Sadly, as I mentioned in an earlier post, Jeremy’s aunt Patsy died soon after Thanksgiving. The funeral was this weekend. Due to Savannah and I participating in Journey to Bethlehem, only Jeremy and Emery went to Mississippi to be with the family. And since it was just us girls, we headed over to my mom’s for the annual Cookie Bake.

It seems like each year there is something memorable that happens. There was the year my sister got us all matching aprons that said “Santa likes my cookies best!” And the year that Buzz Lightyear kept showing up next to the finished cookie trays in all the photos. This year was no different. Savannah, Jessica and I were decorating sugar cookies and I kept thinking something just didn’t look right. Then it dawned on me! Usually our sugar cookies are frosted in the traditional red, white and green Christmas colors. But this year there was neon blue, bright pink and fluorescent yellow. You see, Nanny became a die hard coupon-er this year and the colors on the cookies reflect the icing that she found on sale all year! Yeah, I’m pretty sure we won’t be letting her live that down anytime soon!!!

Last night was the Kids Choir Christmas performance. Savannah had been a nervous wreck ever since she found out she’d be singing on stage. With a little bribery, her attitude went from “I’m NOT getting up there and YOU can’t make me”, to “okay, all I have to do is try my best and not complain, then I get to spend the night at Nanny’s?”

She seemed fine once she got up in front of everybody with her class. She was kind of in the back, but that was okay. It left plenty of room for all the jumping and dancing she decided to do. (Maybe seeing The Nutcracker the night before had something to do with the impromptu dance moves.) Since she seemed so comfortable I decided to ask her how it was on the stage. “I thought I was going to throw up”, she said.

Emery was the complete opposite. I knew he would be. I just didn’t know the extent he would ham it up. He sang his little heart out, shouting “HI MOMMY!” and waving during the first song. Finishing up the second song grooving with hands on the hips, cue the laughter, which fueled him all the more. The general consensus I heard as we were leaving is “he really stole the show”.

(Those pictures are still on Nanny’s camera.)

Today we had our annual Christmas cookie bake at my mom’s house. After 8 hours, we produced pounds of fudge, decorated sugar cookies, and made candy, cookie bars, truffles, etc. This year Nanny felt Savannah was old enough to really participate in the event, beyond licking spoons and taste testing the final product. She got her very own set of cookie cutters, wooden spoon, and rolling pin.

Emery also got promoted this year. He was allowed to cut potato candy with a butter knife. And anything that involves the use of sharp objects is fun for him. He was on cloud nine!

Now, as bedtime approaches, we are all stuffed! Full of sugar, fat, and calories. Since this is the season of sharing, I think it’s only appropriate to give all our friends and neighbors that same euphoric feeling. I know…you wish you were my neighbor, don’t ya?

We started this tradition last year and it was so much fun. I couldn’t wait to do it again! If you don’t know what I’m talking about, let me sum it up like this: Basically, I take a bunch of Christmas books (we have exactly 30 this year) and gift wrap them. Each night during Advent the kids get to select a couple of books to read, either wrapped or already unwrapped. On Sundays we light an Advent candle to go along with the reading and talk about what it means. This is also a great time to bring out cups of hot cocoa and Christmas cookies!!!

So what do you do in preparation of Christmas? Ya know, besides putting up a tree, decorating the house, shopping, gift wrapping, sending cards, baking, traveling, going to parties, etc. Where do you find the calm in it all?

As the kids have gotten older, there are some traditions that they look forward to. Including, in no particular order, the making of a fire, roasting marshmallows, sleeping with the family member of their choice, and hiking in the woods. This year Nanny and Grampy also surprised us with tickets to Fantasy in Lights and also the nearby Wild Animal Safari.

Here is Emery feeding a giraffe. These guys would come right up to the bus and stick their heads inside to get the food. It made Savannah a little nervous, but Emery thought it was great! Other animals we got to feed were zebras, camels, water buffalo, pot bellied pigs, ostrich, deer, and my personal favorite, big beautiful elk.

The next day we visited the park where my dad watched the kids a few minutes while my sister, mom, and I walked around a small lake. Then we played some hide and seek before jumping on a hiking trail. The weather was perfect and after a few hours of fresh air, we were ready to head back for snacks and naps!

After waking up refreshed, we dressed warmly for an evening enjoying Christmas lights. Callaway Gardens has a phenomenal light display that takes an hour to drive thru on an open trolley, which included music, warm beverages, and a Christmas house full of handmade gifts.

This is also where the kids got their requests in early with Santa. Emery made it a point to tell him that he wanted Planet Heroes…”the whole set, Santa” and when Savannah asked him for Littlest Pet Shop toys she didn’t leave out the fact that what she really wanted was a rabbit “but Daddy said no.”

Before coming home the next day we stopped into Callaway one more time to visit the Butterfly House. For whatever reason, Savannah is deathly afraid of butterflies. But we did get her to agree to go with us and take her art supplies in hopes of looking through the glass and drawing them. In a way we were trying to desensitize her. It sort of worked too. After a while I asked her to come just inside the door and sit with me on a bench. She did, and soon after, she asked me to walk with her down the path. Unfortunately we didn’t get far when a group of butterflies zoomed past her face and she panicked, screaming “Get Me Out of Here, Mommy!!!!!!!!!!!!”

All in all it was a fantastic weekend. For me, it’s really the first year we’ve gone that I felt like I could sit back and relax. I didn’t have to worry about someone falling off a deck, getting burned in a fire, packing tons of diapers, pack-n-plays, or special foods. Everyone enjoyed being together as a family and a Mom, nothing makes me happier.

Thanks Mom and Dad for starting this wonderful family tradition!

But we did something fun today and I took a lot of pictures which can be found here.

Today was the annual Christmas Cookie bake, this year at my mom’s house. Each year, my mom, sister, and I all get together for one day of baking yummy Christmas goodies and before we go home, we all share what we’ve made. That way we have a large variety on the cookie trays that we share with family, friends, and neighbors, and we haven’t had to spend hours upon hours baking everything ourselves!

In years past my Grandma has been able to participate and one year a very good friend of mine who had moved to our area and was homesick for her own family cooking traditions joined us too. This year it was just us, and my kids, and…

Buzz Lightyear. Because when you invite a 2 year old boy to a cookie bake, he MUST bring Buzz Lightyear! Here is Buzz guarding the bread and potato candy while Emery took a nap. It’s the only way I could convince him that the cookies would NOT be gone by the time he woke up!

We all had a lot of fun. Savannah tasted everything in sight and now, as I’m typing this, she says her belly hurts. Hmmm…can’t imagine why? Emery on the other hand just wanted to try to DO everything in sight. “I do it!” “I roll the balls!” “I stir it!” “I pour!” You get the idea.

I did save one of my favorite recipes to make later this week and those would be Sugar Cookie Cut Outs. You know, the ones where you roll out the dough, dig out your old Christmas cookie cutters, bake, then frost them to look like Santas, snowmen, and angels. Those make such a HUGE mess but they are my absolute favorite Christmas cookies to make and eat! I’ll be tackling that project a few days so if you come back and wonder where I’ve gone again, well, now you know!

TTFN!!! :)

The kickoff for the annual event is a parade which begins at 10 am and it has become a York family tradition that everyone should either a) drive a tractor or b) be pulled on a tractor. This was Savannah’s 2nd year riding on a trailer and Emery’s first. But I think next year, Emery would like to drive:

It’s really great how many family members come, even from out of state, to have their chance to drive one of these gems! Aunts, Uncles, cousins, friends…you name it, they’re here! This year, some new friends of ours, the Edwards’ family rode on our trailer pulled by Jeremy.

After the parade folks can walk around and look at all the tractors and vintage cars (oh and I should mention here that before Jeremy got on our tractor he drove his 1967 Shelby through the parade route…that was a first for him!). There are tons of craft booths, small rides for the children, and lots of good smelling food.

We settled down on bales of hay with a couple of plates of BBQ, beans, and brunswick stew and listened to local band belt out country hits and a few golden oldies. Emery enjoyed boiled peanuts and Savannah danced her little heart out.

***If you are interested, more pictures from the festival and Papa’s tractors can be found here***

But then I did have kids. And the excitement didn’t automatically return. I have been through several holiday seasons now just going through the motions and doing what is expected of me. Planning a holiday party for our office staff, birthday party for Savannah, gift exchanges, mom’s group parties, family get togethers, church events, cookie bakes, friends dinner parties, school functions, etc. The list goes on and on. It’s too stressfull and exhausting to be any fun at all.

And last year was the last straw for me. I am calling it quits on the season of “go and do and see and be seen and by the way, bring a wrapped gift for the exchange”. I’m completely OVER IT! This is Christmas for CRYING OUT LOUD!!!! It’s about family and togetherness and snuggling around the fireplace singing carols while sipping on mugs of hot cocoa, dammit!

Which brings me to why I’m talking about it today of all days. Over the weekend I ordered a few books for my new Advent tradition and they have arrived. It has gotten me so excited!!! What is my new Advent tradition? I’m so glad you asked!

First of all, do you know what Advent means? It is a “season observed in preparation of Christmas”. It starts on the 4th Sunday before Christmas each year and is commonly represented by an Advent wreath, which holds 4 candles. Each candle is symbolic, and I won’t go into that here, but basically one is lit each week leading up to Christmas day.

So now that you know what Advent means, isn’t it totally appropriate that I would get out of the “Christmas Rat Race” by starting a tradition that uses the calming effect of candles to get our minds re-focused on what this season is all about? This is just so cool, I cannot wait until December 2nd!

Anyways, back to my plan. Before Advent starts, I’m going to individually wrap the kids Christmas books that they already own, plus the 5 new ones that I got super cheap on Amazon. Then, each night at bedtime, we will light a candle and they can choose one book to unwrap. Then we will read it together as a family. Now, I do not have enough books for them to unwrap a new one each night of Advent (which I think is about 23 days this year), but my kids are still young enough that they enjoy repetition, so that will not be an issue.

I think this is a wonderful tradition because as the kids get older they will have more and more books to choose from. This can be something they look forward to each year that will be calming in the midst of such busyness. And I hope they will always have pleasant memories of the weeks leading up to Christmas, rather than this being the time of year when it was best not to disturb Mom.

***And just so you know, I totally stole the idea from Chris! Feel free to do the same if it sounds like somethig your family would enjoy too!***