Family Christmas

For our family in the South and West who missed Christmas with the boys, here's a run-down on the week's activities. (This is a little long.)

The boys received an early Christmas present from Mother Nature, who dropped 18" of snow on the ground last Saturday. To say they were thrilled would be a major understatement. All the snow gear went on and they were outside by 9:30 am, loving life. TR made it through an hour that first time, pretty good for a 3 yo out in near blizzard conditions, and his brothers were out for closer to 2 hours. They came back in for coco and lunch and some down time and headed back in the afternoon for another round. Over the next two days, we had snowball fights and made a snowman and otherwise frolicked. Interestingly, we realized that shoveling snow is a great form of natural OT for CJ, works his muscles and gives him lots of sensory input. When Craig went out to shovel, CJ was right there with him the whole time outlasting even his older brother. He was incredibly calm for the next two days, an early gift from Mother Nature to his parents.

By Tuesday the pre-Christmas frenzy had kicked in and the boys were on a rampage. I worked to keep them busy and they were great helpers. AJ wrapped presents with me and was pretty good at it. CJ painted watercolor Christmas trees to add to the packages. This was actually my favorite present this year. For the first time in his life, CJ independently sat at a table and wrote and painted for a significant length of time. He first wrote all of his letters and then made a whole series of pictures for family. We knew he had the skills but his sensory issues were getting in the way of his coloring in even the simplest way. It was the first visible sign that all the work this year is paying off and made me very proud of him (and grateful to his team at Stokes for all they've done to help him).

I have to admit that I, at times, doubted whether we would make it to Christmas morning with the adults' sanity in tact. Christmas Eve included a run to Target for me with all three boys in tow, a major undertaking but still one they came through all right. I did at one point threaten to make the next one to misbehave sit and watch his brothers open two presents before he could open any, needless to say that helped immensely. It also helped that Muzzy had sent a new table for use with Legos and her blessing to open it early, it was a welcome distraction those last few hours. Craig got home around 2 pm and we were off to the races, with last minute cleaning to prepare for the family visitors and then baths and dressing for church.

I think both Craig and I were dreading church, given the antsy behavior of the guys, but they were amazingly well-behaved. I was incredibly proud of them. It was a particularly moving experience watching AJ at the service this year. For the first time, he could read along with the adults and it was amazing to watch the service take on a completely new meaning for him. He read every word and sang every hymn and was totally engaged. I could see church and the service becoming more real to him and relished his new understanding of the words he had been hearing out of the corner of his ear for the last 7 years. TR spent most of the service in his father's arms, people watching and enjoying all the music. CJ was on point during the children's sermon. He raised his hand whenever the chaplain asked a question and when called on answered and managed to add an interesting tidbit here and there. The chaplain was impressed and told him to keep studying and prepare for his ordination one day. My dad was thrilled, perhaps hoping that after skipping a generation the minister gene is making an appearance in one of his grandsons. When it all became too much for him, CJ curled up in my lap and took a break from everything going on around him.

We opened presents with my dad and step-mother back at the house after the service and it was a great kick-off to the event. AJ got an alarm clock, which he promptly set for 7 am (the time at which they were allowed to come and get mom and dad) and the two younger ones got great toys that they took to bed with them. After they left and boys finally went to sleep, our work began. It was 2:30 am before we were finished with all the prep for presents and Christmas dinner but worth the effort.

Needless to say, the alarm was unnecessary. The boys were up at 6:15 am and ready to go but did a great job of staying in their room until the alarm went off at 7. We headed downstairs with their eyes closed so they could eat their pre-present snack and then it was finally present time. The Santa presents got oohs and aahs, as did the gigantic beanbag chairs from Aunt Amy that could not be wrapped. After present opening and an enormous breakfast the boys got a little time to play before the next round arrived with Meme, grandad, Uncle Bill and Debbie and Aunt Erica and Uncle Francis. In a short time our house looked like a small toy store and the boys were in heaven. TR in particular was amazed, he wandered from toy to toy in a daze wanting to play with everything all at once. He finally collapsed into bed for a long nap, too overwhelmed to do anymore. After everyone was gone, we had a rousing game of Twister and did some target practice with the Nerf Dart Tag guns from Janine and John and finally managed to get them to sleep at 8:30. Craig and I followed about 5 minutes later.

As usual, watching their eyes light up and seeing the sheer joy on their faces made all of the running around and chaos more than worthwhile. I know that someday we'll have a nice sedate Christmas again and it will be nice, but I'm not actually looking forward to it. Christmas is a celebration of the birth of a child and of the new world that he brought with him. In their innocent joy, our young children are often closer to understanding that new world than we older, more jaded souls. They still think more of what can be than of what isn't. I, for one, am not looking forward to losing that window into the possible when it closes.