C H R I S T M A S 2 0 0 8

We started the last week of Advent with a Christmas Pageant at St. Therese of Carmel. The second grade was assigned the part of the angels. This is 9 of my 14 Faith Formation students. Kaitlyn's mom sewed tunics for our whole class.

Of course this is my favorite student... and my favorite little angel.

Immediately after the Christmas Pageant was our annual Cookie Exchange. We had 7 bakers this year... Kristin and I did an extra 12 dozen (fudge not cookies) to make it an even 8 bakers.Everyone bakes 13 dozen cookies - 12 to exchange and 1 dozen for tasting. We then go around collecting 3 of each of the 8 types of cookies into a tray for wrapping. So each tray has 24 cookies (2 dozen). Each baker leaves with 6 wrapped gifts of 2 dozen cookies. I give mine to neighbors and friends. This is what the finished products look like:

Mel made this candle holder for our family... yes, it is a Martha Stewart project.Miss Kristin made the cutest Santa gift bags for everyone... and the gifts inside were excellent as well. She made them with felt and fur on red gift bags. VERY festive.

We opened presents with Kristin before she left to go north to her parents. I snapped this picture of Madigan, it really shows off her broken tooth beautifully. If you don't know the story of why her brand new adult tooth is chipped; ask Thomas. I am still too upset to recount the tale. Since the tooth is still coming in, the dentist can't fix her tooth until mid-January. Wonderful for my Christmas pictures.

This is Kristin (a.k.a Miss Kristin or KO) opening her gifts from her San Diego family.This is us at church on Christmas Eve. We went to the 4pm Children's Mass... it was REALLY crowded but Fr. Nick had a wonderful sermon so I don't think anyone minded the full house.This is the crowd at our house Christmas Eve. The usual suspects, Wades, Annie and Mark, Miss Karen and her grandson Elio, Gordy, Linda and Colin and Colin's girlfriend Diana and her sister Michelle. Alexis and Miguel came later with the new baby Ezra.

The present opening was quite a thing. Thomas opened this PlayStation Portable from Gordy and Linda and he was quite a happy boy. Madigan received this bunny calendar and FOUR pink cubes of new clothes from Gordy and Linda. Thomas and Elio were not too pleased sitting through her opening all of her clothes, but the ladies in the room were mesmerized. We did the fashion show try-on after Christmas dinner, but that will have to be a new blog entry later next week. Bedtime photo... after putting out cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer.

Christmas morning, Santa was VERY good to Thomas and Madigan... as were Big Daddy and Gamma who bought them both their own digital cameras.

Santa brought me my FAVORITE gift EVER. It's a Control a Kid remote... there are buttons for "Clean Room" and "Do Homework"... I'm really hoping it works!

Thomas received a new bike from Pat and I. The rain let up just long enough for him to take a spin through the neighborhood.

We had Christmas dinner on the pool table just like the Beverly Hillbillies! It has a beautiful wood top that we put on it so people really can't tell it is a pool table... except for Linda who kept bumping her already bruised knee on it!
I made french onion soup, prime rib roast, sauted mushrooms, sweet potatoes, asparagas, and Linda brought a beautiful layered salad. I made baked Alaska for dessert... the kids were unimpressed and wanted popcorn instead. Miss Karen had given Thomas a new "Whirly Pop" popcorn machine and apparently popcorn made by hand trumps baked Alaska.
The Advent Wreath was still lit well into the night... so happy that Christmas has started! We have a lot planned for this Christmas vacation including a Thomas' 10th birthday and a 3 day stay at the beach on Coronado. So if there aren't any blog entries until 2009, you''ll know why!

Visiting Santa

Tonight Thomas and Madigan visited Santa Claus at the UTC Mall. Thomas asked Santa for origami paper and Madigan asked for a stuffed grey bunny. They have been pretty good this year, I'll let you know if Santa delivers.

Decorating the Tree

(Gram, I know I haven't put up the Thanksgiving pictures yet, there's a lot of them that I need to got through before I can post them. I did put our Boston trip up... so it's before the Halloween posting.)

The other day after school, Thomas and Madigan and our neighbors Chris and Hannah painted our back windows for Christmas:

Tonight we decorated our Christmas tree:

Our 2008 Christmas Card

And a cute picture from Disneyland a couple of weeks before Christmas!

The Dash

A few weeks ago, Deacon John Fanelle read this poem as part of his homily at our church (Saint Therese of Carmel). I've re-read the poem over and over and decided to post it on our blog.

The Dash
copyright 1996 Linda Ellis

I read of a man who stood to speak
at the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
from the beginning...to the end.

He noted that first came the date of her birth
and spoke of the following date with tears,
but he said what mattered most of all
was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time
that she spent alive on earth...
and now only those who loved her
know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own;
the cars....the house...the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
and how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard...
are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
that can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
to consider what's true and real,
and always try to understand
the way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger,
and show appreciation more
and love the people in our lives
like we've never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect,
and more often wear a smile...
remembering that this special dash
might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy is being read
with your life's actions to rehash...
would you be proud of the things they
say about how you spend your dash?

Halloween

Halloween was fun filled as always at the Wade Household. We started the season out with the Legoland Costume Contest. My friends Annie and Mel came down one Friday night to help work ont he costumes. Thomas and Madigan entered the Legoland Costume Contest the following day. Madigan won her category (Most Imaginative) which had about 60 children competing, but sadly Thomas did not win his category - Funniest. A werewolf doing a handstand won... of course I thought his Munchkin costume was better. Madigan did make a cute "Swiss Miss" cup of hot chocolate.

We took a trip out to Bates Nut Farm - to pick up our pumpkins. We went on a weekday afternoon because the kids had half days due to parent-teacher conferences. Bates was nearly empty and I vow never to go there on a weekend again. We took Madigan's best friend Nicole and of course, Chris and Hannah.We carved our pumpkins on Thursday the 30th of October. Unfortunately, Madigan's pumpkin from Bates Nut Farm had already started to rot. I ran out (the night before Halloween) to pick up a replacement... Ha - FAT CHANCE. At my third stop, I found a small pumpkin that was in okay condition that I paid $5 to bring home. Madigan was a little disappointed, but she made the best of it deciding to carve Minnie Mouse on her mini pumpkin. Thomas carved his pumpkin almost all on his own this year. We made a gingerbread haunted house... I think more candy was eaten than used for decorations.
Halloween morning, Patrick went into work a little late to go to the Torrey Hills elementary Halloween Parade. I had to take pictures for the yearbook, so he took care of Madigan getting ready and he took video for posterity. This is Thomas and Madigan before school. This is Thomas and Chris during the parade... they created quite a round of applause. They won most creative for the 4th grade.


After school, we had 17 kids at the house for a pre Trick or Treating party.

There was apple bobbing... the yellow one was worth the most points, then the green and then the red apples.There was the spider ring toss... it looked bigger in the Oriental Trader Catalog. The Jack-O-Lantern Jump (potato sack race) was a huge hit.As was the "Mummy Wrap" - yes 5 minutes to turn your partner into a mummy with a roll of toilet paper. The donut eating contest was messy as usual.
We had a scavenger hunt in other yards... no pictures but for the record the girls beat the boys.

We had popcorn balls
And Linda made a pumpkin shaped corn bread to go with the chili I made for the adults. The kids had Mummy Dogs... hot dogs wrapped in crescent rolls.
Pat and I were exhausted by the end of the party... sadly he had duty up at Port Huneme (last drill up there) on November 1st... so he had a 4 hour drive to look forward to after Trick or Treating. He is a trooper...
This is in the front yard just before starting to Trick or Treat. The kids are standing with our "Scarecrows". The big one scared me every time I tried to back out of the driveway!
And here is the haul.
Thomas' pile is always smaller than Madigan's due to the elimination of all peanut products. He did change costumes mid Trick or Treating because it was hard to see and move as a Midget. He makes a fine Mad Scientist.