas morning.

Once everything was cleaned up, it was time to light our Christmas candle.  We prayed the following prayer together:

Loving Father,

help us remember the birth of Jesus

that we may share in the song of the angels,

the gladness of the shepherds,

and the worship of the wise men.

Close the door of hate

and open the door of love all over the world.

Let kindness come with every gift 

and good desires with every greeting.

Deliver us from evil by the blessing which Christ brings,

and teach us to be merry with clear hearts.

May the Christmas morning make us happy to by Thy children,

and the Christmas evening bring us to our beds with grateful thoughts,

forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus' sake.

Amen

After giving thanks, it was time to open presents!  Nolan got a new tablet, a transformer, an awesome K'nex roller coaster, a Spider-Man hideout, an Iron Man costume, some new winter boots, a few books, and some legos.  Olivia opened a darling Elsa doll, some books, a singing Minnie Mouse, and an awesome Minnie Mouse battery powered four wheeler powerwheels.  Things started to head downhill at this point.  Nolan started whining and complaining about the fact that there weren't more presents.  This was not sitting well with me at all, especially with the amount of time I spent talking to him through the last several months about the meaning of the season.  But before I could really address this, Livi got on her powerwheels, started driving, and drove straight into Eric's great grandfather's heirloom table that's in our dining room and snapped the leg clean off.   I was devastated.  I needed a moment to collect myself, so I went to calm down in my room for a minute.  After I composed myself, I came back to talk to Nolan about gratitude and how each gift he received was a gift of love, specially chosen for him by someone who loves him.  But he continued to ask about getting more...and more... and then my tears came.  I felt like such a failure.  I've tried so hard to teach my kids to be gracious and to understand the meaning of Christmas, but it seemed like it was all in vain.  I realize now that perhaps my expectations were out of line for a five year old - I'm guessing the poopy start to the day and the broken family heirloom had something to do with my feelings about everything, but I just felt bad.

Again, I took a little break and when I came back, I saw Nolan playing with our wooden Nativity set.  I asked him to tell me the Christmas story.  I recorded it, and this is the gist of what he said:

N: "Once upon a time....Mary and Joseph were looking for a place to sleep.  And they didn't have anywhere to sleep.  And a man...let them stay in a barn.  And when they went in the barn, Baby Jesus was born!  And then the shepherds...the angel came to tell the shepherds that Baby Jesus was born and they went to the barn.  And then the three kings saw this glowing star and the kings had a long, long walk.  They saw this star on their long, long walk that led to the barn."

N: "Where do I put the angel?"

Me: "You can put her right there with everybody else."

N: "But what if Joseph gets scared of the angel's wings?"

Me: "What does the angel always say when the angel comes?"

N: "Don't be scared."

Me: "That's right, don't be afraid."

N: "I said don't be scared."

I realized in that moment, that even thought his understanding of gratitude wasn't perfected at five years old (understandably so), I had taught him the story of Christ's birth.  He knew enough about the story that he could retell it to me in a beautiful and simple way  - and in that, he has already learned about the true joy of Christmas.  He understood that Jesus is a gift of love to us from God.  I was so grateful for that little redeeming moment that helped change the tone of the day from frustration to peace.  And isn't that true meaning of Christmas?  God sent us the Christmas gifts of hope, love, joy, and peace through the gift of his Son to drive out our pain, frustration, and sorrow.  Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve morning marked a milestone for our family.  Our kids got to see their first movie in  the theater!  Rouman Cinema offered several free movies as part of Customer Appreciation Day, so Eric and I figured we had nothing to lose.  (We were previously worried about taking Nolan because we thought it might be "too loud" or "too scary" for him, based on how he feels about movies at home.)  But, I gave each kid their own popcorn, lemonade, and candy and they sat and contentedly watched the hour and a half movie.  We saw "The Star," which was an animated version of the Christmas story.  It was cute and funny, and provided the kids with another easy-to-understand version of Christ's birth.  With how well this all went, I think more movies are in our future!

After lunch I headed to church to prepare for the Christmas Eve service.  Faith and I have been doing duets together for the past couple years, and I have to say, it's become a wonderful tradition.  The girl can sing!  Our voices go together nicely and it's fun to have the opportunity to sing some harmony.  I must admit, that though I don't normally get nervous or worked up about playing music, the Christmas (and Easter) services are stressful.  There is sooooo much music that just to have the books organized and the next song ready requires a lot of mental power.  Add in the duets, Elsa and Tatiana's piano pieces, and me and my piano being absolutely surrounded by people who are talking, moving around, and providing a whole host of distractions, and it gives me quite the headache!  However, I do love the music - especially the candelight Silent Night tradition at Trinity.  Listening to all those beautiful voices singing together amid the candlelight is so beautiful.  It definitely fills me up with the Christmas spirit.  

After church, we headed to Uncle Rick and Aunt Debbie's house for the annual family get together.  We enjoyed visiting with everybody and sampling Aunt Sandy's homemade Irish cream, while the kids had a blast playing with their cousins, Emmett and Charlie.  After everyone got something to eat, we began the annual gift exchange.  Things tend to get pretty cut throat, usually due to my husband stirring the pot.  If anyone likes their gift, Eric will make sure to steal it.  This year, Eric even stole a purse from Grandma Ruby, even though it was her birthday!  We ended up coming home with some Margarita mix and a cozy blanket.

Great Grandma Ruby turned 88 this Christmas Eve.  She is spunky as ever and says the secret to her longevity is walking a lot.  Aunt Jackie made her another gorgeous birthday cake and we were glad to have the opportunity to celebrate our family and this amazing woman.  Happy Birthday, Ruby!

Christmas at the Orys

We kicked off our Christmas celebrations with a relaxing afternoon at the Orys.  We gathered in the afternoon to open presents, have a meal together, and enjoy each other's company before the true craziness of the upcoming days kicked in.  This was the first year that Tom's girlfriend, Sara, joined us and she is such a great addition.  She is easy-going, fun, and doesn't put up with Tom's shenanigans. ;)  Our kids love her too, so we were glad she could spend this time with us.  

The kids were absolutely over the moon when the saw the mountain of presents waiting for them under the Christmas tree.  Even Grandma Patti admitted that she went a "little" overboard this year.  The kids opened their presents first.  Nolan rushed through them opening them all like a tornado. He hardly paused to look and see what he got until it was all over.  He got some really cool robotic magna-tiles, a new transformer, a reading series of books he can read on his own, a cookbook (to continue cooking with Mommy), and a whole pile of other awesome gifts.  

Olivia took a different approach to opening her gifts.  She practically had to be bribed to open each present, but she made adorable, happy R2-D2 squeals the entire time.  She wanted to play with each new thing as she unwrapped it.  She got a beautiful new Bitty Baby and several accessories, an Olivia puzzle, and some of her favorite "That's Not My..." Usborne books.

Eric and I were also spoiled and while he got an awesome Oregon blower for cleaning up the yard, I got my much coveted Canon Rebel DSLR camera.  I've been wanting one of these for the last couple of years - mostly to use to improve the quality of the pictures in my blog.  I can't wait to start figuring it out - but I'm guessing it may take awhile...

We spent the rest of the evening talking, laughing, and eating while the kids played with their new toys.  We are so grateful for the blessings our family brings to our lives.  We are so lucky that our family enjoys spending time together and that we get to celebrate our love for each other around Christmas.  It was a great way to begin our holiday celebration.

Christmas jammies

There's not much cuter than these two sweeties decked out in their Christmas jammies.

Decorating at the Cabin

Saturday we spent the evening at the cabin getting everything ready for Christmas.  Steve had cut a tree from the hunting land earlier that day, and had it ready to go in the stand when we got there.  The kids were eager to "help" and Livi had the tinsel hung gloriously around the bottom foot of the tree.  Sandy's family, Tom and Sara, and Steve and Patti were out there with us and we enjoyed some pizza along with our decorating.  It was a fun and relaxing holiday evening!