Vacation Mornings

I slept in until 7:00am, uninterrupted by my boys. (I had given clear instructions the night before.) I finished some light reading, enjoyed sweet (though forced) snuggles with my boys, turned on some Christmas music (which was soon replaced by the Zac Brown Band), and made bacon, homemade waffles, and herbal tea.

I love these kind of mornings. I love sweet, slow mornings without the rush of school days. I love having my boys around (though I also love when they go outside for a bit and run off some of their energy). I have been looking forward to this first day of vacation since the beginning of December. The majority of my Christmas concerts and other obligations are almost over. By Monday I will be able to fully enjoy my favorite moments of Christmas--fun time with my boys looking at Christmas lights, playing games, baking, and squeezing in all the favorite traditions that we can.

2014 Christmas Letter

To all our family and friends,

I wish that I were a skilled writer such that I could bring a smile to your face, make you laugh, or make you cry (in the best ways, of course). I wish that I were more organized and able to send out a yearly letter, instead of once every seven years. I wish that I could spend time catching up with each of you in person. These wishes are unlikely to come true this year, but if I could have one wish come true it would be this: that this letter finds you happy and healthy.

And, since it has been seven years since I did send out a letter, here's a family update.

Brett and I celebrate our 19th wedding anniversary this month. We are still happily settled in Niceville near Brett's parents, Brett's brother, and Becca's sister. It has been great having grandparents and other family in town. Becca's parents now live in New England, and we are able to see them a couple of times a year. Most summers we have been able to travel across the country to spend time with some of our faraway Mitchell cousins. We have wonderful memories of our time with family in Utah, California, and Maine.

Naturally, the boys have grown much in these last seven years. Todd and Ryan are close in age--they are now 11 and 10 years old. It makes me happy that they also remain close as brothers and friends. Todd just started middle school this year and is doing well. He likes all of his classes and enjoys getting involved with as much as I will let him, including band (trombone) and cross country. Both boys continue to play baseball each spring, and Todd is always ready for a pick-up game of any sport.

Ryan is in fourth grade and is convinced that school and government officials are conspiring against children everywhere, preventing them from spending enough time with their families. He plans to write a letter to the mayor requesting that a change be made to limit school to only four days a week. Despite his dislike of school, Ryan is an easy-going kid who is generally happy and who makes us laugh.

I enjoy volunteering in the school library once a week. I keep up with my music by singing with a small local choir and teaching a few piano lessons. These days I am down to only four students now that my afternoons have become busier with homework and after-school activities. After three and a half years of working with the children at church, this month I start working with the 12 and 13-year-old young women. They seem like a great group of girls and I am looking forward to this new opportunity.

Brett continues to amaze me with his talents and determination. When he sets his mind to do something, he accomplishes it spectacularly. What started out as an interest in woodworking has turned into a profitable hobby, resulting in quite a bit of quality furniture for our home as well as a beautiful new kitchen. Brett has always enjoyed boating and salt-water fishing. Last year he got his Captain's license, and from time to time responds to calls through TowBoat US to assist boats that are stuck or stranded for one reason or another. In 2012, Brett took some time off from work to fulfill a life dream of hiking the Appalachian Trail--all 2,180 miles from Georgia to Maine--a feat that took him six months of walking to complete! Brett accomplished all of the above while maintaining his employment with the same environmental firm for over 15 years.

Copper, our golden retriever, is now over ten years old. He is a sweet and beautiful dog who still loves going bird hunting with Brett, roller-blading with Becca (only Becca wear the skates), and walking with the boys to the bus stop each morning.

I love Louie Armstrong's song "What a Wonderful World,” especially the following part:

I see friends shaking hands,

Saying “How do you do?”

They're really saying

“I love you.”

How nice it would be to see each of you face to face, to be able to shake your hand and let you feel how much I love and appreciate you.

Wishing you the very best this Christmas season,

Becca and her boys (Brett, Todd, and Ryan)

December 2009

Merry Christmas, Everyone!


Believe it or not, I think Brett really is happy to be a part of our family. He just doesn't like cameras, so I am never able to prove it in a photo.... Perhaps that is why I haven't gotten around to sending out Christmas cards with a Christmas letter in a few years. I've been waiting for that perfect family photo. So, this blog post will have to suffice for now, even though it will only cover the month of December--I'm planning to remedy that problem by catching up on the rest of the year soon. Don't hold your breath.

Todd's class panda spent the weekend at our house and was able to witness us decorating the Christmas tree. We let him wear the cuckoo clock's Santa hat, since Brett wouldn't let the reindeer wear it this year. Bummer. I thought it was adorable.

Ryan's preschool did caroling around campus. Todd's class decorated gingerbread houses. Ryan was so happy that he had the day off to participate in that activity.

Uncle Mark had to work on Christmas Day, so we celebrated with the extended family a day early. Oma fixed fondue for dinner, after which we exchanged gifts. We're so lucky to have such good relationships with our family nearby.

There is a lot of love in this pile of cool-looking cousins, even if it is not immediately evident.

Copper loves extended family as well, and Ginger will always have a soft spot for her original master, Brett.

Papa (who is always cold) received what he calls a "sleeping pill" for Christmas. He won't last long watching TV when he wears his monk-Snuggie.

On Christmas Eve the family, including Uncle Kevin and Aunt Jenni, got together again at my house for our annual Christmas Eve activity. I tried something new this year by having the family play musical Christmas gifts. I wrapped two presents in multiple layers of paper. We passed the gifts around, taking turns unwrapping the presents whenever the music stopped. I thought it was quite fun. Here are the two winners with their prizes (a Hershey's Symphony bar and a Christmas fleece blanket).

After the eating and the fun we watched a short movie on the Nativity and read the Christmas story from the New Testament. I printed out the scriptures in sections and cut them out so we could have more people involved in reading. Spending Christmas Eve this way is something that I absolutely love doing.

Santa and Mrs. Claus were delayed in visiting our house that night because they were quite busy and it was pouring down rain. By the time they made it to our house the rest of the family was gone and the boys were tucked into bed. They were not asleep however, so Santa and Mrs. Claus came and wished them a Merry Christmas in their rooms. I was happy that we were still able to see the man in the big red suit, but I was sorry that we did not get to take a photo with them.

The tree and stocking are ready for Christmas morning.

We started opening presents with our small family at 7:00am. Aunt Donna stopped by for little while, but for most of the morning it was just the four of us. We had fun taking time to open gifts and play with them as much as we wanted before moving on to the next gift. We weren't finished opening presents until almost noon. By then it looked like we had been hit by a tornado.

The kitchen didn't look so hot either, and it took me a few days before I felt like there was order again.

We are blessed in so many ways. And even though Ryan didn't get his Easy Bake Oven...

...I think both he and Todd would agree that it was a wonderful Christmas!

A few days after Christmas the boys and I went to see the lights around the lake in Defuniak Springs with our friends Beth and Tia. It was a nice way to finish out the holiday season.

Lastly, I want to thank all of our friends and family who remembered us this year. I loved hearing from you and seeing how your families have grown. Please don't take me off your Christmas lists.

I hope you enjoyed a happy holiday season as well!

I Am Woman

Last year I traded my old Charlie Brown tree for an upgrade. It is definitely an improvement. However, there is something to said for having a small tree. My former little tree was so much easier to handle. I got the tallest tree that would fit in our house. Our tree ended up being an inch too tall. The star on top was a little lop-sided because it didn't have enough room to stand up straight. But I was pleased with the tree . . . until I had to pack it all away in the attic.

I brought the tree down from the attic in three pieces, and it had to go back in three pieces as well. Down was much easier than up. I wrestled and wrangled the tree, half-afraid that I would fall and break my neck with any wrong step. I was lucky and escaped with no injuries. When I finished loading the tree and all of the other Christmas boxes back into the attic I felt strong, independent, and capable. I also thought, "I am not looking forward to doing this again!"

I saw the merits of dealing with a real tree--but it is what is. I also thought of one of the bonuses of having teenage boys. Todd and Ryan don't know what's in store for them yet. I am sure they will be anxious for the day when they surpass my height and are able to prove themselves stronger than their mom. When that day comes I will gladly announce their reward: Christmas Tree Duty!

A Tale of Two (or Three) Trees

I'm sure it just about killed Brett. Not only did we still have Christmas decorations still up a week (or more) after Christmas, we even had two Christmas trees shining in our front windows.

It gets better. At one point, I owned three Christmas trees.
I finally decided that it was time to replace the Charlie Brown tree that I have been setting up since before we had kids. I set out on the day after Christmas to buy a tree, and I wasn't coming home without one.

My sister-in-law and I first tried Kmart. The nice trees they had left all had multi-colored lights. There was one floor model that I especially liked. Of course, they were sold out. We asked about buying the floor model. They sold it to us as is (without a box). They had to remove the decorations before I could take it, so we said that we would come back later. We made our way to Target and found another tree that seemed nice. It had some fancy lighting features, such as giving you the option of lighting the multi-colored strands, the white strands, or both. Unfortunately, there was no floor model. I bought it, took it home, and set up. The tree had a remote control that worked the lights, but you had to use the remote control to get it to turn on. I couldn't get it working. I checked everything. Finally I decided that 1) this was a recipe for disaster if the remote got lost or broken, and 2) the tree that I paid for (but had not yet picked up) was prettier. So, I went back and got the Kmart tree (and later returned the Target tree).

Because the Kmart tree had no box, we loaded it up into the bed of the pickup truck. I set it up right in the dining room until I could figure out how to store it and get it into the attic. The boys loved having the new tree set up. They loved the multi-colored lights, and plugged it in every morning. Todd had a great time transferring ornaments from our old tree over to the new one. You can see where his reach ends. (The lone red-ribboned ornament was a beaded wreath that Todd tossed a little higher.)

I'm excited about having a pretty tree. (It will look even better when the branches are straightened out) It's funny though. I didn't realize how much I loved the white lights on my old tree. I have had white lights forever, it seems. And, like I mentioned before--even though it was scrawny and a little pathetic in the daytime, when compared with our new tree in the evening with the lights out, my old tree with its white lights still held a little more magic for me than our new one.

I do hope that will change next year when I put up our new tree and fill it up with all the ornaments. (I do have a few extra strands of white lights that I can put on if it comes to that.)

In Case You Were Wondering Where I've Been

I don't know about you, but I have had a hard time keeping up with all of my December activities. I had high hopes for doing special Christmas readings and activities with my kids each night. Unfortunately, I feel like I have been gone every other evening this month and have not been able to do half of the things with the boys that I wanted. On the flip side, as Brett reminded me, everything I have been doing has been fun. But while I have had fun and have enjoyed visiting with friends, I have felt over-scheduled this month and look forward to staying home more this coming week.

Here are some of the fun photographed events I have participated in.
Five choral performances this Christmas season--that's quite a few for our small group!


Playgroup graham cracker tree-train-house-or-whatever-you-like decorating activity. Ryan decided to go for the less-complicated graham cracker tree. I couldn't tell you how much candy he ate that morning, but it was at least as much as he put on the tree.

After finishing his tree, Ryan got to do what he was most looking forward to: dressing up like Darth Vader.

Anne and I hosted our annual cookie exchange, and had a huge group! I think everyone who attended had a pretty good time.

Yes, there are at least 1,368 cookies on those two tables. I realize that 6 dozen cookies is a lot to take home. But, if you were making Christmas cookies for you family, you would probably end up making two batches of cookies--that's about 6 dozen cookies. Also, with more than 19 types of cookies you may only end up with 2 to 4 cookies of each type. What a disappointment if you only ended up with ONE of the very best cookies you had ever tried. It's bad enough that I only ended up with about four of the Dipped Cherry Cookies (and, no, I didn't share).

Caroling at the Pavilion with Ryan's preschool class.

Isn't this about the cutest thing you have seen? Nobody told me that the "uniform" included jeans and long-sleeves.... As always, I let Ryan pick out his own outfit. I was just grateful that Ryan was willing to wear the Rudolph shirt that he made with his class that morning instead of his beloved Speed Racer shirt.

Ryan, smiling with his best preschool friend, Claire.

Ryan had to stop by the "Popcorn Tree" in the cafeteria. Ryan informed me that last year he ate some of the popcorn off the tree last year when we sang with our playgroup. If I can get my act together, I may try to string popcorn chains for our tree at home. I still have three days, right?

I couldn't believe that Ryan actually gave a hug to some of the residents we sang to. Little Amber was the best example of unconditional love, happily giving hugs and saying Merry Christmas to everyone. It was nice to see a little of it rub off on Ryan that morning.

Todd's teacher graciously allowed Ryan to participate in their gingerbread house decorating. Again, I couldn't tell you how much candy those boys ate compared with how much ended up on their trees. (Okay, I popped some candy in my mouth too while I watched them decorate.)

Caught you, Todd! You're not supposed to lick the knife. Fortunately, each child had his own container of frosting.

Beautiful temptations.

We went back to Todd's kindergarten class for their Christmas party. Again, Ryan was allowed to participate in the activities. The teacher split the kids by gender and had them pass around a multi-layer-wrapped gift while she played some music. When the music stopped, the child with the gift opened a layer of paper which revealed a small surprise (candy, for the boys). That child left the circle with his surprise and the music started again. Todd and Ryan were the last two boys left. I was worried that Ryan might be the last one standing. I didn't want that happen, since he's not even a part of the class. Fortunately, Todd was the winner instead. He peeled off the last layer of paper to reveal a package of two Transformers Robot Heroes. What fun!

As if I had not seen enough cookies this month, I made some Pecan Puffets to include in a little Christmas present for Todd's teacher. I was making those cookies close to midnight on the night before the last day of school. But, I got it finished, and I thought the final result was quite darling. It included some packages of gourmet hot chocolate, some apple cinnamon herbal tea, and a sweet Christmas ornament that Todd picked out from our local Hallmark bookstore and signed on the back.

Back at school again for the Kindergarten Christmas program on the last day of school. This time Oma and "Missy" Hall, a long-time neighbor/family friend, joined me. They gave the parents a chance to take photos at the end of the program before the kids left the risers. I managed to snap a photo of the craziness with Todd actually looking at me. (He's wearing the red and white striped polo shirt.) I was happy to see that Todd sang the songs even though he was kind of shy about it.

My favorite part about the Christmas program is probably the practicing that Todd did in preparation for it. They learned "Silent Night" in sign language. Todd sang it quite a few times at home and taught me how to do the signs with him. I loved singing and signing "Silent Night" with him or just watching him sign the song in our quiet house just before bed. It warms my heart.

Just this weekend I attended a birthday party for my friend, Anne. Happy 30th, Anne. You're still a Spring chicken as far as I'm concerned.

In addition to the above photographed events, I also participated in various Relief Society activities, weekly piano lessons, Brett's work Christmas party (unfortunately, without Brett, as he was stuck in Pensacola working until late and had to miss the boat for our dinner cruise), a neighbor's Christmas party, church choir rehearsals and performances (this week and last week), and a little bit of Christmas shopping thrown in just for fun.

On top of all these activities, after an emotional night last night, I was in need of some good down-time. I found it in the way of hanging out with Mark and Donna. Brett suggested that we go over there earlier in the afternoon. We all sat around in the living room watching Kellie and Todd play Mario Kart on the Wii, followed by a little Mythbusters. Brett went home to try to get some more rest, but the boys and I stayed, ate dinner, and watched The Incredibles with the rest of the family. It was so nice snuggling on the couch with everyone. Mark was on the recliner with 12-year-old Kellie asleep in his lap; Donna was on one side of the sectional couch; and Todd, Casie, Ryan, and I were snuggled on the other side. Ryan and I took turns being a pillow for the other, and it was just what I needed.

I hope to fit in a few more evenings like that this week.