The holiday season is wonderful, but hectic. Especially with a newborn! It seems as though I run from one thing to the next, without hardly taking a breath.
Both of my kiddos have wanted to decorate gingerbread men all month. I just finally found the energy and motivation to make an afternoon of it. And I’m glad I did. So much fun to see their little personalities come forth as they decorated.
Dane’s cookie started off beautifully… until he became bored and began crushing the m&m’s with his little finger. Then he decided he’d rip an arm off before I even had the chance to get the poor little guy on a plate. Dane is so fun-loving and such a good sport. He’ll do anything you want him to do—for a moment or two. Then, if he decides he’s done, he typically turns the whole thing into a game of some sort. He loves to laugh and have fun. He is so easy going and has a lot of his dad in him.
Evelyn, on the other hand, meticulously planned her design. She started with the eyes and buttons, then proceeded to draw the red hair and lips with icing. She saw that I had outlined a few cookies with white frosting and decided she wanted to try… then quickly dismissed the idea determining the process to be “too hard.” She is such a perfectionist and so it pains her to make a mistake. I wish she didn’t have so much of her mother in her—but it’s kind of cute all the same.
Since Grant’s arrival, I haven’t had much time to be patient. Yesterday I told the kids that we were going to make snowmen with a bunch of cotton balls I had just bought at the pharmacy. The bag was unopened. I told the kids to wait for just a minute while I ran in the back room to make a phone call. When I returned, the cotton balls were everywhere. My first inclination was to get upset… but before I even had the chance, Evelyn shouted, “mom! We are playing snowstorm! WATCH!” With the greatest enthusiasm children could ever possess, they threw the cotton balls up in the air and then ran around frantically as they fell to the ground. It was a brilliant game and I was so happy that they were happy.
I love being a mom. And I really love my kids. I love all that they teach me—on a constant basis. Yesterday they taught me to slow down and enjoy life.
And it’s a really good time of year to do that--- to focus on the relationships that we are blessed with, and the love of our Savior.
