t'was the night before (fake) Christmas

and all the through the house
not a creature was stirring (except an exhausted mama watching house hunter reruns)
the children were snuggled all up in their beds
while visions of pirates and furby's danced in their heads

As usual it's after midnight and I should be in bed.  But I know these next few precious days will fly by and I don't want the details to slip through my fingers.  I anticipate with joy their wide and sleepy eyes as they awake to the sparkle and shine of Christmas morning.  All the days of celebrating lead to the one moment when we can put the baby in His manger and remind each other of the most important gift we have ever received.  A few more records and then I in my cap will into my cozy sheets go...

Advent day 19:  Today you get to take a bath!  (wait for it...enjoy their shocked faces)  Open your gift for some bathtime fun.

Christmas duckies!

Advent day 20:  It's time to send our Christmas cards.  Let's read The Jolly Postman, get out our Christmas stickers and send some Christmas cheer!

Best book ever!  Check it out at your library asap.

Advent day 21:  Tonight we'll take a pajama ride!  Let's get our cookies (and four pounds of candy that mama made because apparently I handle tragedy by using obscene amounts of butter and sugar in the kitchen) and letters and take some treats to our friends.  We'll pop some popcorn and make hot chocolate and drive around looking at Christmas lights.  (Daddy even let Ava drive which was a major highlight.)  

Advent day 22:  Tia's here!  Let's take her out for a special tea date and Ian can have a special pirate date with daddy. (totally improvised this one...again)

"Oh, I'll just have the usual.  Hot chocolate and gummy bears."  Basically she's been on a sugar high for three weeks.

always on her best princess behavior

well, almost always

advent day 23:  It's family music night!  We'll get out some instruments and sing Christmas carols together (while mommy and daddy have a mildly passive aggressive argument in veiled language and hushed tones.) Yay!

And finally we're up to speed (and Ben's snuggled up next to me snoring on the couch so it looks like we'll be speaking this Christmas).  Tomorrow we'll open gifts and then we'll head to Chicago for some crazy cousin fun.  

Merry Christmas!

the countdown continues

Our advent tree is quickly filling up with memories which kind of makes the time go faster.  I wish there could be a few life pause buttons but am grateful for the joys of this unique time.  I wondered if the kids would lose interest at keeping up with something for 25 days but just the opposite.  There is some palpable anticipation building within these four walls.

Advent day 15:  It's time for some Christmas cookie fun in the kitchen.  Put on your aprons and let's have a sprinkle fight (just kidding).  Not that it made any difference on the outcome of the floor.

Advent day 16:  Do you ever wonder what the shepherd's lives were like?  Tonight we'll read about the shepherd's in the bible and eat some foods that they may have eaten in their day.  (totally made up the meal thing...umm they probably had hummus, almonds, chicken skewers and dried apricots right?  who's with me?)

Didn't you know that My Little Pony's were present at the birth of Jesus?  Ava figured the shepherds needed some way to get around.  We asked them a bunch of questions about shepherds which led to a discussion of Jesus being our shepherd.  I think Ava really understood which made this mama's heart so happy.

Advent day 17:  It's chocolate lollipop day!  Tonight we'll make some chocolate lollipops and share some with our friends. (I bought these after Christmas a few years ago for a dollar and they've always been a huge hit.  This year I melted a ghiradelli's peppermint bark bar and it was so good!)

Advent day 17:  Today is Ian's birthday!  We'll open gifts, have a party, and go see Peter Pan at the theater. Let's show Ian how much we love him today.

We always start birthdays with presents in bed.

Ian was all about the pirates this year so we threw a pirate party.  This is a four layer german chocolate cake that finally came together after fighting me for two hours.  Loved the end result though!

I used black candles coming our horizontally like cannons and they smoked after blowing them out!

Pirate party time!

Meeting Captain Hook after the show.  I think Ian's a little worried about that hook. 

I wasn't sure how he would do since he's never been to a movie or any kind of show but he was riveted for the whole two hours.  He talked about it all the way home.  There will definitely be some more children's theater in our future.

One more week until Christmas!

Advent-ures 12, 13, 14...:)

We're still rolling through the rainy December days and finding bits of grace and joy amidst the madness.  It was a rough week for mama with all the tragedy unfolding and I just keep repeating Come Lord Jesus Come in the quiet places of my heart.  I ache for the mama's who hid in dressing rooms with their babies at the very mall I take weekly trips to.  And I ache for the families who lost their babies while they were out running Christmas errands.  This is the very darkness that Jesus entered into in the most unexpected way.  Advent means, "the coming that is awaited."  And as we walk through this season I wait for the celebration of what He has already done and also for the clarity and future joy of the redeeming of this world.  It is only with His daily presence that I can bear it.

"Come thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free.  From our fears and sins release us.  Let us find our rest in thee..."

Advent day 12:  Put on your warm coats!  We're taking an fantasy Christmas walk at Wenzel Farms.  (This place is some cheesy, wacky fun y'all.)

warming up by the fire

Ian loved the bouncy bridge

little houses just their size

And a rockin snow machine!

Advent day 13:  It's game night!  Let's pop some popcorn (which we forgot to do) and pull out our favorite games.  This is our current favorite.

It was also time to eat their gingerbread house.  (Anne made these from scratch and they were a thousand times better than a box version.  I'm still sneaking pieces when the kids aren't looking.)

Advent day 14:  It's Christmas ornament day!  Let's put on the Christmas music, invite our friends over and make a gigantic mess some ornaments.  (we just poured paint in the clear glass ball ones and they turned out really cute.)
The hot chocolate was the really winner with the kiddos




The ninjas say goodbye to our guests

celebrating

This is the first year in a long time that we've been in one place all the way up to Christmas day.  (Our flight does leave at 7am so we're cutting it close.)  But it's the first time we can see advent all the way through.  I really wanted to find some easy ways for us to celebrate together as a family without adding a long to do list to an already busy time.  Since Thanksgiving I've been keeping a list of some fun things and the night before we just try and decide what seems easiest for that day.  I know it's shocking but I have a teeny tiny tendency to overdo things and get overwhelmed.  

Advent day 7:  Today we'll read books about the animals that were there when Jesus was born and create some treats for the animal friends in our yard.

Advent Day 8:  Today we'll have boys and girls time.  Ava and Mommy will have tea with Grandma and Ian will have a special Daddy date.  (notice her pinky up...she also informed me that we can make fart jokes in the car but as soon as we get there we need to act like ladies...just FYI)


Ava with her friend Genevieve

Advent Day 9:  Jesus is the light of the world!  Today we'll make luminaries to remind us of the true light that God sent to us.


Advent day 10:  Today we'll make gingerbread houses with our friends and maybe eat a few sweet treats!

Advent Day 11:  It's window cling day!  You can take your stickers and put them on any window in the house.

So far the pace has been relaxed and the smallest Hsieh's are beyond excited about all the twinkly festivities.  

advent intervention

I've realized for awhile now that our family was in serious need of some connect four.  Between all the comings and goings we were a little discombobulated.  By the time I knew what was happening Ben had abandoned the bedtime routine altogether and the kids were now watching One Direction videos before going to sleep. 

 But as much as we needed some family time, a solid twenty four hours with just my B was the first call to action.  So I snuck Ben away for a much needed city date.  Highlights included some amazing food, squinting through my fingers at Skyfall, twinkling lights from our hotel window, surrounding ourselves with Coke and Cheezits in bed while watching movies, Christmas shopping and a pastrami burger that you have to taste to believe.  It was glorious and far to short but with a couple of littles at home waiting for advent it was time to head back.  Here's Ben regretting his decision to go halvsies on the burger.

So a giant shout out to Ms. Kirstin T and her friend Brenda for holding down the fort at home and agreeing to be paid in nail polish.  

After we got home we opened our first advent envelope which was to tailgate with our friends for the annual firetruck Christmas toy/food drive.  It's the only toy drive I know of where Santa drives through your neighborhood strapped to his sleigh on the roof of an ambulance.  There was hot cocoa and a lot of light saber action.  Next year we'll be adding a movie component.  Stay tuned.

Ian and Willa admiring each other's "purple" and "green" hats.

Day 2 of advent was taking out our special manger (half crate bought at Michael's).  The kids get to put hay (raffia) into the manger when they honor God throughout the day.  We'll prepare our heart for Jesus' birth and then put him in the manger on Christmas morning.  This has been the best thing ever.  Ava is looking for ways that she can help out and love on her brother and Ian is so proud when I catch him in a kind act.  I also love that it is the focal point of our living room.  I really need a lot of visuals to help me remember what's important.  

Day 3 of advent read: Today we'll decorate the Christmas tree, read The Legend of The Christmas Tree and make cookies.  Here's Ian with one of my childhood ornaments.

Day 4:  It's candy cane day!  You can have a candy cane after breakfast and lunch and we'll have candy cane milkshakes after dinner.  We'll also read a book called The Legend Of The Candy Cane.  I think this day has been the winner so far.

Day 5 or 6 I can't remember:  Today we'll learn about St. Nicholas (book & veggie tales movie) and look for secret acts of kindness.  Ava made Christmas trees with candy canes and snuck them in her friends backpacks. The rest of us all failed.  

Every time we take down an envelope we replace it with something that reminds us of our day.  Totally Ben's idea and I love it.

More to come.  Happy advent season!