Love is Spoken Here...most of the time.: Oh! December!

December was a wonderfully busy month for our family. I don't think we would want it any other way. It seems difficult to remember the small details day in and day out, but this year we tried to leave some impressions on our children's minds in hopes that one day they would a joyfully respond to a question like, "What were your family traditions as a child?" As the years move forward Shyler and I become disenchanted with the idea of gifts for each other and find that world peace really is more favorable. Okay, so maybe we can't establish world peace, but we hope our kids will understand (preferably before the teenage years) presents are not the crux of Christmas.

I was lamenting to Shyler one day (before Christmas) that I was secretly hoping for a trip to the local shelter or food bank to assist those in need as well as show our kids a different aspect of Christmas. But, my dreams of grandeur were diminished quickly with the reality that our children are 5, 3, and 11 months. I could envision Emery complaining during the entire experience how terribly hungry she was. Until recently, she had been telling me every half hour of the day, "I'M STARVING!" I finally became so fed up I explained to her what it really means to be starving. This idea of serving soup to the hungry would have been a case in point. I could see Addie tap dancing to the tune of "I have to go potty" and then as soon as the soup ladles are dropped and a dash is made to the restroom we would discover her performance anxiety problem. And let's not forget Prince Beefy who would've been salvaging the crumbs underneath the serving table once released from his prison stroller having been stationed there for four hours with 3 bottles of milk, two crackers, fifty Cheerios, and a terribly saggy, soggy diaper. This is all hypothetical, of course.

*Grandma Jean (Shyler's mom) visited for a week (from Utah) after Thanksgiving.

*We put up a Christmas tree.

*Dashle fell in love with pretty,colorful lights. He never really showed much interest in the tree except when he needed something that looked reliable and sturdy so he could pull himself to standing. Yes, he had a few moments where he almost performed self-acupuncture by way of pine needle.

*OhioHealth sponsored a night at Columbus Zoo so we took advantage of the free passes to the see the lights. Not much animal activity was spotted except for our short warm-up session in the goat barn and also in the reptile cave where we sipped hot chocolate and enjoyed the sights and sounds of snakes, lizards, and turtles. Yikes!