Thanks, Great Kate!

Every year, my mom's best friend, whom we call Aunt Kate, generously buys Christmas gifts for all my kids. The kids call her Great Kate - and she is - in so many ways! I think of her near daily as I'm pursuing to raise boyz - or at least safely escort them to adulthood --as she successfully raised two of her own.  She had two boys and my mom had two girls. Growing up we would often get together to go swimming in their pool or have them down to the lake for weekend adventures. Life with her two boys were always adventures! Especially when Jamie tried to convince Tommy to ride his tricycle off the roof! Or when Tommy and I went swimming in the bathtub together!  It wasn't until later that I understood why we always stopped by Aunt Kate's to show her our prom dresses or when we were older she joined us for fittings for our wedding dresses. But when I was a little girl, I always remember she always generously gave us the most wonderful girl gifts for Christmases through the years - monogrammed jewelry boxes that made music when you lifted the lids, pretty silver necklaces, jewelry from her exotic travels and the most memorable -  beautiful bride dolls that looked liked us - each very thoughtful and special treasures that I still have today!

But having raised boys, Great Kate "gets it" and she applies her thoughtful art of gift giving to the task each Christmas.  Somehow she's always able to pick just the thing that each of our boyz is into that year - last year she gave Kiefer a floating soccer disc that had rubber bumpers on it and lights up when you kick it and it bounces into the baseboards and slides around the kitchen floor - he still plays with it near daily! And she gave Carter a geology rock kit full of geodes, a hammer, eye goggles, a microscope and tweezers where he could hammer the stones open and investigate their crystal centers.  There've been lego kits, light up race cars, science experiments - you name it.  Each a boy's dream come true!

And this year raised the bar even higher with an electricity conduction kit that lights up for Kiefer, a lego kit with gears and an idea book for Griffin, a puzzle with winde up cars that ride the puzzle tracks for Fletcher.  But the piece de resistance -- a Nerf cross bow and arrow set for Carter!

This was like the little boy in "The Christmas Story" opening his Red Rider BB gun as Carter opened the box with his mouth wide open as Mom doesn't allow Nerf guns in the house. But since it was from Great Kate, it was the exception.

For the remainder of Christmas day Nerf arrows were zinging past my head - the breeze blowing my hair up and near misses left and right.  There were near misses of lamps and arrows landing in the fireplace. We all laughed and tolerated the torment hoping the newness would wear off soon.  The day after Christmas their aim got better and I was being struck with the arrows while my back was turned. Again, we'd laugh it off. After all, it's Christmas.

Soon, Fletcher became interested in the cross bow.  Actually, more like obsessed.  You see, his favorite thing in the whole wide world is his toy sword and sheath that hangs on his belt. He got it for his birthday last June and he still sleeps with it most nights and wears it on his waist belt most days.  He's obsessed with weaponry.  He makes me fight him in the kitchen as he'll dig out my turkey baster and my dough hook from my cooking utensil drawer and will place them in my hands saying "You're Captain Hook, Mommy, and I'm Peter Pan."  Then I'll join in and start speaking in my best pirate voice, "Arrrgggghhh! Have Ye Seen My nemesis Peter Pan?" And we'll continue to sword fight in the kitchen - sometimes ending in the demise of Captain Hook.  Yes, I'd say obsessed is putting it lightly. Then I made the mistake of introducing him to the world of Narnia and now he rotates through being Peter Pan or King Peter the Great from Narnia, and sometimes I get to be the White Witch and other times I get to be Lucy.  (I much prefer Lucy.)

So a few days after Christmas, I wasn't entirely surprised to hear a large crashing sound in our front hallway.  I came running from the kitchen and before I got all the way there I heard a faint "I'm sorry, Mommy…." from the top of the staircase.  My next observation was that our large brass chandelier that hangs in our entry way was swinging back and forth with great gusto and the loud crashing sound was the obvious demise of the wooden divided light window pane that had fallen from our second story entry window after being hit by a Nerf cross bow arrow and had crashed to the ground.

I'm not sure what gave him the idea to practice target shooting from the top of the stairs - it must be a boy thing. He'd already apologized and he obviously had not meant to cause such damage and I'm grateful to report that I actually didn't over react this time.  I just calmly walked to the top of the stairs and gently removed the cross bow from the four year old's hands, then I picked up the stray arrows that were strewn about the front entry way and I walked them outside to the garage where I disposed of them properly.  Sorry, Great Kate.  He liked it a little too much.

Daddy-O went to work with his wood glue and clamps and had the window pane pieced back together and back in the window the next day.

Now I have to figure out how exactly to word all this in a proper thank you note for Great Kate. But she had boys… she'll understand.  In fact, I bet she'll laugh her hearty laugh.  After all, she "gets it."

Mom's Top Ten (actually 11) Christmas Memories from 2014

11. Can I add an 11th? The boys were so excited to put up our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving! They were literally running around the house putting their trees up in their rooms or helping with other tasks. Digging through the gigantic boxes for ornaments and helping test the strands Christmas lights.  Fletcher woke up the day after Thanksgiving and said “It’s Christmas!!!” because to him, Christmas begins when we put the decorations up.  I don’t do a lot of things well as a mother, but I’m pleased that we have set aside the whole month of December to ‘celebrate’ Christmas and that has made a lasting impression on them!

10. Seeing the Yuletide christmas concert through the eyes of a child! Fletcher asking about the puppet Santa, “How did he do that?” “He was REAL!” “He even wiggled!” Fighting the boys to all wear their matching outfits. The oldest put up the biggest fight! Striped socks hanging over the edge of the chairs in the Circle Theatre. Eating Candy Cane Cookies at intermission. Walking around the corner as we were leaving to see the Christmas lights on the Circle. Griffin & Fletcher reviewing it at breakfast the next morning saying, “That Opera Lady didn’t know how to sing ‘Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer’” then imitating her operatic singing style! :)

9.  Making Christmas cookies, and more Christmas cookies and more Christmas cookies! And then inviting the neighborhood kids to help us make cookies. There was flour EVERYWHERE! And the look in their eyes when we invited them to join us making cookies. Then on little boy asked Carter, ‘Won’t your dad be mad about all this mess?” and Carter answered, “Nope!”  Hosting a cookie party for several of our school friends and their moms the afternoon before the last day of school. Decorating cookies with Shannon down at the lake the weekend before Christmas.

8.Fletcher’s preschool Christmas program. Seeing him sing all the words and trying not to smile wearing his cute red sweater.

7. Serving together at the Lord’s Pantry food pantry downtown. Praying together before the shoppers came in “Give us this day, our daily bread.”.... grateful for our many blessings. Griffin saying in the car on the way there, “I feel sorry for the people who live in these houses.” Carter totally stepping up to hand out treat bags to the kids with cheer and hospitality.

6. Going to the Children’s museum one afternoon after school for an hour before they closed and getting to see Santa without a wait! And riding the carol-sel - because they played Christmas carols as they rode it!

5. Going to the lake the weekend before Christmas and decorating the house for Christmas, going for a walk in the woods, the boys wearing their hunting garb, surprising Creepy, Sandy and Shannon and Creepy saying, “I wouldn’t be more surprised if I woke up with my face sewn to the carpet!” :) Sitting by the fire, watching Christmas movies and icing Christmas cookies with Shannon - and eating a ton of cookies before dinner!

4.Reading Christmas stories by the fire several evenings before bedtime. And peppermint hot cocoa overflowing in Santa cups with a straw all month long!

3.The boys having a “sleep over” as they camped out on the floor in front of the fire and underneath the Christmas tree and slept there all night! And another night had a "Christmas Music Dance Party!" (Why they take their shirts off for dance parties is another blog for another time! )

2. Seeing Christmas through the eyes of a child! Hearing them discuss things like “Sam on the bus said that Santa’s not real!” and another chiming in, “Oh, well, Santa’s real. Isn’t he, Mom?” or Asking Griffin asking why Santa only brings toys for their stockings and Fletcher answering “Because that’s what the elves make!”  Their excitement and anticipation increasing each day in the month of December and countless requests of “Can we open presents now?” on Christmas eve!!  How they each decorated their own mini Christmas trees in their rooms and enjoying the colorful glow of Christmas lights at bedtime each night. Reading Christmas stories for bedtime!  Leaving cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve. Christmas themed Jammies!  And Then Kiefer excitedly going to bed as soon as we asked him to on Christmas Eve and falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow so he could fall asleep fast Christmas eve and Carter saying he was going to stay up to listen for reindeer bells, and then everyone else agreeing, “Yea, I’m going to listen too!” Even Kiefer said, “I’m going to listen in my sleep!” Yes, the magic of Christmas through the eyes of a child!

1. Happy boyz on Christmas morning!! Numerous surprises and “Oh, that’s just what I wanted!” or “How did you know that’s what I wanted?” or “I got it!!!!” as they excitedly unwrapped the one thing they were really hoping they would get.  Being able to give them a special Christmas was all the gift I wanted.  Even if it only lasted 15 minutes!  The memories will last a lifetime! For me, and them, I hope!  Later that afternoon Kiefer said, “This was the best Christmas of my life!”  That makes it all worthwhile!