Yes, We are Still Here

So my big plan to document the Christmas season fell by the wayside thanks to everyday life. Then, like in the past, I got to a point where I hadn't posted in so long that it got harder and harder to make myself get back in here.

This post is simply a photo recap of Christmas, which took place exactly a month ago today.

Jilly and I saw the Rockettes at the John Paul Jones Arena. It is a show that I have been wanting to see since I was a teenager. I have always loved the Rockettes and their Christmas show did not disappoint me. Jilly enjoyed it, as well. She sat in her seat and was excited by all of the spectacular dancing, music, costumes and decor. It was an event that I hope we can continue as a holiday tradition.

One of the holiday craft projects JillyBean and I did this year was to make these cute Christmas trees using styrofoam cones and candy. This one was made of gumdrops and we did another using mini candy canes and one with round peppermint candy. We placed the trees throughout the house.
And, of course, we had our regular Christmas tree, times three. The tree we placed in our living room (the "official" tree) ended up being filled with some older ornaments that mom gave me last year. These were glass ornaments that we used on our trees as a kid. I tied silver, red, green and gold bows on them to spice them up a bit. Also on the tree were the brass ornaments that BeanieDad received each year as a child. It was fun looking at the years that were engraved on each one. Then we included all of the special ornaments that Jilly has received. This year her Auntie Pam in New Mexico started a 12 Days of Christmas ornament collection for her. It will be wonderful to add a new one to the tree the next 11 years. By the time these "family" ornaments had been added, I was left was a crate full of ornaments that needed a home. Most were Santas. Not being able to stand the thought of an unused ornament, I decided to get another tree and place it in the dining room. I am happy with my decision. And finally, I bought a pre-lit, 2-foot tall pink tree to put on Jilly's night stand. We decorated it with silver glittery bulbs and tied sparkly green ribbon to them. It was super cute. I actually haven't taken it down. Right now it's covered with Valentine hearts and next we'll put Easter eggs and bunnies on it for spring.
We traveled to Tennessee the week before Christmas and got to see Nana, Auntie April, Ma, Granddad, PawPaw, Sweetie and a lot of other family. While we were gone, a major snow storm hit home. While we missed the loveliness of watching the snow fall, there was plenty left for Jilly to enjoy.
Jilly tromped through the massive piles of snow, made snow angels and a snow man. It was fun and perfect for our first Christmas at home.
Grandma and Uncle Jimmy came for Christmas. On Christmas Eve Jimmy dressed up like Ol' Saint Nick and he and Jilly delivered cookies to our neighbors. The kids were a bit surprised to see Santa so early.
Christmas morning was a whirlwind. Santa brought Jilly a baby stroller, a baby high chair and a horse barn with horses. In addition, she got an Olivia doll, Olivia DVD, and lip gloss since she is no longer wearing diapers and doing a great job going potty by herself.
One of Jilly's favorite gifts was an Elmo plane given to her by Uncle Sean and Aunt Casie. She actually got three toy planes. Maybe she'll take after her grandpa and be a pilot some day.
Naturally, no major event would be complete in the Beanie household without Jilly's bestest bud and his family who came over for Christmas dinner. We set up a kids' table in the kitchen while the adults enjoyed ham, butternut squash, corn pudding, broccoli, and a bunch more good stuff in the dining room.

It was great being able wake up in our own home on Christmas morning and have Jilly walk down the stairs to see all of her gifts. And now we're just trying to get back to normal but have a third birthday to look forward to soon. Yes, planning has already begun...

Yes, Virginia

I enjoy the classic Christmas shows that are sprinkled among the network stations this time of year. I can't decide on a favorite, but it may have to be How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I am always amazed each year that A Charlie Brown Christmas is still on, expecting any time now that it be forced of the airwaves since it quotes scripture. There are very few of the newer shows that I enjoy. I don't see the Shrek Christmas show being a classic nor the one with the Madagascar characters. However, a new show that aired on CBS last week has won a special place in my heart, and I've only watched it once.

Yes, Virginia is based on the true story of a little girl who wrote a letter to the New York Sun asking the editor if there really is a Santa Claus. The editor wrote a reply that was printed on the paper's front page. The TV show is simply adorable, sweet, uplifting and everything that is good about Christmas. It is very fitting for me right now because I am reading about and coming in contact with more and more people who don't want their children to believe in Santa because they consider it lying to them. First off, if these parents get through their entire relationship with their children without lying, well, more power to them. Bravo! Some people may simply choose not to celebrate the Santa side of the season because of religious reasons. I can respect that as long as they don't do anything else secular during this time of year. But to exclude Santa thinking that it's lying or because their child will be devastated when they learn the "truth" is sad to me. I challenge them to think back on their childhood and point to the tragedy they experienced by believing in Santa. I have a hard time believing there are many. Any child devastated when they learn about Santa probably has bigger problems in their lives.

The whole Santa experience is among my most cherished childhood memories. Even in the years when doubt began to fill my head, it was still exciting to believe that just maybe he was real. There is no way I want to deny my child, or any child, that feeling.

I don't recall being traumatized when I learned the truth. In fact, I don't think I ever really learned about Santa, it just sort of faded away. It returned, though, as I got older and realized that Santa needs helpers to make sure that his love and generosity are shared with others, especially children who come from families who have a hard time providing a magical Christmas. That is why we participate in programs like the Angel Tree mission, Toys for Tots and why we find a family to adopt this time of the year. The thought of a child waking up without a gift from Santa breaks my heart. And I know there are thousands of children like that due financial woes and not because their parents don't want to "mess" with explaining Santa to them.

And, of course, now with a child of my own, Santa is more real than ever. It is so much fun to view this holiday season through her eyes. Things that I found irritating about Christmas, like those dogs who bark Jingle Bells, are now fun when I hear JillyBean laughing at singing dogs. In my opinion, belief in Santa is the simplest form of building faith. And as the conductor says in The Polar Express, "Sometimes seeing is believing and sometimes the most real things are those we cannot see."

So for anyone who does not want to believe in Santa or who doesn't want their child to experience his magic, following is a reprint of the 1897 reply to Virginia's question of whether or not Santa exists:

VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge. Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished. Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world. You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding. No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.