tales from a far-land

Christmas!  Every year, this holiday becomes more and more dear to my heart.  As a child, it was the anticipation of what was to come.  It was the bright lights, the presents, the surprises and Santa Clause.  It was sitting in The Barn singing carols surrounded by family and friends, listening to songs of Love, Peace, Joy, Truth, Kids, and wondering what this year's "word" will be.  It was relearning the birth story as told by the "Worst Kids in the World".  It was cranking up the radio in the car, listening to "Mary's Boy Child" on our way to Christmas Eve service.  It was spending Christmas morning with my parents and sister waiting for my next turn to open a gift while also waiting to see my family's facial expression as they opened a gift from me.  And although many of those traditions are now memories or have been altered, every time I think of them during the holiday season, there is a special warmth in my heart. This is the warmth that

How did the Farrell-Landers family prepare for the arrival of Santa Clause?  We made and decorated sugar cookies to leave out as a snack for him on Christmas Eve.  We had Madi help through out the entire process.  She helped roll out the dough and cut out the cookies in different shapes.  She decorated her own cookies with frosting and sprinkles.  And then, her favorite part, she even helped consume some of Santa's cookies.  Meanwhile, Aiden just chilled happily in his "car walker".  What a wonderful way to spend the afternoon on the day before Christmas. As a side note, Madilyn really did not understand why she wasn't allowed to eat the cookies that night when we placed them on the fireplace for Santa.  She was very upset that she had to leave them there and not get to eat them right then.  How confusing life must be for a child ...

I love photos!  I love documenting our life as it is at that particular moment in time.  I love watching our family grow.  I do not really like watching myself grow up though.  Anyway, this holiday season, I wanted to update our family pictures.  Aiden has grown up so much in four months and Madilyn is becoming quite the little lady.  So, I wanted to make sure to capture this moment.  Plus, Josh and I had decided that we wanted to give photo gifts to our relatives this year for the holidays, so I had the perfect excuse to update our photo album. With a recommendation from one of the other families at preschool, we tried out a new photographer here in Phoenix.  Her name is Anna Christy of [a]photographie.  She is fabulous and we are so pleased with the photos.  Josh and I both like the look of more urban photos, so we decided to meet Anna right in the middle of downtown Phoenix.  Of course, we had to choose the *only* day in December when the temperature did not rise above freezing. 

This year Hanukkah coinsided with Christmas, so Madilyn had double the fun.  Technically, she had triple the fun since she was also opening her brother's gifts for him.  It was much fun celebrating Hanukkah with her this year.  She would help us light the candles and then she would wait patiently next to the designated "bush" that held the Hanukkah gifts until we said it was okay to open one.  She even played with the dredels even though she really could grasps how to make them spin. Here are some photos from the last night of Hanukkah. Her *big* gift this year was from GG and GP. They bought her a scooter. I was amazed how she conceptually knew exactly how to get on the toy and start pushing herself across the patio. She loved it!  Take a look at the video below of her first ride.  She is a very determined little girl.

As with most families, our holiday season was exceptionally busy.  On the third Saturday in December, we joined Grandma and Grandpa Farrell at the Arrowhead Country Club for Breakfast with Santa.  It was a fantastic event.  Food, carolers, a cookie decorating station, a petting zoo and Santa.  As I have explained in previous posts, toddlers are finicky creatures.  Well, this day was no different.  Madi wanted to be held and there were some tears shed.  The rest of us ejoyed the wonderful atmosphere.  We tried getting a picture of her and Santa again.  Epic fail.  Maybe next year ...

For the second weekend in December, the Farrell-Landers family decided to take a trip up north visit Santa via the Polar Express.  Our good friends, the Raetz Family, decided to accompany us on this fun adventure.  This was our second trip to Williams, Arizona, to board the infamous Polar Express Train.  All of the kids loved it.  Keaton currently is very obsessed with trains so he just kept talking about the train.  Madi quickly learned that Santa is a celebrity and someone she should pay attention to.  Both toddlers loved the concept of Santa, but as soon as he was front and center handing them their "jingle bell", they both acted shy and aloof.  Too cute!  Although, I am happy to report that after this trip to see Santa, Madilyn asked about Santa daily even past Christmas day and once all of the decorations were packed up.  Friday night was Polar Express night, so we spent the night in Flagstaff that evening to avoid driving down south in the dark and snow.  Plus, we did