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29 December 2010

Joy, Peace, Love

I feel utterly refreshed and renewed. What a beautiful FULL week we have had here! I hope you have all had just as blissful a festival season. :)

Christmas Eve gets its special something, for us, by also being the birthday of my beautiful firey soul-sister, Emma. She was celebrated and fed (my instinct is always to show love by feeding people!) and also, there was fire, as is necessary at such times.
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Home to find that our last advent pocket directed us on a treasure trail of paper clues to find out first gift - new Christmas PJs and a board game.
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Then to bed!
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And... on awakening...
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This is Rowan's favourite favourite present. A small painted pill tin with ducks.
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Stockings contained a wooden figure, a turned wooden mushroom, a painted tin, a notebook, pencil, and colouring pencils or crayons (just a pencil for Rowan, she can share!), socks, clementine, packet of raisins, a couple of chocolate coins, fruit leather, tinti tablet, toothbrush, and a knitted item for each of their special dollies. For Jenna, a lucet also, because hers is missing and she loved it so much. :)

Downstairs, new Christmas clothes and a book each (wouldn't fit in the new smaller stockings!) and a covered treasure chest with gifts from other people in it, to be investigated later. To my amazement, they did not ONCE ask to open more presents.
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The morning involved a short abortive attempt to attend Church (Morgan cried because she was cold from feeding the birds) and a lot of games and stories and music. Jenna decorated and set the table, and I enjoyed my spell in the kitchen making enough food to feed us for a week (it is, in fact, still feeding us - which is my aim for the main Christmas meal)!
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Here is Rowan with the gift Jenna made for her. Sisterly sweetness wore off slightly in the course of yesterday, but somehow Christmas cast a spell on my children this year and I was torn between being grateful that we had kept it a quiet family time and feeling frustrated that nobody actually WITNESSED how impeccably co-operative and sweet they were all being. ;)
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And presents from other people. Uno cards and a wooden apple bowl from us, also. We actually removed two presents from the chest in the end, deciding that they had enough and that some things would be better cared for in a few months or so. Even last year, our Christmas involved a lot of stuff. This year so much more joy has come from so much less.
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More play pictures.
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I have to point out here that this is what the rug currently looks like when CLEAN. *sigh* I think after six years it might be at the end of its life with us. :S Sorry, where were we? Yes, Christmassing.
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"CONNOR! CONNOR!" :)
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Boxing Day pictures, more of the pleasant same really!
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And that is our Christmas. I can report that it has been a pleasure and a blessing to us and ours, and that life is still mostly in that happy groove. :)

8 comments:

  1. Glad you had a great time :)

    And can I just say - Wow Jenna looks like her mama! More and more as she grows :) xx

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  2. Hi. Lovely photos as always. Glad you enjoyed your Christmas just the 5 of you. We enjoyed our Christmas with friends instead of family although we didn't manage to pop in on Emma on Christmas Eve. We're currently at the in laws, as you'll see from my blog. Hope your New Year is equally joyous and peaceful. H x

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  3. :-) Glad you have such a lovely Christmas, and wow, can we come play? lol Looks all so exciting and fun :-)

    Blessings for the coming new year too, my dears :-)

    Oohhh, and gosh Conor has grown soooooooo much! Please pass my Happy Birthdays onto Emma too, I know I don't really know her, but through your blog, I kinda feel I do, lol :-)

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  4. How lovely to read another "less is more" blog post. You know I think christmas just might be going back to what it should be - family, love, fun and of course food ;-) Thank goodness it's normal to be still eating the food cooked on christmas day for your family too.....at least we're not the only ones ;-)
    With love to you all.
    xx

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  5. Thank you for sharing your lovely Christmas day photos, the gifts are beautiful and your children all look so happy...


    Love Gina xxx

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  6. Beautiful - thank you for sharing such a blessed time with us. xx

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  7. Thankyou so much for sharing your xmas celebrations.Your pictures show your girls having a wonderful time:) Yes sisterly love wears off and grows again, rugs many not stay perfect for long, but its all real life, a full, rich, loving life:)Also thankyou for the post and less is more.

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  8. What a lovely Christmas, as it should be. Belated Christmas wishes to you all, and many blessings for the coming year.

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Penny for your thoughts? :)