We enjoyed almost all of the Ellingson family home for Christmas this season. It was marvelous. My darling sister-in-law wed the love of her life on the 17th and I got to take lots of pictures of them smooching all day long. :-) Now, there are 11 Ellingson children, as I'm sure I've mentioned before, and 10 of them, with their families, were split between our house and Grandma and Grandpa's house. Miraculously everyone had a bed to sleep on (except all the cousins, who played all day together and then crashed asleep on the floor after giggling and talking for hours in the same room), and aside from adults for the most part, everyone who needed a nap got one everyday. :-) We made dinner and cleanup calendars, we ate Ellingson chocolates until we were sick, we played games until we were so tired and delirious that our guts hurt from laughing and we were giving points away just to make someone win and end the game, we opened LOTS of presents, we had a nativity with all of the grandkids and some of the kids still at home staring in the lead roles, we talked and watched movies until all hours of the morning, and most importantly, strengthened our family ties with those who were there and in spirit with those who were not. We also got to sneak away to have Christmas with my family the night before Christmas Eve, where my Mom turned the area below her stairs into an apartment for the kids, complete with a couch (a foam kiddie couch), table (crate with cloth over it for table settings), and colored pictures and pass-along cards with paintings of Jesus on them for wall decorations. Chloe adored it, Linus much preferred my step-dad's marble conveyer belt set and trucks from when he was a kid. It was a marvelous season. My favorite gift for Christmas was a beautifully carved bread box that my husband and kids picked out for me. I have made the decision in our household to make bread for the family instead of buying it. Yes, it's cheaper, but it also builds a home environment, I believe, that I want for my family. My children help me pour flour into the Bosch and watch in awe every time I turn it on as the bread hooks knead the dough much better then my hands can. The smell of baking bread in the house is comforting. Yes, I admit that sometimes it's a chore to remember to stay on top of it, but I love it. Now to some, getting a bread box might be insulting. I grew up in a land *coughBOULDERcough* where keeping a woman in the house is not highly regarded. I can hear their complaints at a gift like this, they're dragging chains...
They are keeping you in the kitchen, they think you belong there, don't let them tie you down to the house, don't let them stifle your true womanly potential...
And my stomach sinks in disgust. My heart warmed over when I saw the writing on the box and saw the excitement in my family's eyes as I opened it. I would be lying if I said I didn't tear up just a little. What I see in a gift like this is the love and respect my husband has for me and my role as a mother and a wife, roles that I cherish above all others. What I see is his careful attention to my needs, when I made a comment ONCE a couple months ago in complaint when I declared that I needed a bread box to clean up our counter space. What I see is my children growing up in a family with traditions, order, and comfort. It means much more to me than a clean counter, and engenders a sense of gratitude that is genuine and heart changing. It's a beautiful bread box and it's all mine. :-)
As I fell asleep last night I finally started thinking about a few things that I resolve to do better this year and they are as follows:
I resolve to lose weight. Cliche, I know, but it has to happen and I resolve to do it before we try for our next child, whenever that may be. Okay, I'm going to say this on my blog, completely embarrassing, but perhaps it will help me to stick to my plan: I could afford to lose at least 35 lbs to get to a healthy weight, and probably another 10 or 15 more to get to my ideal weight. I'm sure there will be more progress on that in the future, because I'm sure you all want to hear about it, but there, I got it off my chest.
I resolve to listen to my children more and play with them more. Every day.
I resolve to be a better wife and a better lover. It's easy to let the activities of the day consume that vital role, but I am at the core a romantic and I resolve to pass that along to the person who needs it most.
I resolve to keep the house a little cleaner, aside from just picking up toys and making it look "neat", I resolve to keep the deep cleaned parts of our house more consistently deep cleaned. As long as it doesn't interfere with the above two resolutions.
I resolve to go outside more before Spring time. I don't care if it's cold, if it's 40 or above, we all could use the fresh air and exercise.
I resolve to do more crafts with Chloe and explore her preschool life to the fullest before I send her off to school in the fall, bleary eyed and proud, not bleary eyed and regretful of time lost.
I resolve to read more books and educate myself on more things valuable to me in life.
I resolve to be a better person. More scripture study, more prayer, more service, closer to Christ. And really that should be number one, because not much else will happen effectively until this one does.
...and with the help of almost everyone who's come to visit, guess who finally figured out how to walk over Christmas break? Guess she got jealous when all her younger cousins were out racing her around the house. :-)
Happy New Year and hope you all had as good of a Christmas season as I did. Leaving the lights up until this weekend, just because. Maybe I'll even wear red and green before we do too...
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