Memories...

Christmas was quite wonderful with our special little guy staying with us a few days this year.  Such beautiful moments with this little man.  Making cookies and sneaking a bit of dough here and there.  Eating a chocolate ornament or two off of the tree just because.

Looking at his favorite dog book with Auntie B.

Always stopping for a quick moment to look at what seemed to be his favorite ornament, Santa.

And his most favorite thing to do with the tree, blowing on the tinsel.  The absolute cutest thing ever!  Fun to see that the tradition continues as it did with my three.  :)

Then the all important reindeer food.  Even if he didn't quite understand why the girls were doing this, he had fun throwing stuff around.

These kind of memories are the best.  There is nothing in the world more magical or important than times like these.

My Mom shared a fond memory with me last week that nearly made me cry about her childhood.  She was born in Germany and I tend to think that she has the greatest memories ever from a time that was much simpler and less materialistic.  We were speaking about making Christmas cookies and all the baking that I still needed to do.  She started to tell me about when she was 6 years old or so and how her Mom would pay a small little fee each Christmas to use the big bakery in town to do all her Christmas baking all in one day instead of days on end in her kitchen.  My Oma would make sure all 10 kids were bundled up, pack the sleigh with all their needed supplies and head down for the day to do the all important Christmas baking.  Then when everything was finished everyone bundled up again, packed the sleigh with all the goodies and headed home at the end of the day all happy and tired.  To listen to my Mom speak of all the smells she remembers, the warmness of the bakery, the time with her Mom and siblings was absolutely beautiful.  To imagine all the goings on on those days, trying to envision all those kids bundled up, walking in the snow and just enjoying one another just melts my heart.  I hear all kinds of stories of the simple, loving  things my Oma did for her children and each one makes me so proud and humbled to be related to someone who was so kind and loving to her family.

These are the memories that are the most important in life.  And I'm so glad that I try to make an honest effort to do simple memorable things with my children and now my grandchild.  Life is not about material things at all.  It's all about the smiles you put on your kids faces, the things that make them dance and twirl, and the love you put into their hearts.

I hope you and your family had a very memorable, lovely Christmas just as we did.

Now I must be off to go make waffles with the girls for lunch just because we can.

~*~