Whew, how much time has passed?

This time of year everything has a tendency to get away from me and then I blink and the new year appears. Sam is VERY excited about Christmas and has added to his list; now he wants a remote control helicopter and a Star Wars Lego set that costs somewhere in the range of $130. Santa is already finished with his toy production for the year though so he may be out of luck.

Between the last post and this one, Sam turned seven! Oh my! I had a little sleepover party for him with just two of his good buddies. Is it bad to admit that it was a whole lot easier on me than last year's backwards party? Pizza, cake, movies, Nerf darts, and popcorn -- a little boy's dream!

Sam wanted man cake so that's what he got. He decorated it and told me that his cake had the chicken pox. Why had it never occurred to me to let him decorate his own cake before?






He also made birthday hats for everyone.


He huffed and puffed...

We also took a trip on the Polar Express with Susan and Sam's buddy Ronan, made Christmas cookies with Susan and Beth, decorated our Christmas tree, wrapped Christmas presents as a fundraiser for Vermont Cares, had Sam's seven year check up (51 1/2" tall, 64 lbs!) and brought goodies and food shelf foods to the school. We slid in a couple of parties, most recently a solstice party where we all made wishes on candles for the new year. I wished for great new beginnings and Sam wished for Star Wars Legos....

In the excitement of the season, much of the real meaning of Christmas can be lost so Susan sent Sam a book about the story of Christmas that she'd edited. We read it last night and afterward Sam asked "If Jesus is Jewish, why doesn't he celebrate Hanukkah?"