Peanuts is a timeless favorite. We can probably all remember reading it in the Sunday comics. Everyone seems to have their favorite character that they can often times even relate to. One of the all time classics has to be the "Charlie Brown Christmas," and has quickly become one of Aden and Wiley's favorites. We had watched it last year, and the boys liked it then. However, another year under their belts has seem to really make a difference, especially for Wiley. It started when the Radcliffes gave them a book for Christmas that told the story and had buttons you could push that would play the classic tunes, or certain lines from the video. After that, we bought the video to watch. We have probably only watched it five or six times, but the boys have memorized the lines from it. Wiley likes to assign a character to each of us, and then proceeds to tell us what we are supposed to say and do. He has been known to act out each scene himself. Here is a sample audio file of Wiley playing the part of Linus when he explained to Charlie Brown what Christmas was all about, followed by the last scene in the movie, when Charlie Brown finds his Christmas tree beautifully decorated by his friends, who begin to sing:
Monday, January 24, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Christmastime is (was) here...
We won't label this as a Flashback, even though it is now. In order to avoid having to have too many more flashback episodes we will jump ahead to something more current, but still intend to cover October and November.
Being in the US this year for Christmas meant joining into the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season. For the boys it was just another adventure. Never mind that they were dragged through every mall in the Raleigh/Durham area more than once, it was just fun for them to see all of the lights, decorations, giant Christmas trees and lest we forget the thousands of cars on the roads. Through all of this, Mommy and Daddy attempted to teach them that Christmas was not just about 'getting' gifts. The advent calendars, devotions and other planned activities helped with explaining this to an extent. When you are three and four years old though, the excitement of all of those presents just can't be contained. Here is a glimpse of their Christmas holiday.
Christmas began on December 23rd at our house. The boys woke up to gifts under the tree and bulging stockings hanging from the fireplace mantle. They are still not old enough to wake up at the crack of dawn, as we had to wake Wiley up just before 8am. By then, even Mommy and Daddy were getting too excited. We had Aden start off by giving one of his gifts to one of the younger boys so that he could practice giving before receiving (in which he needed no practice). Here are a few of the gifts that they received:
There were lots of new books, cars, interstate highway bingo cards (a big hit!), Duke t-shirts, coloring books, bamboo 'lincoln logs' to remind us of PNG, OSU Buckeyes helmet, and a road rug for their cars. It was a fun day of playing and reading after that.
The next morning (Christmas Eve), we loaded up the car and made the nine hour trip 'over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house..." in Ohio. There was snow on the ground and more coming down that night. Sledding was in store on Christmas morning while we waited for uncles, aunts and cousins to arrive. Both boys thought the sledding was a little too fast and wasn't too interested in doing it too many times. I think we lasted about thirty minutes. Once everyone had gathered at the house, it was time for more gift giving. With so many of us there, and so many gifts, it took awhile to get through them all. In the end, the boys had added new clothes, books, toys, and well just look at some of the pictures:
After a few days of playing and relaxing, it was over to Illinois for the last Christmas gathering of the year, with Mommy's extended family. This is always a lot of fun with getting to meet new cousins (because each time there seems to be a few new ones). There is always lots of food, with a small gift exchange, and capped off with the traditional Stipp Auction, where "Stipp Bucks" are used to bid against cousins, uncles, aunts and even Grandpa and Grandma for the items up for bid. Always a lot of fun. We spent New Years with the great-grandparents and it is always a special time for us when we are able to do that. The boys had fun playing there, as did Mommy and Daddy who got into some serious table-top shuffle board games.
And so ended our holiday fun. It was back to Ohio to pack up, before heading back home. The boys enjoyed their time with family, long road trips, all their gifts and hopefully even the giving part as well (if even a little bit).
Being in the US this year for Christmas meant joining into the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season. For the boys it was just another adventure. Never mind that they were dragged through every mall in the Raleigh/Durham area more than once, it was just fun for them to see all of the lights, decorations, giant Christmas trees and lest we forget the thousands of cars on the roads. Through all of this, Mommy and Daddy attempted to teach them that Christmas was not just about 'getting' gifts. The advent calendars, devotions and other planned activities helped with explaining this to an extent. When you are three and four years old though, the excitement of all of those presents just can't be contained. Here is a glimpse of their Christmas holiday.
Christmas began on December 23rd at our house. The boys woke up to gifts under the tree and bulging stockings hanging from the fireplace mantle. They are still not old enough to wake up at the crack of dawn, as we had to wake Wiley up just before 8am. By then, even Mommy and Daddy were getting too excited. We had Aden start off by giving one of his gifts to one of the younger boys so that he could practice giving before receiving (in which he needed no practice). Here are a few of the gifts that they received:
There were lots of new books, cars, interstate highway bingo cards (a big hit!), Duke t-shirts, coloring books, bamboo 'lincoln logs' to remind us of PNG, OSU Buckeyes helmet, and a road rug for their cars. It was a fun day of playing and reading after that.
The next morning (Christmas Eve), we loaded up the car and made the nine hour trip 'over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house..." in Ohio. There was snow on the ground and more coming down that night. Sledding was in store on Christmas morning while we waited for uncles, aunts and cousins to arrive. Both boys thought the sledding was a little too fast and wasn't too interested in doing it too many times. I think we lasted about thirty minutes. Once everyone had gathered at the house, it was time for more gift giving. With so many of us there, and so many gifts, it took awhile to get through them all. In the end, the boys had added new clothes, books, toys, and well just look at some of the pictures:
After a few days of playing and relaxing, it was over to Illinois for the last Christmas gathering of the year, with Mommy's extended family. This is always a lot of fun with getting to meet new cousins (because each time there seems to be a few new ones). There is always lots of food, with a small gift exchange, and capped off with the traditional Stipp Auction, where "Stipp Bucks" are used to bid against cousins, uncles, aunts and even Grandpa and Grandma for the items up for bid. Always a lot of fun. We spent New Years with the great-grandparents and it is always a special time for us when we are able to do that. The boys had fun playing there, as did Mommy and Daddy who got into some serious table-top shuffle board games.
And so ended our holiday fun. It was back to Ohio to pack up, before heading back home. The boys enjoyed their time with family, long road trips, all their gifts and hopefully even the giving part as well (if even a little bit).
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