Be Careful What You Wish For

I have been feeling a little melancholy lately about my kids being gone so much. Thanksgiving break was so much for all of us. I'm really looking forward to Christmas break when all of us will have some time to just "be" as a family. I hate feeling rushed and intentional in everything we do lately. It seems that our lives run by the scheduled calendar and we have to "plan" our fun.

This past week we tried to slow down a bit. I let the house work go. I let the laundry go. I let the yard work go. I did not plan any big dinners or after school play dates. Here's a look at what we did with our time. It looks like we were busy, but really it was just a "go with the flow" kind of week. We don't do that very often around here.

We have been working on some Christmas crafts. My boys love to sit down with a lot of supplies and just create. It amazes me what they come up with.

Skiing was one of our "planned" activities for the week. We took both kids out of school (shh, don't tell anyone) and headed up the mountain for ski lessons. The boys had a great time and they both improved a lot. And yes, I sat for four hours and just watched. I just sat and watched in amazement as my kids fell and got back up. I sat in amazement as I looked at the howling wind, frigid wind chill temperatures, and two kids that did not complain a bit. I sat in amazement that God has blessed my family with two healthy kids, a husband that relished in taking the day off to be with us, and the opportunity to just sit and watch as my kids got to do an activity that brought me so much joy as a kid.

Their instructor gave them gold medals after their lesson. My kids were the first kids (ever) to go up the new lift that just opened that day. I always knew they'd get their 15 minutes of fame.

Colin had a Boy scouts banquet last week. He was awarded his marshmallow shooter for his outstanding popcorn sales. To top off the night, he lost his front tooth at the banquet. The Tooth Fairy left quite a gift that night.

Along the same theme as Boy scouts, Colin marched in the Erie Town Lighting Parade on Saturday. Camden came out to support him despite the cold temperature. Hot chocolate was the reward for making it all the way through.

Colin is somewhere in there. Can you spot him?

A Christmas parade would not be complete without a visit from Santa.

We spent Sunday making various Christmas goodies. I love that my boys enjoy baking with me. We turned on the Christmas music, heated up the almond bark and made lots of sweet treats.

I have really been wishing that the kids were home more. Wish granted. Colin stayed home from school today with pink eye. I'm sad that his eye hurts but not so sad that he gets to stay home. He's not sick in bed so we get to play legos, watch movies and hand out together. I really really miss my kids. So much so that I am toying with the idea of home schooling. Crazy, I know. I have not researched anything. I have no idea if this is the right move for us. It probably won't happen but I love my time at home with the kids. However, I also know that I need time to myself. How do I get this balance? Be careful what you wish for.