Most of my kids are old enough that they don’t feel a desperate need to get up at the crack of dawn on Christmas day. And while Malia is still young enough to have “visions of sugarplums,” she isn’t exactly a morning person and having a bit of a sleep in is always nice for her. As such, we didn’t get up at 5:00 this morning. Or even six. We rolled out of bed just before 7:00 which fit the excitement needs of the youngest and the sleep needs of the oldest. Then we took our time discovering what Santa had brought while our breakfast cooked.
There was Lego all around, of course, even a set for me. The Christmas Carol themed set was the very first Lego set I’ve had of my very own, which is pretty amazing considering there has not been a Christmas without Lego since Daniel was a tiny baby. Matthew got a cool car. Daniel had Star Wars Lego and Malia’s was Harry Potter. Nathan’s was probably the most amazing set. He got a Lego piano that when assembled, has all the working parts of a real piano. Other presents included some “How to Train Your Dragon” themed things for Malia as well as a copy of Black Beauty (which is currently one of her favorite books), some funny t-shirts for Nathan, waffle socks for Matthew since he is the reason waffles have become a weekly occurrence in our house, a twin-size BYU blanket (Matthew’s of course), and a stack of assemble it yourself kits from Esther as Christmas-Part 2. Matthew gave Daniel some strawberry flavored saxophone reeds, which caused great laughter, and Matthew received a gaming steering wheel that he can use when he plays his favorite driving video games.
My in-laws usually join us for Christmas dinner but with a nod to COVID, we packed theirs up and they took it home to heat and eat. We had a quiet dinner and spent a good amount of time building Lego and playing games. We put together a couple of assorted wooden kits and watched movies. And napped, of course. At least the older portion of us. It was a lovely day.
I always love Christmas, but sometimes the season gets so jam packed with events on our calendar and long to-do lists that the entire month ends up feeling rushed and chaotic. Things have been much calmer this year. There have been fewer events on the calendar and I’ve made a conscious choice to simplify my plans and as a result, I’ve felt more at peace and more joyful this year. I guess that’s another blessing disguised as a pandemic. I do miss the family gatherings and the live music of all the concerts, but I’ve loved having more time to do simple things like play games with my family. As things eventually make their way back to some semblance of normalcy, I’m going to have to work to find the balance in my life that will let me enjoy the activity of the holidays and also be still long enough to feel the joy. I never thought a pandemic would be just what I needed to learn how to find joy, but the Lord works in wonderous and mysterious ways.
There was Lego all around, of course, even a set for me. The Christmas Carol themed set was the very first Lego set I’ve had of my very own, which is pretty amazing considering there has not been a Christmas without Lego since Daniel was a tiny baby. Matthew got a cool car. Daniel had Star Wars Lego and Malia’s was Harry Potter. Nathan’s was probably the most amazing set. He got a Lego piano that when assembled, has all the working parts of a real piano. Other presents included some “How to Train Your Dragon” themed things for Malia as well as a copy of Black Beauty (which is currently one of her favorite books), some funny t-shirts for Nathan, waffle socks for Matthew since he is the reason waffles have become a weekly occurrence in our house, a twin-size BYU blanket (Matthew’s of course), and a stack of assemble it yourself kits from Esther as Christmas-Part 2. Matthew gave Daniel some strawberry flavored saxophone reeds, which caused great laughter, and Matthew received a gaming steering wheel that he can use when he plays his favorite driving video games.
My in-laws usually join us for Christmas dinner but with a nod to COVID, we packed theirs up and they took it home to heat and eat. We had a quiet dinner and spent a good amount of time building Lego and playing games. We put together a couple of assorted wooden kits and watched movies. And napped, of course. At least the older portion of us. It was a lovely day.
I always love Christmas, but sometimes the season gets so jam packed with events on our calendar and long to-do lists that the entire month ends up feeling rushed and chaotic. Things have been much calmer this year. There have been fewer events on the calendar and I’ve made a conscious choice to simplify my plans and as a result, I’ve felt more at peace and more joyful this year. I guess that’s another blessing disguised as a pandemic. I do miss the family gatherings and the live music of all the concerts, but I’ve loved having more time to do simple things like play games with my family. As things eventually make their way back to some semblance of normalcy, I’m going to have to work to find the balance in my life that will let me enjoy the activity of the holidays and also be still long enough to feel the joy. I never thought a pandemic would be just what I needed to learn how to find joy, but the Lord works in wonderous and mysterious ways.
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