The Twelfth Day of Tradition

As I made my list of traditions to talk about on the blog, I decided to save "Church" for the twelfth day. It seemed perfect to write about that topic after coming home from Christmas Eve service, our first at Joy. I had looked forward to this particular service all month. The kids would wear their Christmas outfits for the first time and my parents were coming with us. Then, I could talk about it here. Oh, what a beautiful service I thought it would be.

Then the snow came. We got our first blizzard warning ever. As the snow fell faster and the wind blew at unheard of speeds, we started to question whether or not we should go to church. Yes, it was something our family had been looking forward to but would it be safe. We certainly would never endanger our children - just how bad was it? Finally, we conceded that driving would not be in our best interest, and we would have to miss church. Five minutes after making that decision, my phone rang. It was our dear friend, telling us that church had been canceled. Ironic that I saved this tradition for tonight, isn't it?

Looking back over the twelve traditions that I have described over the past week and a half, I have seen how they have changed over time. Some have been done for years (such as the ornaments, which we have done since Sister was born) others are new (such as the Christmas Performances). Some have stayed consistent year after year (such as getting a new Christmas outfit), others have undergone changes (such as church being canceled). Nevertheless, these traditions are important parts of our lives and will continue to be so over the years.

The Eleventh Day of Tradition

Christmas Program: Since Christmas traditions are always evolving, I wanted to include a new tradition for our family. In the past, Sister has had Christmas programs in her dance classes. This year, however, we have been bombarded with Christmas programs that she has been a part of. Last Thursday, her Mother’s Day Out put on their Christmas show. They read a poem and sang several songs. Sunday, she was in the church Christmas Performance. Here are a few pictures from the performance (BTW, thank you to everyone whom sent me pictures, I really appreciate all of them!):

The Tenth Day of Tradition

Pictures: Once you get those cuties all dressed up, what else is left to do but take their pictures? I love pictures and we have thousands saved on our computer. Some years we have pictures done; this year we are going to take own pictures. Check back next week to see what shots we get from them.

The Ninth Day of Tradition

Christmas Clothes: One of the most exciting parts of Christmas are the beautiful outfits. I love the dresses and hair bows, the little boy shirts and vests. I start shopping early, and usually get their outfits from a consignment store or JBF in August or September. Sister loves to wear fancy dresses and Brother…well, I’m still in that easy stage where he wears whatever I put on him. Check back tomorrow to see what tradition we fulfill in our cute outfits…

Brother and Sister last year in their outfits.

The Eighth Day of Tradition

It looks like we have reached the week of Christmas, and time to talk about the eighth tradition: family. I have plenty of not-so-pleasant memories of extended family and Christmas from my childhood (that will not be shared here and now – trust me, there isn’t a blog big enough for all that). As a result, we have worked out a strict holiday schedule so there are no surprises or guilt trips. Christmas Eve is always spent with my family. Christmas morning we have our little family time, during which we read the Christmas story (and this year, we are adding a new tradition of having our Birthday Biscuit Breakfast on Christmas morning). Christmas lunch is with Aaron’s grandparents and extended family. We enjoy one more Christmas, with Aaron’s parents, siblings, and their families; this is the only one that isn’t scheduled ahead of time, but it is usually the weekend after Christmas. I am very thankful that the family we visit is close to us – the furthest we travel is Owasso or Mounds (depending on which of Aaron’s grandparent’s we see that Christmas). The one sad part about this Christmas is the family that will not be here. My brother will remain in China until January, when he comes back for a month long visit. Nevertheless, I know that Christmas is more than just a day, and we will celebrate our time as a family when he does return. In the meantime, I am thankful for emails, blogs, and Facebook as a way to communicate with one another while we are apart.

Last year's Christmas with Grammy.

The Seventh Day of Tradition

Silver Dollar City: A couple of years ago, my parents decided that rather than give my kids toys for Christmas, they would buy us a season pass to Silver Dollar City. For the past two years, we went to SDC’s Christmas with my parents. Last year we went on the day before Christmas Eve. It was BELOW FREEZING! This year, we decided to go as early as possible. Between everybody’s work schedules and when our passes worked, we chose the Sunday before Thanksgiving. This year, the weather was perfect. None of us wore coats; long sleeves were sufficient for the beautiful weather. As the kids get older, they have more fun at SDC with their grandparents. This was Brother’s first year to ride a ride; next year he will be able to ride a plethora of rides (as long as they aren’t closed for the weather!).

To read more about our SDC trips, look in my archives. Yes, it would have been helpful if I labeled these...but I didn't. You're a big boy or girl; you can find them all by yourself.

The Sixth Day of Tradition

Dance: In case you haven’t figured out from previous blog posts, my daughter likes to dance. A lot. She started taking dance when she was a year old (please save your angry emails about how that is way too young to start a kid in an extracurricular activity. I wasn’t crazy about the idea at the time but it turned out that she loved it, so we stuck with it). Her old dance school had Christmas Performances at the Riverwalk during the Lights On Ceremony. In theory, this is a great idea. In practice, it is bitter cold and miserable. Last year, Sister got so cold that she cried before she went on stage (but refused to leave when we gave her that option). Of course, as soon as she got on stage, she stopped crying, put on a big smile, and did her dance. Not surprisingly, she cried again after she got off the stage. As much as I liked much of that dance school, the outdoor Christmas Performance was not one of them.

This year, Sister’s dance school did a small, in-class recital. This was a welcome change for us since we began a new tradition of dancing in the Nutcracker. Sister really enjoyed this experience and already is talking about dancing in the Nutcracker in the future.

(Sister after performing in The Nutcracker)