A season of joyful moments to be cherished...once we get over the coughs and sniffles

This picture is on my mind lately.  Pure joy.  And it may have made our holiday card.

When you hear someone say that on the day your child is born you are gifted 940 Saturdays with them before they turn 18 and fly the coop, does your stomach ache?  By the time they turn 5 you have experienced 260 of them....well it makes my mama guilt set in....especially when it was mama who was sick this past holiday weekend and made our Thanksgiving holiday a little less about Thanksgiving and a little more about staying sane and surviving.  

We did make it to part of our Thanksgiving ...thank goodness, because thinking in terms of numbers...you only get so many Thanksgivings where you don't have to hope that your littles come home.  And this Thanksgiving we made it to Ed's Aunt Katy's...but decided to return home the next day because by the time we travelled 5-6 hours in the car...Syd was sick too, instead of trekking on another 9-11 hours of driving to see my side of the family.

Time marches on and another Saturday for each of my littles passed this weekend.  

But we were cozy at home. 

Sleeping in our own beds. 

Trying to feel like the choices we were making, that were best for our family (and ultimately those we loved), were the right choices.  

We did get over the fevers and chills and now just have coughs and runny noses.  Hoping and praying that our weekend laying low will keep the three boys from catching the bugs.

We conquered the Christmas Tree adventure. 

Ed and the boys ventured out at dark on Saturday to get our tree and Sunday was devoted to securing a stable tree in our front window spot.  

Everyone can sigh in relief, our marriage survived, only because I finally convinced Ed that the one dollar garage sale tree stand wasn't worth our marriage.  The guy comes from a family who strives to fix and make things work...but the warped stand that stumped him year after year and brought lots of swearing under our breath as we figured out how to get the tree to look straight...was finally laid to rest.  And in it's place..a sturdy piece of heaven that allowed us to stand our tree up within minutes.  

There may have been some rejoicing...between coughs and sneezes. 

Being run down and sick makes picking up the camera less of a priority.  

So, trying to look at the positive side of our holiday weekend...

The anticipation for holiday festivities will be that much greater since we didn't get to fully enjoy all those we love. 

The tree is up, the halls are decked.  Which means next weekend can be about other holiday fun. 

Lately, I am more aware than ever of the 940 Saturdays that pass. 

The mama guilt that sets in when a holiday cartoon is put on instead of getting out a board game or holiday craft.  

But it isn't about the minutes or Saturdays that we have together.  It is more about the moments that we choose to make and cherish. 

And this holiday season I want to make the most of the moments so that when I look back at this time, I can feel fulfilled and satisfied with the moments I cherished.  So instead of worrying and feeling guilty about a few minutes that may not have been considered moments that I savored...I will rather keep in check the balance of making the most of the moments that come my way and the reality of having three children and a lot of holiday expectations.  

  

This year, because I want to focus on moments, I am preparing a list of activities and ideas that we will use each night around our Christmas tree.  My goal is for our family to spend 20-30 minutes each night doing something together around the Christmas tree....

Some ideas on my list so far...

1.  Making a holiday card to send to someone

2.  reading holiday books 

3. playing I spy the ornament

4. puzzles

5. board games

6. watching a movie

7.  eating special treats

8.  looking at past pictures

9.  building Lego's together

10.  picnic dinner

11.  wrapping presents

12.  beginning gratitude journals

13.  crafts

14.  letters to Santa

15.  sing holiday songs

16.  Facetime with Eli or Morgan

17.  Assemble little gifts for the neighbors

18.  Make Thank You notes to teachers

Do you have any ideas for quiet activities to do around the Christmas tree?

What upcoming moments are you excited to savor?

This is linked to Shell's Pour Your Heart Out Link up