Christmas 2016

The Lego Winter Holiday Train

Thanks to the great sink fiasco of 2016, we were a day late building our Lego Christmas set for the year, but this evening, we sat down and got it done.

Each member of our family had a specific task:

In addition to the train itself, there were five new minifigs and a whole bunch of Lego toys and Christmas presents, which were built by Bunny and Chickadee:

img_9177

img_9145

Ryan started with the engine:

img_9147

And Moose built the coal car:

img_9165

Turkey took car of the toy car, which also includes a cool revolving Christmas tree:

img_9178

And I built the passenger car/caboose:

img_9182

The track just fits around the base of our living room Christmas tree, and the gingerbread house that Ladybug built is the perfect complement to the set:

img_9191

This is the first Christmas set that we’ve built that isn’t a part of our winter village display, but I love having a train around our tree! And if we want to in the future, we can add Lego Power Functions to it, so that it can actually go!

Green & Red

I have refrained from wearing this outfit up until today, because even though the Pinup Girl Clothing Mary Blair boats skirt goes together really well with this red Harley top, the green and red combo just screams “Christmas!”

Well, it’s Christmastime now, so for the next six-ish weeks, I figure I can wear it with abandon:

img_8905

Of course, it gets pretty chilly here come December, so I need to add something to keep my arms from freezing, and this white bolero is just right for it!

I love a Christmas-inspired outfit!

Garden Glow 2016

On Friday, for the second year in a row, we attended the member preview night of the Missouri Botanical Garden “Garden Glow.” Some of it was the same as last year, and a few things were different, which I thought was the perfect combination. There were things we were really looking forward to seeing again (like the “light saber garden” and the tunnel of lights), but we also got to see some new things, too.

img_8632

img_3921

This is an incredibly beautiful and well-organized event, and now that we’ve been to it twice, I’m pretty sure it’s a new family tradition!

We Need a Little Christmas

Let’s face it. The last week or so has been rough. Actually, all of 2016 has been challenging. This was a contentious election season, and a stressful election. Even if your guy won, there is no denying that the last few months have probably taught you something about this country, your friends, even yourself…and you may not like what you have learned.

Four of my five children are now old enough to “get” politics. While they may not understand all the issues, at the very least, they understand tone, and they certainly get the divisions our country is facing. It’s been rough for them, too. And they’ve been begging me to put up the Christmas tree. Normally, I would wait until next weekend, because I usually put it up the weekend before Thanksgiving, but today I relented. I’m not sure if they even understand why they have been begging me so desperately, but I think they’re echoing the same sentiments of Mame:

Haul out the holly;
Put up the tree before my spirit falls again.
Fill up the stocking,
I may be rushing things, but deck the halls again now.
For we need a little Christmas
Right this very minute,
Candles in the window,
Carols at the spinet.
Yes, we need a little Christmas
Right this very minute.
It hasn’t snowed a single flurry,
But Santa, dear, we’re in a hurry;
So climb down the chimney;
Put up the brightest string of lights I’ve ever seen.
Slice up the fruitcake;
It’s time we hung some tinsel on that evergreen bough.
For I’ve grown a little leaner,
Grown a little colder,
Grown a little sadder,
Grown a little older,
And I need a little angel
Sitting on my shoulder,
Need a little Christmas now.
Haul out the holly;
Well, once I taught you all to live each living day.
Fill up the stocking,
But Auntie Mame, it’s one week from Thanksgiving Day now.
But we need a little Christmas
Right this very minute,
Candles in the window,
Carols at the spinet.
Yes, we need a little Christmas
Right this very minute.
It hasn’t snowed a single flurry,
But Santa, dear, we’re in a hurry;
So climb down the chimney;
Put up the brightest string of lights I’ve ever seen.
Slice up the fruitcake;
It’s time we hung some tinsel on that evergreen bough.
For we need a little music,
Need a little laughter,
Need a little singing
Ringing through the rafter,
And we need a little snappy
“Happy ever after,”
Need a little Christmas now.
Need a little Christmas now.

Yes, we need a little Christmas. Right this very minute. Next weekend wasn’t soon enough. And to anybody who wants to chastise me for rushing through Thanksgiving or skipping Advent, I challenge you to look back through my blog. Look at how we celebrate Thanksgiving every year, regardless of how early the tree goes up. I don’t make a huge dinner and a pie for every member of our family because I’m trying to rush through it! Look at how we observe Advent. That holy season is my favorite of the church year, one that brings peace in the middle of the chaos of Christmastime. We are not rushing or skipping anything. We are simply bringing in a little extra joy, a little early, in the midst of a year that could really use it.