Time to get festive

Adam's brother Brian asked him if I had a hard time on Thanksgiving, missing Braeden.  Let's just say he knows I can be a little...emotional.  Adam reported that I was no different on Thanksgiving.  (I miss Braeden everyday, not just holidays.)

I missed him for sure when we were decorating for Christmas.  He brings a lot of enthusiasm to the table.  A lot.

If he'd been here, he would have been running boxes up and down the stairs and when he came to the Christmas bears' box, he would have dropped everything and ripped into it.  Then he would have played with the bears for awhile.

He's good at lifting heavy boxes and reaching tall precipices.

I guess I commented one too many times about missing him because Emma got a little huffy, like I wasn't appreciating her.

But I was.

Braeden has all the eagerness and fire you could ask for and then he fizzles.  Emma is more of a slow burn.  She is steady and doesn't abandon the ship until the task it done.

As for Mark, his staying power leaves something to be desired but he's just so good at everything.

He put this display together in no time:

He knows where to find batteries and extension cords and he can repair anything.  You just have to keep finding him when he wanders off....

Adam helped with a lot of the lifting and reaching and he was also working a lot.  Thanksgiving weekend tends to be rather intense when you work in e-commerce.

It's a big effort but I always love the Christmas decorations, both in the sunshine and after dark:

Emma and Mark arranged and told me in great detail the names of all the characters in our little Christmas village.

yes, those white cords sort of bug me...just not enough to do anything about it

It's a narrative all three kids came up with together and Braeden would be glad to know Emma and Mark are continuing the tradition.

Also, even without Braeden, the bears got a lot of love:

Bonus:  they stay nicely arranged.  That didn't happened when I had three little people around here.