Monday, November 28, 2011

Holiday Overview

Thanksgiving didn't happen quite like we planned. My mom ended up with a badly pinched nerve in her neck, so we hosted Thanksgiving dinner at our house. The kids all pitched in, and it was wonderful. (Can you believe that while I was at the gym on Wednesday, the kids started doing the things on my To-Do List?) First, thing they did was straighten the Christmas tree.

Ariel got out all the linens, china, crystal and silver. Here's a photo of the table she set.


Then on Friday after everything was put away, and Ariel and I finished shopping. (I got a beautiful pair of $70 black leather pumps for $19--now I don't have to wear the hand-me-downs that are a half size too small. That's really my own fault, I'm too cheap to buy anything not drastically reduced and I haven't been able to find anything at the thrift store.) Anyway, after all that, the kids decorated the Christmas tree. Matt made spiced cider from scratch, it even had thin slices of lemon floating on top. Jacob did the lights--the tree looks like it's light from inside. Ariel sort and organized all the ornaments. And then the kids put them on. Cal and I sat on the couch and sipped cider. (Though he did make comments asking why it took them so long to do it--he's not used to sitting down and doing nothing.)

Here's the finished product. (And we didn't have to buy garland or ornaments despite the tree's 9+ height. Yay!)

I'm trying not to ponder the fact that in a couple of years, Cal and I will be doing all this alone again. Why is it that when kids finally become useful, they grow and move away?
Posted by at

7 comments:

  1. AnonymousNovember 28, 2011 at 9:11 AM

    Lovely table, lovely tree! My mom's often bemoaned the fact that my sister and I moved out on our own just as soon as we got to be really good fun. Of course, now my sister and her husband have an attached apartment on my parents' house, so she got to have one of her kids, at least, move back. You never know, maybe yours will stay close, too!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lydia KangNovember 28, 2011 at 10:55 AM

    The tree looks wonderful!!! Hope you mom feels better soon.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Andrew McPhersonNovember 28, 2011 at 11:06 AM

    It's because they can be useful for you that they must move on to do something useful for the world.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Susan Flett SwiderskiNovember 28, 2011 at 12:07 PM

    Gorgeous. Your family did a fabulous job. Yay kid power!

    There's joy in seeing our kids fly the nest and build their own beautiful lives, but we do still miss the wonders of kid power from time to time.

    ReplyDelete
  5. KrispyNovember 28, 2011 at 12:40 PM

    The tree and table look lovely! Hope your mom's doing better.

    I braved the Black Friday crowds and bought a bunch of sweaters at like half off. It was awesome! :D

    ReplyDelete
  6. DavidNovember 28, 2011 at 5:47 PM

    We're having a similar problem with chores. So far the chores have been comfortably spread out amongst 9 kids, but now that kids are starting to move away the workload increases for the younger kids.

    Kudos to Jake on the lights. They do look good! I love spiced cider, and does the fact that Matt made some mean he is over the illness?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Laura JosephsenNovember 29, 2011 at 3:35 PM

    Oooh, pretty tree! And how awesome that the kids are helping so much. :D

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)