Christmas Vacation … Recuperation

We are back home and trying to get back in the groove of things.  It is always bittersweet returning from vacations to visit our far-away family … so good to be home, but so sad to leave loved ones.

I am working on sorting through all the pictures from our trip, so I'll have those up shortly, but in the meantime...

I seem to be having a particularly hard time readjusting - yesterday, in an attempt to conquer the post-vacation Mt. Laundry, I overflowed the washing machine, sending soapy water all over the basement floor.  And today, I locked us out of the apartment.  Beautiful.

As a matter of fact, Benjamin has decided he's just gonna have to take care of some things himself…

Benjamin taking care of business … with a view of Mt. Laundry in the background

Even though his head got chopped off in this shot, it was just too sweet not to include :)

Merry Christmas to all!

In the midst of the parties, the fourteen dozen cookies, the music, the friends, the decorations, the gifts, and the celebrating Will's completion of his first semester in graduate school (YAY!!!), we are striving to find some quiet moments to contemplate the significance of what all this is about to begin with…

Emmanuel … God WITH us … humbling Himself to become like us in order to redeem us for Himself.  We are not alone.  He came HERE, walked this dirt and breathed this air, and the world will never be the same again … we will never be the same.

Wherever you are, may you find the true joy and peace that is found only in the presence of Emmanuel!

With much love, 

The Trautmans

In which we go stir-crazy, part 2

 So, our area of the country is setting all kinds of snow related records lately.  It's hard to keep track of them all, how many feet of snow we've gotten so far, or how many times I've fallen trying to get my snow boots off.

We have ventured out a little this week, and been reminded how grateful we are for salt, sand, and snowplows ... and for our neighbors who let us park a car in their driveway so we don't get plowed in!

Last week's big idea to make the snowed-in days more interesting was to get a big bowl of kitchen things for the Little Man to play with.  Thankfully, he loved it and continued playing with them for several days.  My to-do list for this week is much longer than the week, however, so Little Man was forced encouraged to come up with some creative ideas on his own...

Running around with bowls on our heads ... if this is what we're doing in mid-December, what exactly are we going to find ourselves doing come February?!?!

Christmas Tour

Hey y'all!  Come on in for a Christmas tour of our little nest!

The biggest Christmas tree we've ever had!

Here it is at night, with the lights glowing

The mantle decorated with stockings and the manger scene

Garland above the dining room windows

the dining room shelves even got a holiday facelift

And so did the computer table...

Dining room table centerpiece

Y'all come back now, ya hear?  :)

In which we go stir crazy...

Oh the weather outside is frightful

But the [kitchen miscellany that won't kill or maim my toddler] is so delightful

and since we've no place to go

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

What happened to my baby boy?!?!

Just in the last two weeks, I feel like Benjamin has officially made the transition from baby to toddler and he is ALL BOY, let me tell you.

He has started throwing toys on the ground, then laughing this deep guttural laugh while flexing his arms... i keep trying to get it on video but haven't quite succeeded yet.

He got his first fat lip after a fall ... then got far more upset that he had to sit still for me to hold ice on it than he did about the fall itself.

He is constantly on the move, walking circles and circles around the house, and has discovered the joy of banging on things ... laundry baskets, doors, tables - you name it, he'll bang on it and think its the coolest thing ever.

And yet, after a nap, he still wants to cuddle in my lap for 15 or 20 minutes before he gets up and going ... he'll always be my baby boy!

I also love the way he lets his paci hang out the side of his mouth like it's a little green plastic cigar :)

My prayer for him lately has been from the last part of Isaiah 61:3, "They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor."  I know he'll be all grown up all too soon, and our deepest hearts' desire is that he would be rooted as deep and able to stand as strong as a mighty oak - to the glory of the Lord!

So, it looks like ...

I'll be doing my Christmas shopping online today ...

and forego the trip to the mall I had considered making.  :)

Like walking into a real-live Hallmark Movie

While Aunt Mattie was here for Thanksgiving, we took advantage of a unique offering by a nearby town ... a Dickens Christmas Festival!  We braved the cold and wind to go and listen to carolers dressed in Dickens-era costumes, drink hot chocolate, and browse cutesy little shops and galleries.

Will asked me at one point if I felt like I had walked into the middle of a Hallmark movie, and really, how could you not feel like that?

Mattie and me with Scrooge

A group of carolers on the street-corner ... and Tiny Tim!

Benjamin stayed pretty warm ... and only pulled the mittens off a couple of times

Brass ensemble playing carols outside the shops ... see what I mean about being in a Hallmark movie?

A scene from A Christmas Carol taking place on the front lawn of the town hall

You could even borrow costumes for free!

Christmas carol sing-a-long at the park

Despite the numb feet and faces, I think this was one of my favorite Christmas activities ever!  What a great way to kick off the season!