Wednesday, December 30, 2020

No, it wasn't the same, but different can be good


Christmas 2020 is in the history books. Such a different holiday for us. Bill and I visited each of our four adult children in their homes instead of everyone gathering in our small house. It really was very 
intimate and special this year.

Seeing the great grandsons was as much a delight as it was seeing our own kids and older grandkids who were home from college/work. We spent quality time with each family, missed two oldest grands, but we plan to throw a big bash this summer where we can all be together again, hopefully. Good-bye 2020!

We walked in the front door with a container of fluffy, plush snowballs and set the boys into action. They bombarded paw paw and had the best snowball fight with us. Their laughter is a happy memory.

Alex is quite the tinkerer at age three. He received two sets of tools and has been using them! He likes his goggles and work gloves. He has a car that has removable parts and he loves it!

Charlie is the typical active  two year old, vocalizing in full sentences now more than striking out and screaming. But as you can see he got very excited here when he realized what was about to happen...

Charlie saw Alex wearing his chef outfit, and mama on her way to make green pancakes for Christmas breakfast. Alex loves to help cook. 
Liam, age six, received SO many video games and battery operated cars and things to play with. However when I showed him what we could do with the empty box in which I carried the gifts, he was mesmerized. He has inherited his mom's artistic ability. He had fun with his remote control car that did flips and zoomed around, but he was as interested in what I was doing. He watched me turn the box upside down and lay out dry erase markers and eraser. He took the things into his room and began to draw on the plasticized cardboard which makes it a dry erase board. Charlie left the chaos of the livingroom to find Liam, and when he did, he sat right beside him and also drew. 

 Who says kids need expensive toys?! I used to present workshops for teachers: Learning Games from Trash to Treasure. Notice, the box is on a slant. When the child rests his arm on the box, it provides the stabilization needed to support the wrist/forearm. This discarded box provided much entertainment. 

I hope you had a good holiday and are prepared to beat the heck out of 2020 tomorrow night. When the boys' mama Ashley was three, she was spending the night with her great grandma. I called at midnight and told her to get a pot and big spoon and beat the heck out of the old year.

She handed my mom the phone and said, "Nana wants me to beat the heck out of an old deer with a pot and spoon."

We are on a countdown now. Blessings to you and yours.

9 comments:

Sioux Roslawski said...

How lucky your grandkids and great grandkids are to have you (and Bill, I suppose). How lucky you two are to have such a great family.

May 2021 be better and more normal than 2020 was...

Kathy's Klothesline said...

All was very quiet here. The dogs enjoyed their new Kongs stuffed with peanut butter and tiny treats. That was the excitement for the day.

Kim Lehnhoff said...

Our Christmas was quiet, as usual. Our family celebration typically falls on a weekend day, so a subdued Christmas is SOP. Of course, no family dinners since February. Im sure we're all looking forward to 2021, assuming things will begin to return to normal.

You are fortunate the kids are close and you could safely visit them!

Kathy G said...

It sounds like a lovely day.

Val said...

Heh, heh! Beat the heck out of an old deer! I hope you used that picture of you and Bill for a Christmas card. I bet there's never a dull moment with those three boys.

DUTA said...

Very nice photo of you and Bill!
Wishing you a Happy 2021 with good health, prosperity and lots of satisfactions from your children and grandchildren!

Sonia said...

Beautiful pictures and memories of kids! Hope you had a great holiday and wish you a very happy new year!

Pat Wahler said...

The holidays were different and much quieter than usual. Same for the new year. I so hope by the next holiday season we'll be back to a more normal routine.

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