Decorating for Christmas

The kids were so excited about putting the Christmas decorations out. I've been holding out until after Thanksgiving but once we got back from Jacksonville I knew I couldn't hold out any more, even if it did still feel like September weather. We got a little cold snap and we had some time on Wednesday afternoon so I started pulling all the boxes out of the garage. The kids were eager to help. I'd pull out a box and they'd start putting things where they were supposed to go. As I was out in the garage getting more stuff, Grant ran out with tears down his face. "Mommy! I was holding your snow globes and one of them broke!!" I came in to see the damage. My 2006 snow globe was all over the living room carpet and I was pretty ticked off. I wondered 'how in the world he could have broken it on the carpet?' He was so distraught and sad. I had to breathe for a minute and then I went in there to talk to him and ask him what happened. I just gave him a big hug and said, "I love you more than a snow globe." He said he was sorry and I forgave him. I tried to talk to him and figure out what happened. I think he had two in his hands and had banged them together somehow, because later on we noticed that 2005 was cracked.

   I went back in the living room and Amelia was helping me dry off the other globes and put them where they go. She was telling me she was sorry too because she felt like it was her fault for unwrapping them out of the boxes. I told her not to worry about it and just let me take care of cleaning it all up. She had 2009 in her hand and was going to put it on the shelf when it slipped out of her hand and smashed on the kitchen floor. She immediately flew to her room crying and hid under her bed. I stood there for a minute and couldn't believe it. I had to laugh or I would just scream. I went after her and told her that I knew it was an accident and she hadn't meant to break it and that I forgave her. She came out and told me that she wanted to give me some money to pay for it. I started looking on ebay and there are lots of globes available for about $15-20. Later I told my mom about it and she said she thought she had some extra globes too. When she looked she had extras of 2006 and 2009, so we only need to replace the cracked globe.

The leftover globes

So a few days later the kids took to the back yard. I told them I'd pay them $2 for every garbage can of leaves they picked up (I drive a pretty hard bargain!). They worked one afternoon for a couple of hours. Well, they worked getting a big pile and then they jumped in it for a while.

They only got one can done that afternoon but they also got out in the yard with Kevin on Saturday and together they really accomplished a lot. They ended up both earning enough to pay for a new globe and they felt proud about getting so much done with Kevin. He's been working on mulching an area near their playhouse and our storage shed that hasn't ever grown grass well. It's going to look great when it's done and the kids are proud of themselves when they can say they've helped.

I just will be a little more careful when they help put up the Christmas decorations! And trust me, they know the snow globes are off limits now!