Merry December!

It is already the 10th! And I have yet to post! Boo! Hiss…this month always goes too fast. Why can’t February pass with such alacrity?
So! We have launched into our December traditions with a vengeance. The tree is up,  the nightly Christmas books are wrapped, the cocomotion is on duty every night, the Christmas devotionals have also begun. The advent calendar has been stuffed with chocolate and love letters and  our evenings are pretty awesome.
I can honestly say that there is a better spirit in our home during this season. I wish I could say it was because ‘tis the season of goodwill to all men where kindness and goodness pervades the very air that we breathe. And maybe there is a little bit of that. But I’m certain it has a lot more to do with turning off the T.V early and spending about an hour just focusing on being together by the light of the twinkly tree.  A dim, twinkly room, Christmas music (chocolate), singing carols, reading scriptures chocolate) and telling each other what we love about each other (chocolate) every night, can only help but be more serenity-promoting than glancing at each other over electronics with a blaring TV as background noise.  The lack of that over-stimulating chaos over the last several nights has made me wonder why on earth we succumb to it the rest of the time. It is soul destroying, sanity destroying, and potentially family destroying, yet we invite it in..the tv, the internet, the phones, the tablets.. and embrace it like a long lost love. And after December is over, we will probably go right back to doing that again. Sigh.. People are weird.
Anyway here are a few pics of us getting our tradition groove on over the last 10 days..
Benj was very delighted that he “happened” to unwrap How the Grinch stole Christmas for the first book. (I feel like it was less of a coincidence than we might imagine).

Ella was delighted to make the hot chocolate tray her little perch

And to give multiple high fives..(Ella needs a haircut..ya think?)
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Gracie and Finny were delighted by the Aussie version of The Night Before Christmas (thanks Shona and Marc!)

Benj takes finds his note (and his chocolate) in the advent calendar. (As much as I would love to say we started this process at 6:15 each evening, the clock behind him is South Africa time)

Gracie feels the love and  Benjamin ushers in fits of hysteria over his accents and impersonations…(Carrrrloooos TEVES.)

Aaron brings us all hot chocolate. Hooray for Aaron

Gabe giggles over his note and pretty much everything else. Gabe has a good sense of humour.

I love that after a while of just hanging out and talking in the cozy lighting, nobody wants to break the spell so we hang out like that for the rest of the night. Here’s Gabe doing his homework by the light of the tree..

Sometimes we joke that we have created a monster with all of these traditions..it can take a while (and some dedication) to get them all done every night.  But really, when it comes down to it,  I wouldn’t want to ditch any of them. Traditions in and of themselves can be kind of silly and fluffy, but the mood that they generate and the time that they create for families to spend time together, creating memories (yes I know…it’s soooo cheesy but it’s true) make them priceless.

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