Merry Christmas!

Our whirlwind trip up north left us looking a little bit like this...but it was a wonderful time!

A Very Renquin Christmas

We celebrated Christmas with Aaron's parents on Sunday. Actual Christmas weekend is filling up quickly, so we decided to celebrate with them a little early so we could enjoy the day.

It was a great day!

Mommy's Boy

Snow Babies

Alpha Boy

Speaking of readers, I neglected to tell you in my last post that Liam is well on his way to being a reader as well! He started off with his name, then Max's name and then Mom and Dad. He is really working on letter sounds and sounding out words. On our way home from our last trip up north he read "stop" and "open" on his own! He also sounded out "believe" at grandma's the other day. He's very into what words mean, and I'm always amazed at what he wants to know. He has recently asked what "distance" means, as well as "guide" and "cancel". My favorite thing is when he uses the words I've defined for him once he knows what they mean. It's so fun watching him learn.

Reading Rainbow

We have a little reader on our hands!

Max brings us books to read to him all day long, and we are usually happy to oblige!

Unless it is the 1,000th reading of Happy [shoot me now] Birthday.  

It's so cute watching him pick up on new words and ideas through books. His memory is very much like his brother's. Speaking of brothers, Liam is now at an age where we can pass off that 1,000th reading of a mind-numbing book to him! He will sit with Max and show him pictures or make up a story to go with each page. It's pretty adorable.

First Gifts of Christmas

Liam put the first presents under our tree this year, and they were gifts for us from him!

He went to the "Gingerbread House" at his school last week where he got to pick gifts for his family.

He also chose the wrapping paper and wrote out the gift tags! He was SO excited when he brought them home. We decided that we'd have a special family Christmas opening so he wouldn't have to wait too long to see us open his gifts! We also got him a little Star Wars Clone Trooper figurine to open from us.

He handed the gifts out all by himself!

Here he is giving me my gift!

Here's Max's gift!

I love the look on his face as he watches us all opening them!

He chose a little wooden duck pull toy for Max!

Here he is helping Aaron!

Again, the most adorable look on his face!

He got Aaron a blaze orange hunting vest!

He got me a reed diffuser! It's to make things "smell like a girl" he said!

Such a sweet kid.

Maxwell & The Rockettes

Max dancing along to the Radio City Music Hall's Christmas Spectacular.
It's sideways, but I had to hurry to get it on film!

Eh

This week has just been kind of blah. I've been working and sick for most of the week. Flu earlier in the week and now some kind of cold that involves a very sore throat and losing my voice. Great. Perfect for my job in which communicating is my main responsibility.

Liam visited the "gingerbread house" at his school on Tuesday and chose gifts for his family! He also had them wrapped and filled out the gift tags! He's been so patiently waiting these past few days for us to open them! We are having a special "family Christmas" tonight to unwrap them and maybe watch a Christmas movie and bake some cookies. Should be fun.

In other news, Liam came into our room this morning at 3:30am to tell us that he "MADE A BED FOR YOU DAD! AND GULLAH GULLAH ISLAND IS ON!" Yes, he apparently woke up, didn't feel tired and decided to build some kind of bed and watch tv. There was a lot of crying when we told him he needed to go back to sleep, but he did. And then Max woke up.

Awesome.

Christmas Eve on Sesame Street

Max is transfixed during his inaugural viewing of the family favorite:

Christmas Eve on Sesame Street.

Silent Night, Holy Night

One of my favorite Christmas traditions growing up was attending the live nativity at a church in Iron Mountain. We'd stand in line on a (usually) frigid night to see the holy family in the stable with angels and wisemen, donkeys and sheep all around. There are so many things to occupy our time and our thoughts during this season, and most of them have nothing to do with the birth of Christ. I want to continue the tradition of attending a live nativity with our family now that the boys are getting old enough to appreciate it.

Last year I read about a nativity in De Pere and decided to take Liam to see it. I told him all about how we'd get to walk up close to Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus (who may or may not be a doll - it's good to be prepared) and see everything in the stable. He was super excited to see it, but fell asleep on the car ride there. I woke him up when we arrived and then realized that this wasn't like the nativities I'm used to. It was an interesting take on the traditional live nativity, but not what I'd been hoping for. Cars basically drove around the circle drive of the church and looked out their windows at the various scenes - wise men, shepherds, angels, and then the stable scene with the usual cast of characters. I was disappointed, and Liam was a little saddened to not be able to walk right up to Jesus like I'd told him he could. It was a little too much "drive through Jesus" for me, so I had hoped this year I could find something different.

This year Meg and I took Liam to the live nativity at the Bridge Between Retreat Center in Denmark, WI. It's about a half hour drive from the city, and they hold it in a big Belgian cathedral barn on their property. I had heard that it was very good, and was looking forward to taking Liam. He was once again super excited to see the baby Jesus. We arrived right around the 7pm start time and were led into the side door of the barn. A small crowd of people sitting on hay bales greeted us. We chose a bale near the back of the group and sang along to several Christmas carols. You couldn't beat the atmosphere of the barn - a soaring cathedral ceiling rose above us, geese and ducks and even a few llamas peeked in as well. Tiny white lights were strung along the beams overhead, and it was just cold enough to warrant some snuggling with my best boy. His eyes were shining each time he looked at me; I knew he couldn't wait to see what would happen next. We sang and we listened. A children's story was read. Then Sister Caroline spoke. She said that Mary and Joseph wouldn't be coming this year...

At first I couldn't believe that this was happening again! I had built this up to be a chance to see the baby Jesus up close, and it wasn't going to happen. I was afraid of upsetting Liam after all of the anticipation. Sister Caroline explained that she had prayed for three weeks about this decision and then spoke about the holy family being present in us and with us and part of us already. She did a wonderful job, but I couldn't help but feel disappointed that the night wasn't going as I'd hoped. I quietly whispered to Liam that Jesus couldn't come tonight because it might be too cold for him. He didn't miss a beat. "Can I look at the ducks?" he asked. He happily rang a small bell as we sang Joy to the World. I had worried he'd be too cold; he asked to take his hat and mittens off. I had wanted so much to see his face as he looked with wonder at this Christmas scene and just took it all in. Instead, I saw him awestruck by the sheer height of the barn's ceiling, how close he got to a llama, and a path lit by tealights in mason jars.

My son taught me in his sweet little way that Christmas, and indeed life, might not go according to plan but that this doesn't mean that something is missing. We might think we know exactly what we need to be happy, but it just might be that we need far less than we thought.

Sun, Snow & Smiles

I love this picture of an afternoon snow shower up north!

It makes me smile.

This drooly kid makes me smile, too!

Thanksgiving

Happy...Halloween?

I was on my way home from London when this little mechanic went trick-or-treating!

Even Darth Vader needs a mechanic.

"Max, I am your father."

Better late than never!

Now, on to Advent!

Dear, Deer

We've returned from our epic trip up north! It was a great week spent hanging out with family and eating a lot. The hunters went out last Saturday for opening day of deer season and Aaron shot his first deer! It just so happened that a 10 point buck wandered through about 20 minutes into the season and Aaron made a great shot! He was very excited! The boys and I drove out to his stand to help drag it out (well, the boys weren't much help for that...) and it was the first deer registered at the station Aaron went to! A great first deer after just three years of hunting!

The View from Here

And I leave you with my favorite picture from London - the view from the sculpture court at Hampton Court Palace.

We're heading up north for a loooooong stay!

Back next Friday!

Haunted London

Sarah and I went on a Haunted London ghost walk over Halloween weekend. The guide was from the same company that led the Jack the Ripper walk I went on with a friend while studying abroad. That walk was amazing, and I knew this one would most likely follow suit. The atmosphere was perfect; it started raining lightly and then became blustery and dark the further we walked. We heard about many unfortunate individuals who met untimely deaths and still walk the small alleyways we wound our way through. Our guide was a great storyteller and really drew in our crowd of about 25. We walked for a good two hours before disbanding in a dark alley and looking over our shoulders (for ghosts of course) as we walked back to the tube station. We had a great time! Sarah took this awesome shot as we walked past St. Dunstan's church. It captures the mood of the evening perfectly!

London Potpourri

Here are a few more photos of the London trip!

I love tea-time fare...especially scones, clotted cream and jam. Yum!

Walking through Kensington Park...

...we happened upon an art installation similar to "the bean" in Chicago...and got yelled at for standing on this cement platform. "NOT FOR STANDING!" the guard yelled. Ummm...ok, chill out, buddy.

Can you tell I love the park?

We also love Quality Street chocolates. I discovered them on my first trip to London and haven't been able to live without it since. Here, Sarah illustrates how easy it is to consume an entire Quality Street tin.

We visited The Globe...one of my other favorite places in London. I saw The Taming of the Shrew about five times and Twelfth Night four times when I studied abroad. Amazing. Their season only goes through early October though (it's an outdoor theater), so I wasn't able to see a show this time.

We had fish and chips at this lovely pub down the road from Sarah's flat. Salt, malt vinegar...and it only tastes like this in London! So good.

After our epic walk from Fleet Street, along the Thames and over to the south bank.

St. Paul's Cathedral is behind us.

I had so much fun, sister! Can't wait until you get home!

Family

I look at this family of mine and think of all the generations before us who lived and loved us into being.

The ones who worked hard and built their families so I might one day build my own.

Those who have served as great examples of living simply and loving well.

I see their reflection in me and in my children.

And the best in them becomes the best in us.

Tudor Gardening...

Sarah and I spent quite a bit of time exploring the extensive gardens around Hampton Court Palace.

It was deserted since we had arrived so early, and we walked amidst the perfectly manicured lawns alone.

The trees evoked that very "ancient" feel that every palace should have...

Under King Henry's windows

There are most fair and pleasant gardens

With royal knots and herbs

And many marvellous beasts

Such as lions, dragons and other diverse kinds

With many vines, seats and strange fruit well kept

And nourished with much labour and dilligence.