A Christmas wish come true...

Along with visiting and delivering letters to Santa, 

 seeing the lights sparkle on Cinderella's castle,

and meeting Tinkerbell the week before Christmas,

Abby had yet another wish come true...

This free digital ecard personalized with Smilebox

Special Delivery for Santa & Mrs. Claus!

Along with our letters to Santa this year, I thought it might be fun for the kids to decorate Christmas "Thank You" cards for him and Mrs. Claus too. (It's so easy for to get caught up in the "I want"s and forget to show gratitude for the things they've already been given so I was hoping this would help.) The kids will hopefully get a chance to meet both of them tomorrow (if the line isn't too astronomically long) and tell them their Christmas wishes in person at none other than the "happiest place on Earth"! We can't wait!

*Read more about the importance of family rituals and traditions in this month's Fishful Thinking newsletter!

The MAGIC Word

Today as I am unloading and putting away groceries, Noah keeps whining for some Star Wars fruit snacks. (The kid has not even seen Star Wars yet, but the robots and light sabers definitely caught his eye today at the store.) I am knee high in plastic bags and trying to get the cold stuff put into the fridge so I keep telling him, "Just a minute, Noah."

Of course, the begging continues as I ignore his pleas...

"MOM! I WANT SOME FRUIT SNACKS!"

So Abby decides to step in and says, "Noah, what is the magic word?"

"RUMPEL-STIL-STIN!" he blurts out.

Such a jokester, that boy of mine. :)

A Snippet of Christmas Spirit

Kids and Christmas - two of my favorite things. I loved this little video so much, I just had to share.


(Click here to see the full screen!)

After watching this, I asked Noah "If you had been there when Jesus was born what present would you have given him?"

He said, "A baby rattle."

Makes perfect sense to me. :)

*To see more snippets of true Christmas spirit, click here!

Kiddo Christmas Quotes to Remember...

Abby says to Pat tonight, as he's tucking her into bed, "Daddy, you are on the good list. Mama is on the good list. I am on the good list, but I don't know about Noah. I am worried about him."

As well she should be...

Even telling that boy that the elves planted secret video cameras in the Christmas tree hasn't made a bit of difference.

Grateful Sayings 2010

Last month, our family started working on individual Grateful Sayings posters (another great idea from Fishful Thinking- http://www.fishfulthinking.com/Emotional-Awareness/ActivityGratefulSayings) to share on Thanksgiving day. Like it says in the activity description, making this a month long activity really helps us remember that gratitude is something we need to express each day for all of the good things in our lives - whether they are big or small. With Christmas just around the corner (can you believe it?), I thought we'd continue to add to our gratitude posters and see if we can get the whole thing filled up - both front and back! :)

*To see our poster from last year, click here! This is definitely an activity that I'd like our family to continue to do for many Thanksgivings (and Christmases) to come!