Kaboom

My lunch conversation…NOT making this up.

"Mom, did you know that Oxy Clean gets the tough stains out?  And Mom did you know it even works on whites?  And now they have a new thing called Kaboom that works on tough toilet stains.  I think I'm going to get you that for Christmas."

-Max Harold Shisler
Age 3

The List

Well this week has been NON stop…I am not sure if I have really slept at all.   It's been crazy.  Scott was gone all week which always takes things up a notch of busy for me.  On top of that I had a LONG list of things to do…the problem is I never actually sat down to make the "list" so that didn't help my sleep.  I would wake up adding to the "list" that didn't really exist anywhere on paper, or phone…just in my mind. But I was afraid if I actually made a written "list" it could be tracked by children who may want to know MORE than they need to about Christmas.

Well this "list" has had MANY checkmarks this week….the ones I can share are these, and yes I am doing this because it makes ME feel better to check things off of a list that never really existed other than in my own brain.

-Christmas Cards:  designed, printed and mostly stamped (I rebelled this year and didn't write in them, so when you get yours and see no personal note, don't take offense.  It's something I decided I could take off of my "list".  We send out 500 cards, this helped save a lot of time.  I KNOW that's a ridiculous amount, that's what happens when you move several times and keep in touch with so many dear friends and family)

-Christmas Cards: not a typo to write again, helped my parents design and print theirs this year.  It will be their job to lick and stamp, AND IF THEY CHOSE, write in theirs.

-Santa:  Yep we saw him, yep we took the boys picture…Scott hasn't seem him yet which Max keeps reminding us of, but that's okay.  That's not on my "list".  I have my cute Santa picture for 2013

-Christmas Shopping :  Yes, pretty much done.  A few smaller things but those can be picked up at Target in one trip….I think.  Some things were ordered via mail, thank you FREE shipping.

-Gifts wrapped: Thanks to Drew, I think we have ALL of our Ohio gifts wrapped and ready to mail off, and almost ALL of our MN gifts wrapped and ready to go.  I have let go of the perfect wrap and the perfect ribbon in an effort to lessen stress for me.  This is BIG people.

-Shutterfly LOVE:  Without divulging too much info, although my boys would have to be oblivious NOT to see what I have been doing on the computer all week.   Their annual books are done and ordered and should be here by the 24th.  :)  That has probably taken up 40, maybe 50 hours this week…I could be exaggerating but I don't think I am.  Throw in a calendar or 4 as well…it's been a LOT and YES I know it is my own fault for not doing them until this week.

-Editing DONE:  Officially done with all of my 2013 Photo editing, other than the few emails that have come this week for a tweak here or there….those will wait.  I am not adding to this "list" that doesn't really exist.

I have learned to say NO to several things this week, I need to do more of it, it is not my strength.  These are all things I LOVE to do but right now, I canNOT.  

NO I can't watch your kids on Friday morning
NO I can't help make a meal for a friend having surgery
NO I cannot make it to the cookie exchange
NO I cannot bring you lunch to school because you forgot it (I did have it delivered though)
NO you cannot have a friend over today
NO I cannot teach Sunday School this week

and these were things I was then able to say YES to….

YES I can snuggle you
YES I can come to hear your band concert
YES I will be at your Christmas Concert
YES I can make you an Ice Cream Sundae
YES I can sit and have hot chocolate with you
YES I will be at your game
YES I will be at the funeral of a dear family friend and childhood neighbor

Life is a balance, and when I lose my focus on what REALLY MATTERS it is HARD.  I want to soak in the next week before Christmas with our family.

Shooting with Ross

Sometime in December Ross took Jack and Drew shooting….they have been asking to go and he was excited to take them.  He is not Amish nor is he related to the Robertson family…and yes I have told him my thoughts on the beard and shaggy look (Ross is married to our Miss Emily)

So off they went.  I, of course, sent them with many a safety warning and requested photos to be taken.  Here is what was sent to me.  They had a great afternoon and we so appreciated Ross taking them out.

Santa

(The best thing for me to do when I am really getting stressed…is to make a list and START to check it off.  So today…we crossed THIS off of my our list. )

We went to see Santa.  Max has seen him a few times with me, but no one else has gotten there.  We ALWAYS take a picture and visit Santa.  And it's the REAL Santa in case you are wondering.  The ONLY one we have EVER had pictures taken with.  And he comes to visit Des Moines every year, from the North Pole.  We are blessed.  

..and yes he has had dinner at our house, and yes I bake him cookies often, and yes he LOVES homemade ham balls, and YES he is a great guy and he "gets" the REAL reason for Christmas, and YES he sometimes remembers to call me on my birthday and YES he knows our names.    

Trying to have a Stable Christmas

I am trying to remember the meaning of Christmas…and what we are celebrating.

I am trying NOT to get caught up in the craziness of the month.

 I am trying not to freak out that I don't have our Christmas cards finalized, or to the printer…or stamps bought.

 I am trying NOT to worry that I am not done Christmas shopping…that I am not even sure what I have or don't have yet.

I am trying NOT to freak out that I don't have the boys' Shutterfly books begun, don't even have all of the photos narrowed down.  Let alone the books I make for our parents, the calendar for my grandma.  Yep none of them begun.

I am trying NOT to feel overwhelmed by our schedule this week, with Scott's being out of town until Friday, with basketball games, practices, Christmas concerts, band chapel…

I am not doing terribly well with any of it, I am procrastination the Shutterfly stuff right now because I am just so overwhelmed by the project.  Part of me KNOWS that if it doesn't get done and here by Christmas that the boys, my grandma and our parents, would understand…but that REALLY bothers the Perfectionist part of me that wants everything DONE and DONE right and well.

I came upon this today…and I really want to have a STABLE Christmas.

Motherhood and Christmas go together. It’s mostly up to Mom to hang the stockings over the mantle with care, to make the house happy and bright, to play Santa if she so chooses, to handle the wrapping and coordinate the baking and to keep Christ in Christmas…. It’s a pleasure and pressure pot, all this merry-making.

And throw in hectic calendars, three school band concerts this week, a 6 year old turning 7, a basketball game and the emotional ups and downs that sometimes accompany the holidays… oh, and jury duty on a Monday.

It’s enough for an undoing.

“Mom, we are so behind on Christmas,” my 6 year old said as I stood over an intimidating pile of unwashed laundry and unpacked suitcases.

She wanted to do the things of Christmas. And I was about to come unraveled.

Her words matched my own holiday To Do list, the one that reminded me that if we were really going to capture the magic, we would have to chase it down, and fill our days with pin-worthy recipes and memory-making and house-decorating, shopping and crafting, parties and handmade gifts in recycled jars.

She precariously carried a box of ornaments from upstairs where they’d been sitting since November-something. Itching to catch up, I opened the plastic lid and held a red glass Santa, a favorite from my childhood. And it slipped right thru my fingers and shattered.

Into a thousand bright pieces against the unforgiving tile.

Broken.

It left me feeling shaky.

It left me looking around for something stable.

My oldest rushed into the room frantically looking for her winter scarf that matched the cozy sweater that went with the tall brown boots. She turned the house and the atmosphere upside down as only a teen girl can do and before I could say ho ho ho, it was a winter storm of attitude and anger.

Peace, it’s what I crave. Not just in my home, but in my heart this Christmas.

Peace that says Rest.

Stop.

Don’t Do.

Be. Still.

Because this year, I’ve decided we won’t catch up. We won’t mark it all off our list. We won’t get the best cyber deals or go ice skating at the mall (thankfully). We won’t make homemade ornaments or trim our tree to be magazine worthy. There won’t be an Elf on our Shelf.

We will be behind this Christmas.

But isn’t that was followers do…stay behind? They are led. By a Leader. The One searchers found swaddled in a barn, born to die. To be the gift we unwrap this Christmas.

And He is saying Peace, be still. Not as the world gives, but as I give.

I swept up the glass on the floor and asked this Savior born in a messy stable and a broken world to give me a stable home this Christmas.

To fill me with peace, not more pieces, to quiet the raging, waiting list and help me focus on the unending gift of His presence. The Present.

How to Have a Stable Home This Christmas With Your Children:

1. Do less Stuff: Resist the urge to do it all. You don’t have to make all your gifts, compete with the neighbors, be Mom of the Year this season. It’s easy to get so tangled in the festivities that we are left exhausted and undone. I remember having a meltdown one year because I missed a couple of devotions on the Advent Calendar with my children. Oh, y’all. Christmas is not about doing and I’ve learned that the hard way.

2. Be the Gift: Want to bless those in your life? Want to give your kids the most memorable gift ever? Be the gift. Give your love and time. Turn off the distractions and live.

2. Stop Keeping Up: I’m not visiting Pinterest these days. Once I decided I can’t keep up with all the perfection of matching Christmas pajamas and hand stamped gift wrapping, the desire to keep up left me. We can get so wrapped up in doing Christmas, we miss the true meaning altogether.

3. Seek Peace: If you long for peace this season-in your home and heart- find Jesus. If you’re kids need peace, your marriage, He’s there. That’s where we will find peace.  Jesus is Peace.

4. Be Still: I love Ann’s new Advent Devotional, The Greatest Gift: Unwrapping the Full Love Story of Christmas. If I could recommend one resource, this is it:  It’s short, daily, doable chunks of inspiration (even if we are days behind). It’s a moment for our family to connect around the table, add an ornament to our simple Jesse Tree and pause our busy lives. I especially love the fill in the blank spaces for reflection.

5.  Be Led: Instead of following our culture down a sparkly-lighted path that demands more ismore, be a follower. Be a disciple of Jesus, our leader. The great thing about our children is they will generally follow where we lead. He will guide us if we let Him.

Sometimes life can feel precarious and uncertain this time of year.

The only way to remain unshaken is to start at the stable.

Surprise Ride

Grandparents day was Friday at school, I will post about that as soon as I get those photos off of my big camera.  In the meantime, Saturday we surprised the boys with a SURPRISE RIDE to….Chicago. We planned it a few weeks ago when we realized our weekend was open and Scott was headed there Monday for a weeklong meeting.  The boys have never been to Chicago in the winter and Christmas time is always so pretty there.  Our oldest niece lives there and we had not seen her since the summer…so we packed up the boys on Friday while they were at school.  Saturday while Papa was making pancakes we told them to shower up we were leaving today.  They were all excited.  Mom and Dad headed back to Edina and we headed East.

We got there early afternoon and went straight to Ariana's Apartment, after a quick tour we headed out on an errand for her.  She needed help picking up a new sewing machine…not so easy when you don't have a car.  By the time we got that, returned it back to her house and got down to our hotel downtown it was dinner time.  Ariana chose pizza, which didn't make ANY of us too sad.  We headed to Giordano's which was a close walk from the Hyatt.  The wait was terribly long so we got it to go and ate it in the Skywalk of our hotel, which ended up being perfect.  It was quiet, the view was lovely, we had a long bar to sit at with stools.  We enjoyed catching up with Ariana and hearing all about her latest.

We then headed to our room to watch a very intense Buckeye game.  Sadly, we lost.  Not an easy loss for any of our boys, well Max didn't seem to mind.  But it was disappointing, I won't lie.  But I tried to remind them…. to be "humble in victory and gracious in defeat".  Not so sure they loved that advice a lot, but hopefully some day it will ring true.  :) We went to bed with some sad boys.

Sunday came and everyone seemed to wake up happy and cheerful and ready for a day on the town.  After a slow start, which for us is 8:30 am, we headed a few blocks for breakfast at the Corner Bakery and proceeded to walk down Michigan Ave to visit shops that were on the boys' lists.  FIrst up, Nike Town…4 floors of Nike heaven for Tommy and Drew.  Then to the Disney Store for Max and the Lego store was next.  We poked in some others as well.  I got to visit Anthropologie, I could live in that store.  Nordstrom Rack was a fun stop….Several others as well.  Not many shopping bags with Christmas around the corner but fun to look.

The snow started to fall late morning, it was BEAUTIFUL.    We had lunch at Potbelly's…Tommy's FAVORITE….and then Scott and Max headed to the hotel while the rest of us stopped at Ghiradelli's for a hot chocolate and fudge to bring home.

A nap in the afternoon for Mama and Max and off to dinner we went to one of my top 5 restaurants…Roy's.  Not only is it named Roy's….my Dad's name…but it is Hawaiian fusion meaning it is a Hawaiian restaurant.  The first time we went was on our Honeymoon, it holds a special place in our hearts.  AND they may have THE VERY BEST Molten Chocolate Lava Cake around.   

The boys and I left the hotel at 5 am today to get back for part of school.  Tommy has his first game tonight.  (if you miss school you can't play so we HAD to get back for that :) )  Scott will be home on Friday, via airplane.  

It was a whirlwind time, but fun to see Ariana, and to enjoy family time in Chicago.

 Max's view from his carseat.

Meeting Sagebrush…the cat. 

 Heading in at Sunset

 This seemed appropriate for our boys…

 Sleepy as we checked in, but so happy to see his big cousin

 waiting in the skywalk for our take out pizza to show up

 My personal favorite…

 In the hotel before Ana had to leave

 Recovering from the loss…still loyal fans at the Nike Store\

 Lego Store

 Shislers in a Snowglobe

 Max's sandwich at Potbelly's….I called Max the Little guy when I ordered his sandwich, love how they wrote it on the bag…too cute.

 Tommy was much more serious in his shoe shopping than his Dad.

 Snow starting in on Michigan  Ave.

Max's ice cream…at Roy's

 After dinner…see all of the snow.  So beautiful. 

Smart Engineer

Today Max had his friend Hinckley over for the day.  They started the day by playing with the Lionel Train that goes around our tree.  It's one of Max's favorite things..and now Hinckley's too…think his Mom just ordered him one for his tree. :)  After about an hour, Max was a bit tired of sharing his train…and I heard some discussion over it.  Max unhooked the front engine and took the remote and proceeded upstairs.  Hinckley came running into the kitchen to me to ask for some help.  I went upstairs, Max agreed he would bring back the engine and remote, that he wasn't being a kind friend.  

We then had to leave to run to Kindermusick, a visit with Santa, lunch at the Noodle Cafe and a haircut for Max.  By the time we arrived home, Max had called asleep in the car.  I brought him in and laid him down on the sofa to sleep.  Hinckley went in to play with the train, happy he had it ALL to himself.  After about 5 minutes he came back to the kitchen to ask me for help getting it going.  I went in, plugged the engine back into the rest of the train and proceeded to turn on the remote to make it go…..

….hmmm someone had pulled the batteries out.  

Mr Smart Max, had listened to me, returned the engine and the remote…but had removed the batteries so it was not usable.  Smart kid huh?  Made me laugh.  He just MAY have a slight stubborn streak in him.  

Thankfulness: Day 30

Today I am thankful the Buckeyes won…I mean it was neck and neck the entire game and let's just be honest.... a Buckeye loss, after 2 perfect seasons, AND to Michigan, would have made for a very ugly Saturday here.

Scott and Jack are still watching the game, they missed most of it due to Jack's basketball.  The game is recorded…don't worry but don't call or text Scott for awhile.  He doesn't know the outcome

Go Bucks!  I am told I should now be cheering for Auburn to beat Alabama in the next game!

Max, Tommy and Drew celebrating!  These were taken when Ohio State intercepted the ball to save the game in the last seconds.  Look at theTV screen and the poor Michigan QB just laying there..in shock. 

Thankfulness: Day 29

Today I am thankful for grace.  I am thankful that God gives grace to me every single day.  I want to be a better "grace giver" to my Love and our boys.  I tend to want things just SO…and I am not so great at the grace part when they aren't done the way I WANT….So I am working on grace.  I am not as good at it as I would like.  God never doubts me, and never turns me away from grace.

(This being said after I just about lost it over the state of our laundry room, with the lunch boxes all over the place, the basketball duffle bags, the socks, the shoes…the random messes.  Just being a real)