Overwhelmed with Abundance this Christmas

Maliana ~

On Monday we went on another Operation Secret Santa mission to the Shermans' homes...you took it very seriously (as you can see from the picture below).

hoodie and a headlamp ~ good for sneaking
around in the dark!

Once home, we remembered that there was an email waiting for you from the Big Guy himself, Santa Claus. You watched your annual special message from the North Pole which you loved and made us replay at least 3 more times that night.

Watching your Santa Message for Christmas 2013!

We had our traditional Christmas Eve dinner the next night with Vince, Nadia, Abela, Memaw, and Papaw. As usual, we had a lot of laughs. I think this tradition has been going for nearly 20 years now and it's pretty special. It was so great to have Abela with us this year. You both hit it off like two peas in a pod. I hope we can continue this ritual for many more years to come. The beauty of traditions is that they can stay the same or slowly evolve each year, forming and molding and fitting into our lives as we change and grow with the seasons of life. You can build on and reshape traditions, creating new ones as you see fit that become just as important and treasured as the old ones. Such a wonderful thing.

shirley temples for the littles

Memaw and Papaw

Nadia and Vince

Daddy and me

Nadia, Abela, and Vince

brrrr...it was cold! this was the only shot we could get!

After dinner, Nadia, Vince and Abela came over to our house for a gift exchange, a belated birthday celebration for Abela (her 5th birthday was on the 22nd), and to hang out until nearly midnight. In fact, we all parted ways only when we noticed that Santa Claus was already in Baltimore, Maryland on the NORAD Santa Tracker and figured it would be best to get all of your little booties into bed, pronto!

even Pipsqueak was ready to party

Abby too!

about to celebrate Abela's birthday

the goofy girls

the goofy boys

happy birthday, Abela!

making magic food for the reindeer

mixing it all up

spreading the magic reindeer food
on our top deck

and finally settling down with a little 3D movie
action under a warm electric blanket

After everyone left, you, Daddy and I set out milk and cookies. Finally laying our heads on our pillows after learning that Santa was even closer, already making his way through Boston! Wouldn't want him to miss our house on account of us being awake, right? *wink*

getting the milk and cookies just perfect

the hearth is all set for the man in red

And voila...what do you know? Santa arrived almost as soon as you were fast asleep...it's funny how that happens, isn't it? *wink, wink*

he left you a note and even some messy footprints!
Oh ~ that Santa!

Christmas morning ~ fabulous! It was wonderful to sleep in and wake up slowly with no real place to go almost all day, taking our time with each other and enjoying the magic of the morning. First Christmas in a while that I felt like it was really ours. We all came downstairs together to check out what Santa had brought and it felt so relaxing. Memaw and Papaw came over with their gifts for all of us in the afternoon and it was so nice to see them. You were squirrely and ornery and sassy...everything you'd expect from a kiddo who is fueled by sugar and not enough sleep...but through it all you remained as sweet as ever. I am beyond thankful this year...I think I lost count on how many times I teared up on Christmas morning, overwhelmed with the emotions of reflecting on our year and my gratitude for every last minute of it. Here is what I wrote on Facebook which sums up my feelings quite nicely:

~ one of the most relaxed, warm, fuzzy and emotional Christmases I have had in recent memory...many changes have taken place over the past year that make me even more thankful for those still in my life and the new unexpected bonds I've made with some of the most loving and supportive people I've ever met, both near and far. Merry Christmas to all of my friends and family, both on Earth and in Heaven. In your own special ways, you have given me the most precious gifts of all throughout the year. XOXO

Click HERE to watch you coming down to see what Santa left on Christmas morning!

you with your presents from Santa

showing me where Santa Claus left his footprints!

helping Abby open her present from Santa

the present you specifically asked for all Christmas season...
LPS, Rescue Tails Center!

here we are with the Secret Santa present that you
picked out just for me (a black labrador
retriever ornament and a miniature
gold nativity set)

giving Daddy his Secret Santa gift...
wool socks!

using your new video camera to film
your LPS toys

safari hat and Toothless stuffed animal
from Memaw and Papaw

our family (minus the kitty)

with Memaw and Papaw

Christmas night we went to the Yersavich's where you disappeared with the kids for most of the evening and us adults got to gab and laugh and enjoy each other's company. What was that I had said earlier about creating new traditions as you see fit? I am hopeful that we did just that on Christmas night. I was feeling so blessed this year with much family and so many friends who feel just like family...it's all what you make of it and we are clearly in abundance. I just felt so fortunate and full of warmth, the Christmas spirit some might call it. That night you even slept over with E ~ first time ever! Our baby is growing up, that's for certain!

all cuddled up on your sleepover...E is such a good friend,
she even read you "Go, Dog, Go!" at bedtime

The next morning I actually had to work (boo! hiss!) so Lao Lao helped us out and ended up picking you up around 11am the next morning from Joe and Tina's house. Aunt Tina told me later that it was a treat to have you stay over and that you cuddled with her in the morning after waking up. You are definitely a big-time cuddler, one of my favorite things about you.

You hung out with Lao Lao, running errands with her, until I got home from work. Then the rest of the night was spent quietly at home, watching some of your new movies and playing with your new toys. We also spent a few hours watching the Discovery channel which you are currently hooked on...totally into investigative shows about the ocean, the megalodon and another about evidence for the theory of aquatic evolution of humans. Pretty heavy stuff for a five year old, right? Perhaps we will see you on a boat in the middle of the ocean, following your passion and investigating your own mystery someday. Our budding scientist.

Friday I took the day off and spent it at home with you, waiting for the chimney sweeps and garage door repairmen. Normally, that would stink but we spent the time stuck at home waiting by relaxing, playing, cleaning, cooking, and decompressing from the holidays. We had to get out of the house and blow the stink off towards evening and so went for a walk in the neighborhood where we decided to collect any litter we saw and bring it home to throw away. I ended up carrying you home about the last 1/4 mile and we talked about how you are getting so big that you are not my little peanut anymore...to which you replied that you are now my little moustachio. Ha. Touche!

making dinosaur banana pancakes with Mama
(don't even want to know how many health
code violations we were breaking)

walking Abby

Daddy finally came home from work and while you spent some time with him before bed, you chattered on and on about your new outdoor explorer gear (vest, hat, binoculars, bug vacuum, field scope, etc) and discussed possibly going on an adventure with him in the morning. When I asked what you were talking about as you headed back downstairs to show him something else, you said with a shrug, "Just some grown-up stuff, Mom." Ha. Oh...okay.

this was taken the next morning, you're all
geared up, serious, and ready to go!
(didn't have the heart to tell you that there are likely
no bugs for at least a few more months)

Saturday, we got out of the house to get some fresh air again and since it was such a beautifully warm December day, we headed to the park to meet Sam, Erin, Uncle Joe and Aunt Tina.

After some solid outdoor time, we headed over to their house for some good old fashioned hanging out. Daddy met us there after he wrapped up (once again) at work and we stayed until nearly 11:30pm. Another late night for all of us, but I couldn't think of spending it with more wonderful people.

playing Taboo

Uncle Joe giving you a little help with the clues

yay! they got it!
(you were hilarious, giving a double "finger-gun"
every time someone would get your
word correct)

the girls helping Daddy out

making s'mores in the fireplace

Sunday we met Uncle Blaize for lunch at Red Robin. It was so nice to see him again and catch up on everything! This Christmas was different than in years past since we did not see the Hart side of the family due to interpersonal problems between myself, Wai Gong and Memaw Lisa. But as for the both of you and Blaize, it's important that you know that my differences with them and the lack of contact between us has nothing to do with either of you. I know it's tough to grasp because I am really not mentioning many details here. Perhaps we will discuss what happened as you get older. Perhaps not. But at this point, the details are not necessarily important outside of what has already happened between myself, Wai Gong, and Memaw Lisa. We have our reasons for things to have gone down the way they did, as painful and heartbreaking as it has been at times. However, my hope is that you and Blaize can both understand that the changes in relationship that have occurred, have not and will never alter how I feel about either of you. I love you and I love Uncle Blaize and I will always be there for the both of you. No matter what. Nothing will ever change that. Period.

with your Uncle Blaize

Love,
Mama

P.S.
And here's an extra picture, in case there wasn't enough cuteness in this blog already. It's actually from last week but I forgot about it until now...

bubble bathing suit!

Cheers to a great new week ahead!