Christmas-y things

Baking Christmas cookies. 

Celebrating multiple December birthdays.

Seeing family members play basketball.

Wrapping gifts. 

Church Christmas activities.

 Finally being home after my first semester of college. 

Lots (and lots and lots) of Hallmark Christmas movies because why not.

Staring at bright Christmas lights.

Reminiscing past Christmas adventures.

Wishing for snow so we can have a white Christmas.

Packages in the mail.

Window shopping.

Little adventures like riding the carousel at the mall, playing my four-year-old sister in Wii bowling, and bringing whatever siblings are around to the grocery store for that one item I need.

Christmas break has been wonderful so far. Merry Christmas, everyone!

What I will choose to remember

Written at the end of Christmas vacation

After three snow days delayed the beginning of school this year, this prolonged vacation is over. I've loved every minute, even if I didn't always feel productive.

But that's okay. Sometimes the most "unproductive" times are the most memorable. In a month, I'm not going to remember all that time I didn't spend on that essay. What I will recall is the way Natalia sings "Redeemed" and "Let it Go" into her little microphone. The way Abbie laughs while trying to blow out birthday candles. The way Chloe loves to cuddle while watching movies. The way the boys get each other going just to sit down 10 minutes later and trade sports cards. The conversations my cousin Tia and I had each night in Canada before falling asleep at 2:00 am. The way Ne-Ne, my grandmother, bustles about while Grampie swaps stories with their three children. 

All of that is what I will remember, and that is what I want to remember forever, once school is over and grades fade into a distant, unimportant memory. Once I am far away at college and don't see my family every day.

These things matter, these memories, more than any grade or stress or online game or Facebook update.

This is what I will choose to remember.

"The First Snowfall"

The First Snowfall

By James Russell Lowell

The snow had begun in the gloaming,

And busily all the night

Had been heaping field and highway

With a silence deep and white. 

Every pine and fir and hemlock

Wore ermine too dear for an earl,

And the poorest twig on the elm tree

Was ridged inch deep with pearl.

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!!

p.s. thoughts on the new design?

Snow photos

Right now I am actually on vacation visiting family in New Brunswick, but I scheduled this post to show you some more of my first-day-of-Christmas-vacation-and-two-days-before-Christmas snow photos. :)

Natalia, Chloe, Sadie, and Zach

Jacob

Lydia holding Natalia

Lydia making a snow angel

Chloe, my little funnykins.

How was your Christmas? I hope you had a good one!

A post in which I say "..." a lot

CHRISTMAS BREAK IS OFFICIALLY HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(hehe...I'm not excited at all! :P)

And my big paper is almost done...and it's two days before Christmas...and they let us out of school 15 minutes early today because they didn't have enough acts in the Christmas assembly...and i just had ice cream...I didn't actually go to any classes today because my chorus sang at the middle school and then we were getting ready for the assembly...so all in all, I am pretty happy right now. :)

So go ahead...

{via}

Drink some hot chocolate...

{via}

Sing Christmas carols...

{via}

Wrap some last minute presents...

{via}

And have a very

Merry Christmas!

{p.s. sorry for all of the "..." in this post. :) }

Today, I

Today, I:

~made a double batch of molasses cookies which when rolled out covered about one third of my counter~

~sold cookies and hot chocolate at my sister and brother's band concert~

~wrote a short story for English about dreams disappearing into mist {don't worry, they come back. :) }~

~got "The Help" out from the library and I can't wait to read it!~

~am loving the Dick van Dyke show~

~am wearing striped knee socks with a knee length jean skirt~

~ate breakfast with my three year old sister before school~

~can't wait until we get some snow~

That's about all I did today, besides school. :)

Dear Followers

Dear Followers,

I am sorry that I have been rather neglectful of my blog lately. I would like to warn you that this is only the beginning. Christmas break is quickly approaching, and I will be gone visiting family for most of it. I have a BIG research paper for school that is due right after Christmas break, but I would like to get it done before Christmas break starts. Plus, I am finishing up some Christmas presents. Thus, I have not taken many photos recently and I have not had much to write. I hope to get back into blogging regularly soon.

Love,

Emily.

And now, to leave you with some randomness: {don't worry, this was taken in the summer; I haven't worn sandals for, oh, a week and a half. ;) }

Christmas Tree Memories

We got our tree yesterday!

I am excited.

Now, before you look at the pictures...

Did you ever watch "A Charlie Brown Christmas"? Remember the tree that Charlie Brown got? He picked it out because he felt sorry for it and he was ashamed of the commercialism that he saw. His friends made fun of the tree at first because it was small and scrawny, but eventually they loved it and it looked beautiful.

Well, we didn't necessarily pick our tree out for those reasons, but...hopefully no one makes fun of it and I think it looks beautiful. :) So, without any further delay, here is our Christmas tree:

Last year, we got a huge tree that took up half of our living room. We scaled down a bit this year. But hey...it's real, it's decorated, and it sparkles and twinkles very nicely early in the morning. :)

Chloe and Sadie, excited about the tree.

You can see the ornaments really well...:)

Natalia, staring in wonder at the lights...

Natalia and Mommy. <3

Our star.

This is my "Baby's First Christmas" ornament.

Luke vacuuming stray pine needles.

Chloe "vacuuming" the floor.

Sadie smiling. My siblings know to smile when they see the red light. :)

Lydia always says that she blinks more than the average person because in most photos of her she has her eyes closed. So...

this happened. :) She's only a little crazy...

AWANA store Christmas gifts from the little guys.

Eventually I ended up laying (or is it lying...does anyone know?) on the floor taking photos from that angle. :)

yeah...

Okay, now, I was super excited about these shots:

Sorry about the amount of photos...I just love Christmas...as if you couldn't tell. :)

Do you have your Christmas tree yet?

Have you decorated for Christmas in any way besides a tree?