A last look at 2011

Not surprisingly, our last big event of 2011 was Christmas. We had another wonderful Christmas this year, re-creating much of the slow pace and relaxation that made last year's Christmas so pleasant and memorable.

We started a new tradition on Christmas Eve this year--one I've been interested in starting for quite a while now. For dinner on Christmas Eve we had a "Bethlehem Dinner" where we dined by candlelight and ate foods that Mary and Joseph might have eaten all those many years ago. We had a few notable exceptions. 1)I wanted to serve fish; Jeremy wanted to make sure our currently-fussy Jonathan had some food in his stomach. Compromise: we had fish sticks. So classy. But Jonathan did eat a LOT of them. 2)I bought a package of pita bread at the store to save myself the trouble of making it myself. As it turns out, it might have been worth the trouble since the bread was moldy. Gross. We dined on regular wheat bread cut into triangles, but we did have fun toasting the slices over the candle.

The rest of the menu was hummus, pomegranate seeds, oranges, olives, and goat cheese. I don't know how "authentic" it was, but it was both fun and meaningful to eat the food and talk about the first Christmas. Towards the end of dinner, not knowing what the kids had absorbed from the whole event, we decided to go around and say what we were grateful for. I think I said I was grateful to be a mother like Mary, and Jeremy said he was grateful for Jesus. Then Clara and Jonathan surprised us in the best sense of the word. Clara told us she was grateful for Mary for having so much faith to have her baby in a manger. Jonathan said he was grateful that Joseph was so brave to be Jesus' dad. It was a sweet moment--one of those times where as parents we felt like any small effort we'd made was more than worth it.

We followed up dinner with our traditional reenactment of the Christmas story and a reading of The Night Before Christmas (read this year by my dad via one of those recordable storybooks, which was fun!). The kids went off to bed, and before any of us knew it, Santa had come and Christmas morning was upon us!




I love Christmas morning photos. The kids always look a little bewildered and certainly bleary-eyed, but the funny shots of their first glimpses of Santa's gifts really showcase the magic of the day for me.




Clara's Christmas list read as follows: "For Christmas I would like a toy pony with rider, some ear loves in my stocking, and a few surprises." She got what was on her list, though I think the "ear loves" were my favorite.



Jonathan loved his new light saber from Santa Claus, but I think one of the biggest hits was from Clara: a book called The Astonishing Secret of Awesome Man. It's a terrific book, and certainly a must-read for any young superheroes you might know. It's both funny and tender--two of my favorite sentiments.


I can't imagine anything I value more than spending Christmas with my sweet children and my best friend. I wish I could think of something more clever to say, but there it is. Merry Christmas to all!