I'm sure for many folks, Christmas is over and the holiday clean-up has begun. For us, in a way, it's kinda just beginning. We do a "twelve days of Christmas" tradition at our house, which I started when Caeley and Meara were younger and have tried to keep up, in various forms, since then. In practical terms, it means that we give the girls their presents from us on the days following Christmas, up to and including Epiphany, when they get their "best" gift. (Since we have both sets of grandparents within an hour drive, and see then both for Christmas, the girls get plenty of gifts on the actual holiday!) But in spirit it means that I try to spend a little more effort living "Christmas" in our home for the entire liturgical season, not just the one day that our society celebrates it.
In spite of the fact that all the ladies of the house seem to be coming down with a nasty cough/cold, we had a wonderful "day after Christmas" today. The girls opened their first gifts, we lounged around adorned in new bathrobes and slippers (we never did get dressed), played Uno, played outside with the chickens, enjoyed some hot cocoa and cookies, and tried to savor every moment we have with Daddy home from work. In the midst of all the special, organic moments, I realized with great humility (and some embarrassment) how little time I spend just goofing around or playing with the girls. They were so excited that I "played" with them today, helping them set up their new doll house dolls and playing a "westward expansion" scenario. This afternoon Caeley said, "Mom is REALLY getting into the spirit!" and Meara later asked, "Mom, are you going to play with us next year on the day after Christmas?" Oh dear...am I really that bad? There's nothing like having children throw the mirror up to your face and expose all the ways in which you fall short of their ideals and your own ideal! (Rest assured, this will be on the "new year's resolutions" list, which thankfully I don't have to make yet!)
I'm glad we still have plenty of Christmas left in our house, but I'll leave you with some pictures of the celebrating we've already done.
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| Really? You're making me put on this dumb outfit and go outside when I'm not feeling well? |
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| Feeding the ladies sunflower seeds. Hawks showed up as usual and they had to go back in the coop after about 45 minutes. |
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| She had a lot of fun chasing chickens! |
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| Our sweet girl Elizabeth likes to hide in our coats. |
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| Cruisin' |
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| The girls in the pageant on Christmas Eve. (Two shepherds....) |
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| No chimney? Hang by the stairs with care. |
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| No comment. |
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| So happy to get BOOKS! |
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| Sister helping sister dig in. |
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| My dad being silly. |
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| My favorite gift: Chicken Lady Pants. Quilted Carhartt Overalls for doing winter gardening, chicken duty, etc. They are SO comfortable and made the morning chicken rounds so much more enjoyable this morning. I also wore them this afternoon during our chicken visit. The best thing about them? You can throw them on easily over your pjs and not have to worry about getting your clothes or pjs dirty! And they kinda feel bulletproof, so I feel like a bit of a superhero when I wear them. |
