Christmas 2017

Once every seven years, Catholics experience the shortest possible Advent (three weeks and one day) and get to attend back-to-back Masses when Christmas falls on a Sunday because we have to fulfill our Sunday Mass obligation followed by our separate Christmas-Monday Mass obligation. This calendar conundrum caused me to re-think how I typically orchestrate Christmas, and one tradition that had to be adjusted was decorating the tree on Christmas Eve (Sunday): I moved it to Friday.

Having growing-up children now means I sit on the couch and watch them decorate the tree! I'm years beyond the tree-decorating perfectionist I used to be, so I no longer blink an eye about lights strung too densely in one area and too sparsely in another, or the fact that the ornaments are not spread evenly around the entirety of the tree (even the back!).

Watching their joy decorating and taking one duty off my roster are both so rewarding!

In the evening, we drove an hour to join friends at Kannapolis Christmas, which is a free Christmas lights event at the central park of a small town. It was delightful!

There was a beautiful train to ride for only $2 per person, but the line was an hour, and there was an exquisite two-story carousel to ride for only $2 per person, but the line was similarly long, so our children ended up running wild and free in the grassy area, playing amidst all the lights. They had so much fun!

Pretend snow blowing out of the tree

We did buy the $1 cups of hot cocoa and the $2 marshmallow roasting kits: children got to make s'mores and roast them over an open fire! It was grand fun for all of $15 for our large family.

Saturday was a day of staying calm, cleaning the house, and doing some prep cooking for Christmas.

We fulfilled our Sunday Mass obligation at 12:30 and then went to Christmas Eve dinner at a restaurant. That is not our normal tradition of cooking a feast on the Eve and a second feast on Christmas, but I did not feel I could do it all in such short hours. Going out for this meal was a bit of a luxury!

Unfortunately for two other families, we witnessed a tragedy between Mass and dinner, coming upon the scene of a vehicular death minutes after it had occurred. As we pieced together and read later in the news (click here), an 18-year-old driver increased her speed entering an intersection where the light was turning yellow (and maybe already turned red), upon which she struck and killed a bicyclist. As we sat in deadlocked traffic and then finally were permitted to drive slowly past, we saw the mangled bicycle thrown to the side of the road, and we saw that a blue tap had been used to construct three walls of privacy, with the fourth wall being the ambulance itself, to obscure looky-lous viewing what was probably a very mangled body. One family would be hearing on Christmas Eve that it would never see it's loved one again. Another family would be learning of its 18-year-old daughter who, degree of culpability to be determined, will carry the burden of this action for the rest of her life. We talked at some length with the children about this sorrowful scene then, and again at the Christmas dinner table. Those families have been on my mind and in my prayers all weekend.

After the children were tucked into bed, we carted all the wrapped gifts out to the tree and laid the stockings upon the piano.

Chris took the two oldest children to the Midnight Latin Mass, while Margaret, David, and I attended a 7:00 a.m. Latin Mass at another parish in town. It was magical for us to enter the church during the dimmest grey dawn, then exit to sunlight and the beautiful orange sun mostly emerged upon the forested treeline.

At home waiting was our Schedule of Fun, as written on my White Board Calendar. Everything is more fun when scheduled, right? The children may have teased me as I consulted my Excel spreadsheet of gifts while we opened, and I directed the order of gifts being opened. (You don't even know me at all if you think my family gets to open gifts simultaneously or in any order they please.) One hopes they love me enough to appreciate my Organized Fun.

Upon my arrival home, the children were finally allowed into the den (which had had its door shut this entire time) for the big reveal. My Mary had slept in her Mass dress, so she was the most elegantly dressed of the bunch of us. The 2- and 4-year-old boys stayed in their pajamas all day because a certain Mama never managed to dress them.

So excited to play more Uno with Mama

Amazed that someone gave him a sock full of chocolate

Showing the 4-month-old his stocking: Mama had to eat his chocolates on his behalf

After stockings, we paused to enjoy "first breakfast" of homemade cinnamon rolls gifted to me by an incredibly thoughtful friend who makes big batches of these delicacies each year. Then we began opening gifts, a process which we did in fits and starts till dinnertime. (Later we paused for "big breakfast" of croissants, homemade hash browns, ham, eggs, and strawberries.)

The girls' gift theme was a redecoration of their room which, honestly, I've never had the energy or to make pretty. Grandpa gave them new floral bedding, and we parents did a re-organization (and storage elsewhere) of all the sewing supplies to give them a proper, large secretary (desk) for their own use, populating it with charming pink office supplies. We also gave them some sisters-themed wall art and a pink rug for their room. They didn't seem to mind receiving no toys at all, and the effect in their room is much improved.

Each sibling drew names to give a gift to one other sibling, and the gift choices were sweet. The 4-year-old boy gave his big brother a much-wanted 100-feet of rope ("don't tie me up").

Biggest brother selected a little tuxedo bib for the littlest brother.

The two-year-old was an absolute BLUR all day . . .

. . . except for a few moments of deep concentration, such as playing with the boys' new wooden castle.

It is precious to watch the two-year-old becoming aware of his part of being a team with his four-year-old brother. At one point, while bouncing with his new Rody horse, Thomas volunteered, "Jo-Jo turn!" and handed it to his big brother! And when Thomas needed a bath, he climbed in and called reflexively, "Jo-Jo! Bath!" like he just doesn't take a bath without his brother.

Excited about the BBC Narnia movies, which our family prefers to the intense Hollywood versions

The most whimsical gift was given by the godparents to the 4-year-old: a pack of marshmallow shooters that make the sound of a duck call when blown. Envision the noise of four siblings all making duck calls at each other! Fun!

The Big Gift of the day was our 11-year-old receiving his first .22. He's proven a good shot and a responsible, safe son this past year and he is really looking forward to getting to a range with his dad and grandfather this week.

Our family of bookworms took numerous breaks to read books throughout gift-opening.

Some, but not all, of the books given to us cumulatively

During one moment, Mary declared decisively, "I need to read this," and just stopped to read for 25 pages. I observed throughout the day her back-and-forth reading between E. Nesbit's "The Story of the Treasure Seekers" (1899) and Louisa May Alcott's "Jo's Boys"(1886) and I wondered which book would receive the coveted position of being final bedtime reading: Nesbit won!

Besides the spontaneous pauses to read, we took a two-hour nap and Quiet Time after lunch. Some of the crew were sleeping upstairs, but three of us (and eventually five of us) were reading silently in the den, the only sound being the soothing water gurgling in the fish tank. It was such a moment of calm.

Our 11-year-old quite enjoyed a graphic novel about Emperor Karl (click here), which I'd like to recommend. I'm not a fan of graphic novels, per se--and we don't "do" super hero comic books--but it's an appealing format and this particular one is still written exquisitely and tells an inspiring tale of a holy, Catholic leader.

I'm already drawn into a book given to me by my dad: "Cor Jesu Sacratissimum: From Secularism and the New Age to Christendom Renewed." Given my "California background," this author's story interests me much.

As far as read-alouds go, John received both Marryat's "Mr. Midshipman Easy" (1836) and Charles Dicken's "David Cooperfield" (1850) and I'm chomping at the bit to make one of them a family read-aloud for the next few months: but the question to agonize over is which one? Whichever one I chose, the other one will have to wait for several months!

My favorite reading by far was a gift from Mary (age 9) to me: the first chapter book she's ever written! She spent all weak feverishly writing in her bedroom what turned out to be a eight-chapter, 1,732-word story (I know the word count because I then typed it up late Christmas night to better preserve it). The title is "Little Turtle of the Bear Clan," the subject is Christianity being embraced by a tribe of Canadian Indians, and the result was one emotionally overcome mama-cum-homeschool teacher.

Reading Mary's book

Drawing was also a theme of the day, as various art supplies, how-to-draw instructional books, and paper products were received.

The weather was more bitingly cold than last Christmas (remember the family baseball game in bare feet?), but we did enjoy some outdoor fun as well.

The oldest boy taught the littlest boys how to fly the four-year-old's new RC helicopter.

Our one gift to the four-year-old was a go kart: the problem was that this adventurous vehicle seats only one child and, well, we have five kids playing out on the driveway (one still in my arms)! The siblings won't stand this singularity for long, so immediately they constructed an extra seat by attaching a luggage cart and booster seat. Togetherness!

One Christmas year, our whole theme was board games and, while it was not this year, we still received three games, I think.

Bunny Hop has proven a really big hit and is aimed at pre-readers. Finally a game our four-year-old can legitimately play with his siblings and parents! This game has already been brought out over and over again to play.

We now have our first game in the genre of war tactics: Memoir '44. Two founds of this were played during breaks of the day, and then Dad and son stayed up till ten at night playing the most concentrated battle yet.

I'm only four months postpartum, I have six kids, and none are quite old enough that I can cook the homemade feasts I see other women, more capable in the kitchen, being able to prepare. But through trial and error, and planning, I have come up with a stable menu that I can get on the table within only one hour on an exhausting Christmas.

Menu 2017:

• Ham (purchased Honey Baked Ham, requires no glazing for several hours)
• Sweet potato cassserole (bake two days earlier)
• Grandmom's cranberry sauce (cook two days earlier)
• Fettucinne with homemade Alfredo sauce
• Green peas (frozen, boil: easy)
• Dinner rolls (frozen, bake: easy)
• Junior's Cheesecake for dessert (flown in as gift from a grandmother)

Lastly, this Christmas was bittersweet in that it was my (our) first without Grampa Neil, who died four months ago. After my mother, being bedridden for nearly a decade, died five years ago, Neil was able to travel more easily and spent the next five Christmases with us, staying about three weeks each visit. We made many fond family memories during those visits.

This year, I did not prepare the guest room for him. I did not stock his favorite foods. I did not hang his Christmas stocking that I kept here for him.

Instead, my husband thoughtfully made a table setting for him and lit a candle at his empty spot for us to remember him by. Also, I had a few modest keepsakes sent to us from his home, so I wrapped those as a Christmas gift and we opened them.

A candle for Grampa Neil

Thinking about the dead bicyclist on Christmas Eve and our deceased grampa gave me a quiet spirit and deep, more somber thoughts in the background of the whole Christmas weekend. We must all keep our loved ones close for what time we have them.

Let the Christmas octave continue: this is when Catholics continue to celebrate for eight whole days! Christmas has only just begun, it is not finished!