The Twelve Days of Christmas with our Gang

The house is quiet & after a whirlwind two weeks, we are re-grouping after the family has been here from out-of-state. Did you say your Christmas is only a couple of days of kids over or possibly running from parent to parent? Well, ours is quite different. We are blessed to get to have about 7 to 10 days of Christmas and fun—from morning to night. We have a blast. We laugh at what is said and done by our littles as well as us tired adults. We hug & snuggle. A lot. We play playdough, games, crafts, and make-believe. We don’t have much screen time. And the rest…. What’s the rest, you say? Well, with four kids under five, here is the lowdown:

· Twelve cryers crying (yes, this tends to happen -- a lot. And when it does, four kids crying make us adults start crying too which soon adds up to twelve)

· Eleven diapers diaping (didn’t know that is a word? Well it is now.)

· Ten legs a-leaping (to get over all the little toys & kids)

· Nine babies dancing (okay, so some of us are big, but we areknown to break out into a dance party or parade when “Jingle Bells” came on the stereo…. And let’s say Georgie has a lot more groove than his British daddy!)

· Eight maids a-milking (Okay, we are big supports nursing in our family. And sorry, my girl mamas, you aren’t maids & there aren’t eight of you! Even with pairs. TMI?)

· Seven cousins swimming (lots of baths)

· Six sneezes spraying (oh, yeah—you can’t have this many days of Christmas without some colds)

· Five stomach flus (I wish this wasn’t true but yes, several of us got a 24-hour bug)

· Four stalling beds (who wants to quit the party to go to bed? I did!!)

· Three clenched hands (it ishard to share sometimes although they did amazing)

· Two baby plugs (don’t EVER lose the important paci’s!! Especially Georgie’s!)

· And a heart full more than I ever dared dream.

Thank you God for memorable and precious moments with Charlie, Olivia, Georgie, and Caleb. Oh, and my girls and their men too. They’re pretty special as well.

And Papa and this Nana wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.

Rachel, my oldest, with Georgie who is 20 months.

Nana with Caleb (7 months) and Olivia (3).

Flexibility is key, girls! Yes, my house was always a mess… we’d try to pick up some every night but I just had to not worry about it & focus on the people!