dear santa

Yeah…not too into writing a letter and convincing Santa how good she's been this year. Straight to the point.

Over the weekend the playroom got out of control. I was trying to take the dogs out and Hannah and Joseph had set up barricades of various toys. In my typical fashion, I mentioned we should get rid of some of these toys (I might have said "this junk"), especially if we wanted to make room for the new toys we might get for Christmas. To which Hannah quickly responded, "I'm not getting a new toy… I'm just getting an Anna costume and a brother that doesn't whine." Well, that would be nice…

For tradition's sake, I thought I'd post our wishes for this year. Truly we don't need anything, but there are several things we would like and enjoy. :)  The kids aren't really talking about anything except Hannah mentioning letter c below, but I know my babies well and things that would make them very happy. {As usual by the time I do this post, most of these things have been taken care of.}


For Hannah Monkey:

{a} Doc McStuffins nightshirt. {b} art supplies. {c} Frozen's Anna, coronation gown…has to be the coronation one. {d} accessories like this hat from Old Navy and this headband from Children's Place (they have lots of pretty ones we like). {e} Nod bean bag chair. {f} Dollhouse. {g} Minnetonka boots like her pink ones in Dusty Brown. {h} kids picnic table for the backyard, a wood one with an umbrella like this would be perfect! {i} Sofia DVD. {j} cozy slippers.

For Josey:

{a.} lantern. {b} Nod bean bag chair. {c} Team Umizoomi DVD. {d} construction equipment like this wheel barrow and excavator. {e} boots. {f} trailer for the tractor. {g} slippers. {h} vacuum, a real one (what can I say?). {i} wet floor sign (seriously, a favorite thing when we go out). {j} superhero capes (both kids would love these). {k} umbrella.

As always, Joe is exceptionally hard to buy for as he rarely ask for anything. I struggle to come up with a collage each year for him…never happened last year.

For Joe:

{a} trip to the New York Marathon…his running goal for 2015. {b} sunglasses. {c} Wahoo KICKR bike trainer. {d} casual shoes for work and play. {e} reflective socks like these from ICNY. {f} knuckle lights. (Notice the theme? We want him to be seen, and be able to see, while running in the dark of morning.)

And for me:

{a.} herringbone Toms. {b.} this cuff. {c.} these earrings (they were on here last year, too!). {d.} Cinda b Vacationer II duffle. {e.} Keurig 2.0. {f.} boots. {g.} this handbag. {h.} gift cards are always wise (Athleta, Zappos, Ballard…). {i.} Fiesta 9" luncheon plates (turquoise, poppy, tangerine, peacock, scarlet) for kids to use. {j.} these earrings.

And that's that.

I am pretty organized this year and have my shopping finished, save for a few small things. Decorations are up and around the house. Presents are wrapped and under the trees (yes, plural…we have 4 total).

We have been reading our Advent storybook and following along our Advent calendar and "lighting 'em up" (an idea made popular by blogger/author Courtney DeFeo), that is, sharing God's love with others through big and small acts of kindness. We try never to walk past a ringing bell without dropping in a little something.

We are filling up our Sparkle Box. Do you know about this book? It is so, so good. All about teaching children the true meaning of Christmas and doing for others and presenting that as a present to Jesus on His birthday. Joseph is a little young, but he's picking up on it. Hannah is crazy about it… She so enjoyed helping me at the DFACS foster children's Christmas party on Thursday.

Heart of gold, that girl.

So, while the "wishes" above are exciting and fun, we are trying to keep in mind the reason for the season. Hope you had a great weekend. Blessings to you and yours!

(…and GO NAVY!!!)