Where We Are Right Now ~ Christmastime!

I'm so behind on telling stories, I think I'm frozen in my steps, just not having any idea where to begin. Honestly, I think it started because I didn't have photos that I would like to have had of Anjali playing in the ocean in Maui. And I didn't want to go on telling more recent stories, because I had older stories left unfinished. And, well, that was a long time ago now! So I'll just pick up and hopefully fill in as I go. Life just keeps on happening, and Anjali just keeps getting bigger and smarter and more her own person.

We are in the midst of Christmas preparation, of course. Over Thanksgiving weekend, we followed the Espiritu-Mackin extended family up into the mountains to pick out a Christmas tree! It was rainy-snowy and very cold. A muddy adventure, for sure.

Slowly, we have been decorating the tree with hand-made adornment. We collected pinecones on a walk, and Anjali and I rolled them first in egg white, and then in glitter. Then I attached wire hangers. Now the whole family is making popcorn garland, with knots of red wool sweater in place of cranberries (which are not yet available at our natural foods co-op). One evening we sat at the table and listened to the classic radio show version of A Christmas Carol while we strung popcorn.

Anjali has been fairly obsessed with listening to Christmas music. Papi and I are lucky we don't really mind. :) First, the song she wanted to listen to non-stop was Jingle Bells, then My Two Front Teeth, and now, it's I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus. She steps up onto the "stepping stool" and looks at the photo of the album cover on the phone as it plays, and sways back and forth dancing and singing. You'd be impressed with how many songs she knows words to: Here Comes Santa Claus, The First Noel, It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas, Little Drummer Boy ("Rum Pah Pum Pum"), Silver Bells, and others. She corrected me on some of the words ~ "Oh, what a laugh it what happened," as opposed to, "Oh, what a laugh it would have been...(if Daddy had only seen.. Mommy kissing Santa Claus last night)." :)

We so look forward to seeing so many loved ones very soon!

As I have already described very recently with Anjali's birthday, we would really like to keep gifts for Anjali to a minimum. I promise we are not trying to be kill-joys or party-poopers, we simply want to emphasize that sharing experiences together with loved ones is what makes holiday gathering special. All of us are already so blessed with more-than-enough. If you feel you must get Anjali something (which we certainly do not expect!), I have created the list at the top to the right to give you some ideas.

We love you all, and hope you're enjoying the season and staying warm and dry. :)