It will be an interesting Christmas this year. The last time Hannah was home for Christmas was in 2009, and this year will be the first with all of my girls. We will have a full house this year and I am so happy and thankful for it. I think we will attempt the "Christmas Light Adventure" again this year, so please pray for us all that we make it without yelling, crying, or vomiting. We may need to take multiple cars this year and communicate with walkie-talkies, unless of course we want to rent a twelve passenger van to fit both families. If we do...Hannah, you sit up front. If you don't know what I mean, look up that blog from last year. It is an interesting read.
Anyway, Hannah flies in on Christmas Eve. Cooper is staying here also. Riley will be old enough this year to actively participate on Christmas morning. This should be fun, I think. We never go overboard on Christmas, nor do we don't break the bank trying to provide things for our children. We do get them something, of course, but we don't spend hours in lines and hours assembling toys. Our children are provided for, and they also understand the true meaning of the Christmas holiday. They know what is most important, but they also have their wish lists. Here are some examples.
Cooper I think had the most varied list. She will be seven in two months, so that means she is getting into the "girly" stuff. Her most obvious example came from a letter she wrote to Santa and asked for long fingernails. The child wants fake fingernails form Christmas? To be more specific, she wants 99 of them, because I guess an even 100 is just silly or too much to ask for. She also wanted balloons. She listed every color she wanted so there would be no guessing.
I think some of that came from the Taylor Swift concert. She also wanted a guitar and microphone on a stand. Presumably, it is so she can strum the guitar and sing into the microphone without having to hold it just like Taylor Swift. Of course she will find it difficult to play a guitar, or do most things without causing injury, with long fake press-on fingernails. But hey, every kid needs to learn that lesson on their own right? If she tried to pick her nose and accidentally poked herself in the eye because she forgot about the extra inch and a half of plastic pink and green nail on the end of her finger...well, I guess she would only do that one time right?
Then there is Hannah. She will be ten in a few days. I can't believe my baby, my first born, will be ten years old. Time flies. Anyway, she is now into the "electronics phase" of childhood. No it is not one of the developmental phases Jung or Erikson discussed, but it is one that every parent knows exists. Hannah has stated she wanted an iPod, a Nintendo DSi XL, iPad, computer, and so on. The child knows about technology, the internet, wi-fi connectivity, and other such things. I don't think Santa, or daddy, can afford all of that. Maybe one of those things will surface this year.
Riley Grace will still be easy to shop for. A box is still the greatest toy ever as long a she can sit inside of it. And if she does Cooper will always be counted on to push the box, with Riley inside, around the room on the wood floors. Anything Mickey Mouse will be a hit. She likes to "read" her sisters' books, as well as throw them around the living room. Yes, it should be fun this year.
Truthfully, I enjoy seeing my kids' faces on Christmas morning when they walk, or run, into the living room to see what is under the tree. I remember being young like that. There was the mystery of Santa and how a fat man carrying a huge bag got into my house, that did not have a chimney, without being noticed. Then, how did all of the reindeer land on my roof and I didn't even hear them? I mean seriously, there were nine of them pulling a sleigh around that the fat man and his bag of toys was in. That should have made one loud thud. There were the piles of stuff that were mine, and theirs. The arguments over what toy belonged to which child were always comical. This year I get to experience that from a parent's perspective. I will have coffee in hand, bed head (now that I let my hair grow longer that a flat top), and a camera to capture the fun, love, sharing, fighting, yelling, and pandemonium that is Christmas morning in the Scifres household.
