“Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.”
― Norman Vincent Peale
Tonight’s the night! Steevenson thought we all needed to go to bed at the same time so that Santa could go ahead and come over. And he refused to look at any online Santa trackers because he heard somewhere that that was cheating, and he didn’t want to end up on the naughty list this close to the finish. 😉
Today, in the bright blue morning, we stood at the bottom of our chimney, looking up, and he marveled at how tightly it hugs our bedroom on the opposite side of the wall. “He’ll be right next to us when he goes down it!” he exclaimed with glee.
(Red, white & blue…and brick too!)
When lunch was done, we made sugar cookies. I rolled out the dough and he cut out the stars and stockings. We also used one of his kid-friendly kitchen knives to carve out an “S” (for “Steevenson” AND “Santa”) and then he suggested we make an “F” for family and I nearly melted into a puddle of syrup on the floor. He really does say the sweetest things.
He worked shirtless (as usual) and couldn’t resist pressing his powdery palms to his belly after plunging them into the flour. Of course, clapping was irresistible too, and he needed a bath tonight just to get all of the flour dust out of his hair. Even still, the dough was warm and sticky, so the two of us worked together to transfer our shapes to the pan. Into the oven they went. 11 minutes later, and after they had doubled in size, I pulled them back out and when they were cool, I piled a bunch of them onto a plate.
(I used a paring knife to clean up the edges of our “F”)
We decided not to ice and decorate them because Steevenson preferred them plain. He and I dunked a couple of stars into cold glasses of milk and, although he doesn’t typically like desserts, he said they were the best he’d ever tasted. *grin*
Tonight, after sunset, the three of us jumped on our golf cart so we could take in some twinkling lights. The ones strung up on neighbor’s houses and the ones stretched across the sky. I looked up before I slid into the front seat of the cart and decided I don’t go outside at night enough. And, WOW, it’s amazing how many more stars you can see when there aren’t any clouds in the sky. There was one streak of what looked like it might be a cloud, but of course I took the opportunity to ask Steevenson if he thought it might be smoke from the “Kringle 3000” underneath Santa’s sleigh. He said yes. 🙂 (PS- his favorite movie is still Buddy the Elf.)
We stopped at Mr. Andrew’s house, whose backyard is always aglow with light-up Christmas decor and countless strands of lights this time of year. He puts together an elaborate display every December and the whole neighborhood looks forward to making a visit. Both of his gates were open tonight, so we ooh-ed and ahh-ed our way inside. Gravel crunched beneath our rubber boots as we followed the narrow path that leads from the front to the back. Steevenson was zipped up in a light blue, velour shark onesie and, while the lights were absolutely incredible, my favorite part was seeing his face light up inside that hood with a fin.
(He spotted the Grinch!)
When we got home, I secretly downloaded an app that allows kids to get a “real” phone call from Santa. You can choose whether you want him to call from the North Pole, or from his sleigh. You just enter your child’s name, state, and age and when my phone rang a few minutes later, Steevenson really believed we were talking to jolly ol’ St. Nick! I cannot even begin to describe how excited he was during and after that call. (Thank goodness Kevin captured it on video for keeps!) He can recite most of what Santa said word for word, and he wanted me to text Hank’s, Vivi’s, and Ever & Asa’s moms right away to tell them to tell their kids what had just happened. 🙂
At bedtime, and without a word, he went straight to my nightstand…pushing odds and ends aside to create just enough room for his feet. Then he climbed up onto our mattress and carefully stepped over to the cleared-away spots…steadying himself by grabbing the window on the wall behind the head of our bed. It wasn’t until he craned his neck to the right and pressed his cheek to the glass that I realized he wanted another glimpse of the chimney. I used the flashlight on my phone to help him see it better and when he finally pulled away from the window, you would’ve have thought he had just seen Santa. (His expression has had me floating around the house ever since!)
Now, he’s fast asleep and I’m off to stuff his stocking; a toy eagle that floats off the tip of your fingertip by balancing on its beak, a handful of candy canes, dinosaur socks, Goldfish crackers, hot fries, and a pack of “Go Fish” cards. Little wonders for my little wonder.
Nighty night and merry Christmas, friend. Let’s meet up again here soon!
Layla
You nailed it!
Bear hugs, Juju! 😀
The love that you show that child warms my heart so much!!! The Lord really blessed you when He strategically placed that sweet little man into your life!!! I’m so very grateful to be able to witness His marvelous works thru the life of Stevenson and his precious mommy and daddy!!! Thank you for sharing from beginning of this journey until now…I have prayed for you all so so many times thru the years… and just think, all of us who prayed are able to see the fruits of those prayers everytime you share a part of your family’s testimony with us!
All I know is…we serve and Awesome God who can take something that seems impossible and make it real and something so Beautiful!!!
God rewards the faithful Layla…I feel your family is faithful to Him and His work…many blessings to the Palmer family!!!
beautifully said!
Hi Chastacee!
You comment touched my heart and I’m so glad we’re able to connect here in this way. And you’re right: we do serve an awesome God. I’m so grateful he criss-crossed our paths today!
I felt the warmth!
I felt the wonder!
I felt the love!
Thank you for sharing the intimacy of your day
Merry Christmas 💝
Oh, Julie! Your comment made me BEAM! 😀
My kids are teenagers and have lost the wonder of Christmas. Thanks for letting me live vicariously through yours! I miss those days.
You bet, Melissa. Thank you for your kind comment. 🙂 And thanks for the reminder to soak up the splendor of these “little kid” Christmases too!
Layla I’m so glad you’ve decided on the every day blog post! Through your words I’ve begun to see my life differently. Although I do not have a panic disorder, my eyes are very blinded to the goodness of God which is terrible. Thank you thank you friend for opening my eyes to the wonders of this world! Merry Christmas Steevenson and family!
Wow! What a treat to connect with you here Teyana! And what a beautiful name you have too!
I read this to my family and we all agree you have the sweetest little boy. Merry Christmas Layla. You are a gift to us all. May 2020 bring you peace, love and joy.
Awwwww, thank you so much Tracy! What a kind comment you left for me to find. I hope your holiday was sweet and that you have a very happy new year too!
Loved this post! Merry Christmas to your sweet family!!
I’m so glad, Donna! 😀 And merry Christmas to y’all too!
Thanks for the tour of your evening. Ao precious the way you store your day memories with us.
Glad to share it with you, Laura! I hope you’re having a wonderful week too!
Merry Christmas to a very special family.
Merry Christmas (a day late), Sue! I hope your holiday was warm and wonderful!
This was lovely to read. Thank you for sharing. Christmas is such a magical time. I love seeing it through the eyes of a child. Blessings to you and your family.
Thank YOU, Jaclyn! I hope you and yours are having a beauty-FULL week too!
Little wonders make the best memories.
YES! 😀
I loved all of these words so much. It sounds like a perfect day. 🎄🎄🎄
Thank you, Lisa! I had fun writing them…and living that day too!
**happy sigh** I enjoyed every moment of your magical Christmas Eve, Layla. Thank you so much for sharing the joy of Christmas through Steevenson’s eyes with us. From a mama whose littles aren’t so little, keep soaking up that wonder. It is truly a treasure.
Thank you, Kristin! 😀 I’m so happy to see your comment pop up and I will take your advice in soaking the sunshine up while I can!
This so beautifully captures the magic of Christmas and the holiday season!! I felt a spark ignite in my heart just reading this! Hope your Christmas Day was every bit as magical!
Please write a book!!
Kim- you made me smile so big!!! Thank you for that sweet little sentence. It meant so much to me!
Layla, thank you for your beautiful words that do vividly describes your time with your precious son. I miss those days of anticipation with my own children and grand boys. They are now 22, 18, and 13. They’re expectations are so different now… keep capturing those moments because they so quickly vanish before your eyes. You are blessed and so is Stevenson… new things to come in 2020… ❤️
Gah, I love this so much! The joy of Steevenson is just contagious!
I agree! He is pure sunshine in skin! 😀
Thank you for sharing this. It was so sweet to read. I love the Lord as well and am so very grateful to Him for all His marvelous blessings!
Thank you, Karen! And me too! 😀
Happy and healthy 2020! May all your dreams come true.