Merry Christmas from the Walcotts!

Winter Weather Whamy

We were back out on the snowmobiles this past weekend. For me, it had been quite a long time as last winter I was pregnant with Bright. As you know, there's a lot of snow here in Michigan. So much snow that even the snowmobiles got stuck. You know that doesn't happen often.

Our drive home from Up North on Sunday was rough and took nearly twice the time, but it was actually the worst in Holland. We made it home only to find our driveway drifted over. Jon did some digging and we busted through only to get stuck in a huge drift a few feet from the garage door. Oh well, at least we made it that far.

Jon spent the next two hours plowing the driveway in blizzard conditions, and he's still kinda smiling. His beard is iced over here and his clothes are literally frozen. Our tractor is really getting a workout too, as we've already had to replace two broken parts.

We did get together with the Raterinks despite the weather to celebrate my mom's birthday (Happy Birthday Mom!). Not much to do in this weather unless you really have a reason to get out, so we've resorted to opening presents early. Anybody else?

He's Huge!

Our son is huge. We have learned that over and over again this week. We started out at the doctor's office for his six month appointment even though he's already quite close to seven months. Brighton is again in the 90th percentile; he's a very big boy: 20 pounds & 9 ounces, 28 inches long, and a 45.7 head cirumference. We've also been out and about quite a bit this week running into other babies and toddlers. These interactions have confirmed countless times that Bright is a tank.

We've had a couple of firsts this past week too. We went to Russ' with Brighton for dinner Saturday night - just the three of us. He sat in a high chair and ate his food there while Jon and I had a four course meal for $23. You know you're parents when you rediscover how great Russ' is. The food and service were both wonderful, and more importantly we really felt like we were living it up.

Lastly, we made a Christmas ornament of Bright's hand print - not as easy as I expected, but it's finished and now hanging on the tree.

Holiday Tunes

We love Christmas music over here at the Walcott House. Bright is even learning to get excited when he hears music, so we spend even more time then ever listening to holiday tunes. We love the classic carols, but we have also come to love some other songs too. Here are just a few great holiday songs that you might not be aware of. Take a look and a listen if you wish.

Labor of Love by Andrew Peterson

Christmas at Denny's by Randy Stonehill

Sing Mary, Sing by Jennifer Knapp

Love Came Down at Christmas by Jars of Clay

You Gotta Get Up by Rich Mullins

Christmas in My Heart by By The Tree
(My absolute favorite! Click on the song title to listen.)


What holiday songs have you come to love at your house?

Merry & Bright

Several of our family members gathered last night for pizza and a great holiday concert. It's events like this that really make us feel that the holidays are upon us. I usually can summarize my mood as "Merry & Bright." Visiting with family was great, and the concert was awesome. To top it off, I just have to glance at my son and I'm feeling "Merry and Bright" for sure. Now, if I'm completely honest, and think about others beside myself and my family, I must acknowledge that this year things feel different . The holidays seem to be bringing with them this year an extra dose of tough times for lots of people.

This past week the staff at my school canceled our holiday party, and we will instead donate the funds to the Holland City Mission because we have more than a couple students living there. Although it shouldn't be this way, buying gifts through programs like Angel Tree feel really different when you think your gift might be going to a student you know.

If you watched the news last night, you probably heard about the murder-suicide in Holland, right next to my school. The teenager connected to that crime, fighting for her life at DeVos Children's Hospital, was in my class all year last year. These are the kind of stories that always feel really far away, but this one hits close to home.

This year you don't have to look too far to find someone that isn't feeling "Merry & Bright." We all know someone. I could easily write a long list here, and you probably could too.

Say a prayer. Buy a gift. Send a card. Donate money. Sing carols. Shovel snow. Do something for someone. Please.

Everyone deserves a chance to feel "Merry & Bright" this holiday season. You never know, you just might be their way there.

Our Trees

There has been lots of talk lately about a fake versus a real Christmas tree. I must weigh in because we are undoubtedly weird when it comes to this subject. Jon and I have never had a real living tree, but we have a real dead tree. We cover this in just about all of the ornaments we own - the ones we receive as gifts, the ones we buy on vacation, our picture ornaments, and even the ugly ones we made as young children. It's a blast to look at these each year. As promised, here is our "dead" tree:

I fully realize that you probably think our "dead" tree is crazy, but we have come to really love it. Below is our Christmas tree addition this year, and it probably has more mass appeal. We picked up a pre-lit fake tree at VanWieren Hardware last year after the holidays. We were super exited to put it up, and realized that we really underestimated the value of twinkling lights. Even though we don't have a real tree, we feel like we do now because at least it looks like it is living.

Happy Holidays! Now, if we could only get the lights up outside...

Santa visits Silver Lake

We spent the remainder of the our holiday break up north, and so did Santa.

Brighton met Santa for the first time. Both Santa and Brighton were quite intrigued.

We took all of this in with Grandpa & Grandma Raterink and Dan & Jordan. After Santa, we of course had to check out the Polar Express too.

The season has arrived. Happy Holidays!
Hope you're having a great weekend too.