Dear Santa...

So, I've hit that point that I inevitably come to at the end of the year...lots to blog about and little excitement about actually doing so. Something about sorting through zillions of pictures and attempting to transfer the joy and excitement of holidays seen through the eyes of preschoolers into words makes me tired.
Plus, at the end of the year, JC puts together a DVD of our greatest moments through the year to have and pass on to grandparents, great-grandparents, etc. So, I lose access to the computer and get kicked to the old laptop...not my handy dandy laptop (still out of commission) but Old Gigantor, the laptop we never use. Something about working at this computer makes my back hurt more than usual.
And also, at the end of the year, my house falls apart (more than usual) from hosting family gatherings (worth it), presents opened (worth it), and newly acquired stuff accumulating all over this too-big house! So, I kind of feel like I should be cleaning instead of blogging. Because...I probably should.
But, I just can't really bring myself to actually be grumpy about this because I love looking over the past month and the fun things we've experienced!
Like this:

We wrote letters to Santa!
My sister, Katie, works for The Make-A-Wish Foundation. It is such a perfect place for her to be contributing, as she has always shown not only an interest in helping others but a talent for knowing how to serve those around her. Now that she gets to be a part of something like that for a living, she always has really fantastic stories and opportunities to share. For example, every year at Christmastime, Macy's hosts big red mailboxeds in their stores. They donate a whole dollar to the good people at Make-A-Wish for every letter stamped and addressed to Santa that they receive.
I love this concept!
So, one afternoon we composed some such letters so we could meet Katie at the mall for mailing!

Here's Bethany, hard at work on her letter. She actually worked on hers all herself.
The boys held crayons while I guided their hands.

She was quite proud.

All the finished products.
I thought I'd be clever and make quick homemade stationery with halved pieces of paper from the printer and sharpies. Then I thought I'd be a little less clever and post the pictures of asked-for toys that I helped draw.
There is a rather intense visual arts-like strand of DNA that runs through my family.
I am not sure I got it. If I did, I have yet to locate it.
So, when Ben and James want Buzz, Woody, and Spiderman drawn so Santa will know what they want for Christmas, this is what you get!
(Bethany asked for a The Princess and the Frog doll, so she spelled 'princess' and had me draw a frog)

We took our masterpieces of letters to the mall, rode the escalator up a level (New experience for us. As is attempting the mall with only one parent, three kids, and no stroller. We did meet up with Katie after about three minutes of being there but I tell you what...by then I was already sweating bullets!) and anyway, we made it to the mailbox! We all put our letters in the mailbox, felt warm, fuzzy, and excited, rode the escalator back down and went to play in the play area for a while. Other than Ben running into a glass display case because he wasn't looking where he was going, Bethany's pants falling down due to lack of belt (quickly remedied by Aunt Katie's super long Make-A-Wish key chain), and James running into a large window displaying a beautiful Christmas tree (He was looking where he was going...it was just too clean apparently), there were no mishaps in this little outing/big undertaking. :)
I'm really glad we did it.
It got the kids really excited about the concept of Santa, which always leads to more in depth conversations about what he does and why he does it, leading us around to the really great part of Christmastime conversations with kids - talking about Jesus, how He came, why He came, etc.
And it also apparently warranted a visit from this guy:


Due to sickness, we missed a family gathering at JC's mom's house. (This was our croupy weekend, the one right before Christmas) It had been rumored that Santa was perhaps going to be making an appearance so we were all a bit bummed. Turns out, he knew all about that (of course) and made a detour to our place as well. :)
Although Ben was at the Urgent Care so he and JC missed the excitement, Bethany and James were quite excited to have a visit from someone so special.
Since we have been seeing Santas on every corner, plus in the mall, we had already talked before about how Santa likes to do his gift-giving in secret, so sometimes he asks others to be his helpers. But, every once in a while, I think he likes to come out and see the little ones he does so much giving to. You just never know! This particular night when he came to our house, Bethany kept whispering to me "I think that's Papa" with a big grin on her face. And I kept telling her "I don't know, what do you think?" to which she would just giggle.
Helper or The Big Guy?
What do you think???