It's the Happiest Season of All!

Long post ahead! Just a fair warning.....
I can't say it enough! I LOVE Christmas. I have 3 children who hold the magic of Christmas in their hearts and it just radiates throughout all the walls of our home. This house might not be our "forever-home" but I think I will look back on these years someday and say that in THIS house, we had the best Christmases.  I hated living in New Hampshire, but man, when I look back on those pictures at Christmas time all I remember is the happiness in my heart during the holidays.  Children make every holiday better.  New Hampshire Christmases were absolutely great because that's when the girls' started to understand the concept of Christmas and grew to love Santa and all the wonderfulness surrounding him and the North Pole.  That was before Sully so our family wasn't complete yet which means Christmas was great, but not perfect quite yet.  Now that he is here and at the same age as they were in NH and HE fully comprehends Santa we are just at this really golden spot in life.  All 3 of my babies believe in Santa- FULLY believe.  They talk about him all day long.  They talk about the North Pole, they wonder what he will bring them, the girls tell Sully all about the elves and teach him all the things he needs to know, they watch all the movies and sing all the songs (Sully has picked up on lots of Christmas Carols this year!), they are just SO EAGER for December 25th! It is so much fun.  Lucy has not asked one single "skeptical" question this year either.  Actually, I take that back.  She DID say to me "I know when we visit Santa we aren't visiting the real Santa.  He looks different in all the pictures so I know it's not the REAL Santa- just his helpers."  So that was a conversation that had to happen...  Not sure if this is her last year of believing (I hope it's not, but I also know I found out in the 4th grade and she will be in 4th grade next year) but if it is, I need to make sure I have NO regrets about wasting away the month and missing out on the magical moments that only a true believing child can help create. 

So, for that very reason we decided we had to take the kids on the Polar Express! Years ago (before Piper and Sully were even born and we were living in Denver) when I heard about this event in select cities around the U.S., Shawn and I said "someday we will have to take our kids to that."  It's not cheap though so we wanted to wait until the kids weren't babies anymore and could really enjoy it.  Anyway, we moved away to places that didn't have the Polar Express (Idaho and New Hampshire).  When we moved here and found out they do it in Oklahoma City, we knew we had to go.  But Sully was only 10 months old his first Christmas here so we've been waiting until we knew we could take him at an age where he would love it.  And it's so perfect because, as I said, all 3 kids believe in Santa this year which made it even better.  The Polar Express was SOOOO magical and exciting for them, and heart-warming and nostalgic for Shawn and I.  There is absolutely nothing better in life than re-living Christmas through your kids.  Seeing it all again through a child's eyes.  I don't know what I will do with myself when these days are long-gone.  I can't even think about it!  All I know is that Sullivan is only 3 so I still have time on my side with him I won't take it for granted! 

Anyway, back to the train.  The girl's are convinced that the man in red WAS the real Santa.  Because his suit was so nice and fancy (his buttons were even engraved) AND it was a Christmas Train! So it HAD to be the real Santa!  It was such a cute production.  I was amazed at how good these actors were and how happy and cheerful they were!  They made every single child feel special because they looked into EACH child's eyes as we were sitting down and getting situated and spoke to them individually, just to ask them a couple of questions about themselves to make them feel special.  The songs were from the movie and the dancing was impressive!  Definitely worth the money.  Plus, we got humongous cookies, thick and delicious hot chocolate, and a beautiful silver bell "from Santa's sleigh." Oh, and the golden tickets, just like in the movie!  I loved it!  Sully loved looking out the window on the train and hearing it go "chooooo chooooo!" That was fun to watch.  And he sang Jingle Bells so loudly when they sang that song.  It was precious!

Another reason we went to Oklahoma City was because for Piper's birthday she asked if we could go indoor sky diving.  When Shawn and I did it back in June and told her about it she couldn't wait to try it one day.  So instead of a party this year, we said we'd do something fun as a family.  It could be ice skating, going to a movie or arcade, etc.  But nope! She wanted to go to iFly! It was a blast! I wish so badly I could upload videos to my blog because they look so cute going up and down in that wind tunnel!

When Piper was done she ran out and said “I could do that for HOURS! That was the best thing I’ve ever done!” 😁 Sully didn’t love the wind drying out his tongue (his words😝) so he only flew once💨. .  It also made him a little nervous.  I was surprised at that because I thought he'd love it.  But the wind and the loudness made him decide once was enough.  He liked it better when the instructor was holding onto him but when she would let go of him he didn't like not having that security.  But the girls each got 3 turns and loved every second of it!

 

 

We stayed in a hotel for 2 nights and made a little getaway out of it.  Oklahoma City is 90 minutes from home and staying in a hotel at Christmas time was the perfect way to kick off the start of Christmas break!  Everything is decorated so beautifully.  There is Christmas music playing, EVERYONE is wearing festive clothes, there were TONS of kids there for my kids to play with, the pool was very warm, and it was just a fun and festive atmosphere.  We even brought a piñata with us as one last birthday celebration for The Pi Baby :) We had such a nice weekend!

The week leading up to our weekend was busy (but I expected it and was ready!)  On Friday we ventured out to the Rhema Lights in Broken Arrow.  The weather was pretty nice that day so I think everyone had the same idea... because it was PACKED.  The lights were so spectacular, but it was a zoo out there!  It's ok though- the sites made it so worth it.  Saturday night we made our toffees.  Then Tuesday was me running all around making sure I had everything ready for Piper's birthday.  Wednesday was her birthday (already blogged about that), Thursday was Grinch Day (just for 1st graders) so Piper chose to be Cindy Lou Who and looked ADORABLE!  It was also her class Christmas party.  Friday was Lucy's class Christmas party and the school's annual Polar Express day so they all had hot chocolate, read the book and watched the movie- perfect lead up to our surprise Polar Express event for them Saturday.

This year we have done just as many things as we usually do (actually more because of our little get-away) but it felt easier than it normally does.  Maybe because this year is the first year we haven't had a stroller to lug around- all 3 of my kids can walk with us for the first time EVER! Sully's older so he adapts a little better to the busy-ness of my life.  We can be off of a routine a little and everything is OK.  We didn't have nap schedules to work around for the first time in 8 years and it just felt like it was all more manageable.  Maybe this is what people mean when they tell me "it gets easier."  Maybe they're right and for the first time I'm getting a taste of what they mean.  I hope it keeps getting easier! This season has been really enjoyable.  I've loved it!

Anyway, here we are, Sunday night (although I won't publish this until Monday because it's almost midnight and I'm ready for bed and not finished yet).  The last 3 days before Christmas.  I'm tired but happy.  I don't want Christmas to end.  I swear, December goes by faster and faster every single year!  The next post I write will be my Christmas post.  It's sad that it's almost over :(  The next couple of days I really want to focus on Christ and talk a lot about the true meaning of Christmas now that all the fun parties are out of the way.  I'm going to squeeze every moment of goodness out of my next 3 days.

Merry Christmas everyone.