Well, here we are, the eve of the Eve. The babies–if we can still call them all that–are tucked in bed and there are a handful of chores that still need to be done, but I’m accepting that it’s okay if none of them get finished. What’s done is done, and what’s not done is such a tiny speck compared to what really matters.
Heidi called me today with some new-found historic holiday knowledge. Don’t ask me how she knows this, but she just knows things.
“Do you know what the #1 thing kids wanted for Christmas in 1913 was?” she quizzed me.
“Probably nothing compared to the crap kids ask for today,” I predicted.
“They wanted candy,” she answered, “Candy! And you know what the #2 thing they wanted was? NUTS, Kelle. All they asked for was candy and nuts, and they jumped up and down if they got them.”
“Whoa.”
“Do you remember that Little House on the Prairie episode when they crawled down from their bunks in their nightgowns on Christmas morning and got all excited when they found out their present was peppermint sticks?” she continued. “If only it only took a peppermint stick to make us happy.”
Word.
I hope I’m always overjoyed with peppermint sticks. Such an overlooked pleasure. I mean, they have stripes!
******
Tonight, while missing my bigger family and dreaming of a snowy Christmas, I’m focusing on what we have and feeling entirely grateful for our little family.
How many times this week we’ve commented that last year, this boy was just a dream. “It doesn’t even feel like Dash’s first Christmas!” Lainey said today. “Because it feels like he’s been here for a long time.” Indeed.
*****
Christmas break calls for lots of beach.
We have a little beach getaway planned for next week, and we’re very excited.
*****
In preparation for Santa, we baked one last round of Christmas cookies today.
Nella ate frosting.
And Dash got a preview of what his birthday sugar will taste like.
I know I joke about the level of my Christmas Spirit-ometer and wanting to swing from the chandelier from a string of twinkle lights this time of year, but I also understand that the holidays can be such an emotionally vulnerable time for so many. If you’ve lost someone this year, if you’re alone, if you’re worried, hurting, struggling or sad…somehow in this virtual space, I hope you feel happiness.
My Christmas card jpegs are shackled within a hard drive on its way to a recovery service, but I did manage to dig up one of the photos.
Merry Christmas, friends. May we all find joy in peppermint sticks this holiday.
*****
Forgot to share earlier this week–I wrote about how the special needs milestone gap changes as Nella gets older with Minding the Gap over on BabyZone
That is crazy. I had the same conversation with a friend…only I read at one point in time that oranges were the number one item children asked for..ORANGES…how much we take for granted and how simple this time would be if we just went back to pure and simple. Merry Christmas Kelle!
Merry Christmas to you & yours from Massachusetts! Love your writing. It always grounds me. Yes may we find joy in the simple things. How quickly the season can turn into obsessing about “things” when really it’s just about being together. xo
So odd you would post this. I was bogged down in the all of it today, and thought about Laura and Mary and their mittens and peppermint sticks and was envious of the simplicity of it all. I’ll keep striving for such simplicity, too.
Love to you All. The family photo is makes me very color happy, as do the cookies- which aren’t in the cards for us this year 🙂
Heidi’s phone call struck me, too. This toy/present receiving craze I’m seeing in my kid, it’s kinda stressing me the peppermint stick out! Maybe that’s not what she was referring to, but… I totally remember that little house
Loved all of this! And whoa! Did Brandyn shoot up this year or what?!!
Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Merry Christmas to you and all your family. Thanks for another wonderful year of pictures, words and friendship.
The pic with Lainey, adorable. The way Nella inteacts with Dash, adorable. Family pic, adorable.
Merry Christmas!!!
You’re so right – a time filled with such highs and such lows. We are very thankful for our little family all being together this year, especially after a Leukaemia diagnosis for our 5yo three months ago. Definitely puts things in perspective. Merry Christmas Hamptons, with love all the way from Australia xx
PS. I loved that Minding the Gap article – you put into words what I had been thinking a lot about recently. Thank you x
Lovely. The perfect words tonight.
Beautiful post! Merry Christmas!
Amy http://www.happilyhello.blogspot.com
Merry Christmas to you and yours Kelle! PS: Love the NY Love on Lainey’s hat!
I love Nella’s braids, you do your girls’ hair so beautifully. Also loved the Mind the Gap article, it’s a good reminder for us all.
Merry Xmas from snowy WI. Your words are a gift all year long! Write on Mama 🙂
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas Kelle, Brett, Lainey, Nella, Dash, Austyn and Brandyn. Love your Christmas family photo.xo
This is lovely! Your family is adorable
Xoxo, Joia
http://Www.destinationfelicity.com
Merry Christmas to you and yours. Thanks for the enjoyment and reflection that your writing and pictures bring through the year.
I love the cookie making photos! And thanks for being so sensitive to realize for some of us this time of year is bringing back memories that are painful because we know they are forever passed. Five years after losing my mom and having to sell the family gathering place I am still working on developing new traditions. It’s hard. But one positive…we are taking the time to just enjoy each other and are no longer caught up in buying tons of gifts for each other nor are we spending a lot of money to ship presents to extended family. Peppermint sticks? Oh, yes, it is enough! In fact thinking about peppermint sticks reminds me that as a child we kids always gave my grandfather a huge glass jar (think commercial-sized pickle jar) filled with soft peppermint sticks. I can still see his smile as he enjoyed them. Please never stop writing and photographing. Your insight portrayed in both areas brings me so much joy. May your holidays continue to be blessed.
Love visiting your blog – you’ve got an amazing family !!!
Merry Christmas … ^__^
Kelle, after reading your Mind The Gap article, I thought that I would share this. http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20131223/COL03/312230042/Doc-Jillian-Magnificent-getting-married
Thanks for sharing so much in an open and honest way with your readers.
Merry Christmas Kelle.
Your Blog brings me so much joy. Thank-you for your creativity and sharing it with us. Also much thanks for letting your little light shine, shine, shine.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Nuts and candy… Hmmmmm things sure have changed. I’d be tickled with a nap and a good book to read. Btw I emailed you. Hope you saw it before your hard drive crashed. 😉
And now the Nutcracker makes sense! Such a valuable gift for those nuthappy kids;)
I love that Little House Christmas episode. You have a beautiful family. Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas from Pennsylvania!
LOve, Love some of the past and its simplicity and its importance of family. I’m glad that I, too, get very excited upon sighting Christmas cookies 😉 Nella is hilarious with frosting and all I can say is “go girl”. I understand =) Merry Christmas from Michigan (north Detroit) with just a little snow.
I remember the magic of Little House In the Big Woods, the first book I bought myself. This year I knit 10 pairs of mittens for my great nephews to capture the spirit.
Merry Christmas!
Ugh. I feel your pain. My hard drive crashed a few months ago and after shipping it off to a “clean room” and $1010 later, I had all 47,000 of my pictures back! (It was worth it, but I have now backed them ALL up) Your photos and outlook on life are precious. Merriest of Christmases to you and yours!
Staring at the ornaments in the first picture, I was convinced they were moving. Like swinging as if a soft breeze was blowing through. That was freaky.
LOVE that christmas picture. You all look so happy! Your posts and pictures always make me smile. Thanks for sharing.
-Madelyn
http://www.onebluebicycle.blogspot.com
I asked somebody else to look at that gorgeous picture of the ornaments the first pic with Nella in the background. The ornaments ARE moving. I’m not crazy. Are they supposed to be?
Love your family!!
http://www.fitmommydiaries.blogspot.com
This comment has been removed by the author.
merry christmas kelle! love the photos as always. may your holiday be filled with the wonder and magic of the season. so sweet of you to give the shout out to those who are struggling with loss at this time of the year. ps-love that you rocked the gold skirt for the holiday photo 🙂
OMG, just read the hater comments about what you said about missing christmas. not that it matters or that you should give them a second thought…but seriously? how can people be so angry and judgemental. I know exactly what you mean when you say you miss the snow and the bigger family surrounding you at christmas. and I know that doesn’t in any way diminish the loads of tradition and joy I find with my own little family now that I am the mom. What is wrong with people? It is natural to be nostalgic at this time of the year. I just don’t get people and their negativity. why do they have to go around spreading so much hate in this world? there is enough of it out there already. Sister you go ahead and miss your big family snowy christmas and that’s just fine. Those kids of yours will have their own wonderful memories of the holidays that YOU are creating for them and when they are moms they too will be nostalgic for the magical christmases of their youth. hugs to you.
kelle, I have been following your blog for a year now. I was pregnant and so were you, I have lived thru your pictures , laughed , smiled even shed a tear reading your words and you have filled a space in my heart. Merry christmas to you and your family. Thanks for sharing them with us. Love all the pics. Please dontlisten to the hater comments up above. Anyone with sense can see how much you love your family. and your children are happy it is obvious ! you continue to be you and please dont ever change. love you and your precious family. Merry Christmas!
First of all, the pictures of Dash and Nella made me laugh out loud. I bet they are going to be great friends. I love your family pictures. Lainey looks just adorable. Love her little knees. So glad that you rescued that picture.
NOW, I wish I could erase those lousy comments above. It’s okay to miss the rest of your family. These people obviously don’t read your blog and see how much fun you have during the holidays. I love all the fun things you do with your family. They must be jealous or something. You have done NOTHING to deserve those comments.
Thank you so much for sharing your life and pictures through your blog. Merry Christmas.
The pictures! The pictures! Every one is a classic!
You are truly blessed, Ms. Kelle. Beautiful family! And this is going to give away my age, but I remember when we’d go to a Christmas party at an ethnic club my dad belonged to and they would give us one toy (usually a really good one!) and a brown lunch bag containing one apple, one orange, some shelled nuts and some candy. We were in HEAVEN! Oh how it was the simple things back then. I so wish somehow we could get back to a less consumeristic/ materialistic Christmas and focus on what is truly the most important – spending time with family, friends, and focusing on the many blessings bestowed upon us. Really, who needs more “crap?” I certainly don’t!! Your kids have everything they need, Kelle – a home with loving parents who love each other and who love them and protect them. Merry Christmas!
Your article on babyzone is really beautiful. Made me tear up a little. My child has been a little late on milestones for no particular reason we know of, and your article really spoke to me.
It makes my heart hurt to read some of these comments. No wonder bullying is at an all-time high; look at how some adults are! You do you, Kelle! You’re awesome. And…… Merry Christmas to all!!
Good heavens! I never realized how evil, jealous and mean some people could be. Everything, and I mean everything, these haters say are the exact opposite of what 99% of us see in Kelle’s posts. If only all children could have such a fabulous family, wonderful experiences on a daily basis, and enormous loving creativity in their lives evil people like these haters wouldn’t be so full of hate and jealousy. They must have had horrendous upbringings – that is the only explanation for their twisted perceptions of the reality of this family.
Merry Christmas to one of my favorite families, Kelle!
Thanks Kelle for acknowledging that many of us spend the holidays alone without any celebrations – I think yours was the first blog I came across that mentioned this, and it warmed my heart.
Happy Holidays to all !
Merry Christmas! Love the photos. My favorites were the beach ones. Christmas…on the beach…Oh my.
Love love love your family picture! Merry Christmas!
This comment has been removed by the author.
I have a very happy beautiful life with a beautiful relationship with Christ but the truth is I get depressed at times. Sometimes it really hits me at the holidays. Sometimes I feel very lonely. I don’t blog about it but I can understand why people do. I can understand I have flaws so does everyone else. I want to be loved in spite of them and even often because of them. Don’t we all? It’s hard for me to fathom people not getting that. Kellie, Merry Christmas to you and your beautiful family.
This was our first Christmas away from our -bigger- family. It was good but definitely not the same. I felt nostalgic for my parents and siblings. I can’t say I missed the Michigan snow though haha!
Merry Christmas..Kids are so cute.
Mind blowing family.
I am enjoying my Christmas in London .
This comment has been removed by the author.
Hello Kelle. First time commenting here. I see the pure joy in almost all of Nella and Lainey’s pics and I don’t think you are messing up their lives. Homes where there is violence, physical, mental and emotional abuse, that is where children suffer. I think that when these angry charged accusations are thrown at you, they are pretty ridiculous. For those who want to save abused children, there are plenty out there and help is not reaching them by the people who are trying so hard to “save” your kids. For the record, a lot of young men and women with Downs who are currently making strides in college and in life did not go to preschool. Sometimes parents can do a better job at home during preschool years due to all the different levels of needs in those early years. Not to mention how unconditional love from a parent is the best incentive to achieve. You surround Nella with so many people and children that I’m sure she is not lacking in the social skills department. I am surprised at the level of vitriole here but this is what helps to remind me that no matter how cruel people can be (although they will just swear they are trying to be real and helpful), there are kinder people to drown out the hate. Hope you and yours had a Merry Xmas and Have a wonderful New Year’s!
I always come to visit your blog because I can feel the joy in your world. And I do feel it. I am so sorry to see the posts above that are so harsh. I think they miss the point. It is the joy in the small things. You have that joy, I see it in your writing, I see it in your family, in your children. Keep doing what you are doing, it is so important to remember in our world the little things. Much love to you.
This comment has been removed by the author.
This comment has been removed by the author.
I was wondering where your Christmas card pic was! It is lovely!
Tomorrow, we are making the trek from Ohio to Marco Island. It’s our second year renting a house down there and hanging out for a week. Your pics made me fall in love with the area, and we are excited to revisit the IOC Fish House again. Bittersweet memories, though, as last year, we went with my parents for the week and my Dad ending up passing away this year on the day before Easter. Will miss him, but am looking forward to new memories and lots of swimming. So, thank you for introducing us to one of our fave places to visit! 🙂
Yeah, the candy and nuts gifts from 1913 were on a Sunday Morning episode a few weeks back. And the number three thing they wanted was a rocking horse.
I thought the same thing Heidi did…. they were happy with that. Candy, nuts and a rocking horse.
My kids wanted laptops, Kindle’s and video games…. go figure.
I’m late to reading this one, but it’s lovely as always!
Oh my word, Brandyn has gotten so tall! Great family pic! I WAS missing the holidome…until I heard that it was condemned this year!!! Seriously! Sad but also then I don’t feel bad that we can’t be there haha
Kelle….
“There are a handful of chores that still need to be done, but I’m accepting that it’s okay if none of them get finished. What’s done is done, and what’s not done is such a tiny speck compared to what really matters.”. I love that!! ;-D
“If only it only took a peppermint stick to make us happy.”. Well said, Heidi!! 😉
Enjoy your little beach getaway!! ;-D
That first picture of Nella eating frosting!! Love it!! 😉
Merry Christmas!! love your family picture!! ;-D
–Raelyn
What a sweet family photo and a great reminder to enjoy the little things. Always so refreshing to visit this space!
oh my gosh! I am totally drooling over Nella’s hunter rainboots! I want some!