It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

It is the weekend after Thanksgiving and I think I have been the model of restraint when it comes to starting the Christmas season. I have only been listening to Christmas Carols for the last two weeks. Can I help it if they are already on the radio?! Thanksgiving gives me the official go-ahead to start decorating. My tiny house will have four Christmas trees this year... 1 big and 3 little. We are trying something different this year and giving the kids their own little Alpine trees to decorate as they want.

Here is our version of the Christmas hearth. Although it is not the fireplace of my dreams, I love to decorate it each year. This year I have chosen to highlight the Nativity on the "mantle" (just a little shelf above the electric fireplace). Travis was so excited because this is the first year he could read all of the names on our stockings.

This is the little mini tree in the kitchen. I call it the "star tree" because it is the one tree in the house with a theme. It is also the only tree with a color scheme of maroon and white. The other trees are a mish mash of decorations and colors.

In an effort to disperse some of our ornaments we came up with a plan to let the kids decorate their own alpine trees. Our son was especially into it. We call this the "train tree" for the obvious reason. He is definitely MY boy, as he insisted on using every ornament he had. The tree is a little more than full at this point. At the rate the kid is going, next year we will have to invest in a full sized one just for him!

Here is Chelsea decorating her little tree. Chelsea is an easier name to find than Travis, so she has a lot of ornaments with her name on them. Chelsea's idea was to put 4 or 5 ornaments on a branch and leave the rest bare. When she wasn't looking I switched some around so the tree wouldn't tip. She loved seeing her Dora, Princess, and Sesame Street ornaments. When I envisioned the ornaments she had, I though for sure the tree would be entirely covered in pink.

The finished products... Travis has his tree on the right and Chelsea's tree is on the left.

Here is our big tree. John and I decorated this on our own, as the kids had lost interest after their little trees were done. True to tradition, I managed to stuff almost every ornament that we had on the tree. Lots of our ornaments are from places we have visited, like our honeymoon in St. Lucia or the cruise we went on with his family to Key West. As of late, the ornaments are from places like Sesame Place, Edaville Railroad and Storyland. How the times have changed!!!
After all was done, we looked out the window and saw the first sleet and snow of the year. Perfect timing. And while I wouldn't call the night "silent", as my son and his friend are playing trains upstairs and being rather loud, I will admit that, for the time being, "all is calm, all is bright" here at Casa Campbell!

Thankful??? You Bet!

My favorite season has officially started... the "Holidays"! It started this week with Thanksgiving. As a child I wasn't a fan of Thanksgiving. Too much food, too much "grown up talk", and me always at the kid's table (if I made it there at all. I do happen to recall a Thanksgiving with my cousin Cheryl and I sitting at TV trays in the hallway). It was also the day my parents seemed determined to make me eat new things... things that they, themselves, had tried and hated, like spinach and squash and peas.

As an adult I have a new appreciation for the holiday. I have so much to be thankful for! I think this became overwhelmingly apparent to me when I became a mom. Maybe even more as I see how much sadness there is out there. I look at my wonderful husband and beautiful children and feel so grateful it takes my breath away. My family of origin is terrific. My mom and brothers, aunts, uncles, cousins, and my grandmother are such pillars in my life. I am also tremedously lucky to have married into a family that treats me like I was born into it. We are healthy, for the most part, and safe. To have so many people to love and be loved by is truly a blessing. Although this is something I wish we could express more often, I feel that this time of year gives us lots of opportunities to show people how much we care.

Here is my daughter posing in her holiday best. Such a ham! People kept saying "Don't you look pretty!" to Chelsea. She replied with an honest (and not-so-modest) "YES!"

Our Thanksgiving started at my mother-in-law's house. It took my kids 3 minutes to take out the toys and trash the place. But did they complain about the mess? Nope! They were just happy to have us there.

Then it was on to eat at my mom's house. It was her first year hosting the Thanksgiving feast. My grandmother moved into a retirement complex and passed the torch to my mom. At first I worried that Gee (my grandmother) would be lost without the hustle and bustle of hosting the meal, but she seemed fairly relaxed and happy to actually sit and eat with the rest of us. It went off without a hitch.

My brother hangs out with Travis and my cousin. The little boys were rambunctious at times. They had a great time.

My grandmother celebrated her eighty-first birthday this year. Her birthday is so close to Thanksgiving that we usually celebrate it on the holiday. I consider myself very fortunate to be a part of such a close knit family. With 4 daughters, ten grandchildren and 3 (soon to be 4) great-grandchildren, I am sure my grandmother feels blessed, as well.

Here is Travis in his "rock star" pose. I think he gets this side of his personality from his father, who has always semi-secretly wanted to be in a hairband (or is it boyband). This looks a lot like John when he is trying to channel his inner-rocker!

Goodbye Girl

"the place you live in is that much more drab and empty that they're gone. I guess I just miss my friend." -Red in Shawshank Redemption

A friend of mine left yesterday for Abu Dhabi. She is going for two years. I tried to explain to my son that his little friend (her son) has moved away. I think he gets it, but I am not sure. I didn't get to say goodbye in person. And, in retrospect, I guess I am glad. The last day we saw each other we had fun. The kids were getting their pictures taken together and we were at the mall. The kids rode the carousel and played nicely together and in the brief minutes of peace we managed to talk a little. That is the day I want last in my memory, for that memory will now need to last until she visits. I am thankful that it is a happy one.


I know our lives are busy and we never found enough time to spend with each other, but this person has been a fixture in my life since the 5th grade... That is 26 years. Most of the time we were close. Sometimes we lost touch for a while, but came togehter like we had never been apart. Imagine our surprise and happiness when, after years of friendship, our sons were born only 5 months apart and grew to be friends. Then our daughters were born only 3 months apart and were growing into friends as well. And even though I sometimes went a month without ever laying eyes on her, I feel like a piece of my life is missing, like my world is a little less fun knowing she is not across town anymore. So I guess there is nothing to do but to email and send cards and look forward to her infrequent trips home. But I do hope she knows that my thoughts are with her and that I pray that her trip is uneventful in the best way possible. So Leslie, if you get this, hug the kids for me and say hi to all of the sheiks and camels. And most importantly, don't be a stranger...come home soon...safe and sound!

Back in Time Dance Party

It took a sad thing to bring the four of us together after so many years of not seeing each other. But the point is we did it. Our friend is moving to the Middle East with her family so it was time to send her off in style. Usually when we are together it is only two of us, three tops. But for the first time since I can remember we were all in the same place at the same time. Very rare indeed! There were tears and tons of laughing and, of course, dancing. Turns out we have all been having family dance parties with our children at home.

Here we are... the four of us. Class of 1990. Each with our youngest child (all girls around the same age).

Mother and daughter decide to "Raise the Roof".

My daughter has decided to cling to my friend who is moving away. This is kind of rare for Chelsea. She is usually only clingy with John and me. I think my travelling friend's heart was breaking. She asked, "How do you resist those big eyes???" I told her the truth... As her mother, you get over it QUICK!"

Our friend gets a glimpse (and a backache) of what it would be like to have twins. Both girls insisted on being held and danced with by her. Each time she put one down there was a tantrum.

Three of our husbands joined the party. The testosterone was flowing until they heard my husband's playlist on his Ipod. Then they weren't so sure about him. The women and children liked it, though. It definitely got our toes tapping!

Chelsea takes my friend for a spin on the dance floor. My poor friend is used to carrying her own daughter who is much more petite than Chelsea.

Here is our travelling friend with the original dancing queen from high school. She didn't miss a beat as I played DJ with my husband's 80's playlist.

The girls got down and boogied, complete with costumes. Here "Elmo" shakes her groove thing with Princess K.

All the kids got into the music. The big kids had lots of moves (is breakdancing making a comeback????) and enjoyed showing them off. Soon it was too hot for the boys to stay completely dressed. If only they had gold chains and chest hair. Maybe someday!

There was some fighting over the carriages. Two carriages and three little girls who wanted to play with them = big trouble. Overall the kids got along great.

Here are three of us dancing with our favorite dance partners... our daughters. Actually I am dancing with my friend's daughter and Chelsea is dancing with my friend. They loved it.

Here is Chelse's favorite dance move... The Dip! She insists on doing it over and over. My back aches but it is worth it to see the look on her face. Party on, Girl!

Trick or Treat (Smell My Feet!)

Halloween came and went. We were somewhat healthy for the big event. I was lucky enough to get off work a little early to see Trav's Halloween parade at school. Then I joined his class for a little party.
Mr Incredible, a.k.a. Travis, and his buddy Superman walking in the parade around his school. They had a great time showing off their costumes.
We met up with our neighborhood friends to go trick or treating. The loot was good in our neighborhood.
Travis and Chelsea are ready to roll. Chelsea tired out much faster than Travis did, so I took her home while Travis finished the route with our friends. It worked out well since Grandma BJ was at the house handing out candy and needed to leave.

The rest of the weekend was spent winterizing the house. Travis "helped" by jumping in Daddy's leaf piles.
Here is Trav taking a running leap off the top of our hill...
He landed with a thump each time, but never got hurt. He always surfaced from the leaves with a big smile on his face.

Onward to the next holiday. Travis had to decorate a turkey for a school project. As a teacher I have given this project to my students for the last several years. Now I am on the other side of the table. Travis decided to use glitter glue for his turkey and Chelsea insisted on creating her own masterpiece.