Christmas 2020 Yes Amelia, There Is A Santa Claus

Hope all of you enjoyed a very special Christmas. One to remember for sure. Enjoy ours...in the classic newspaper article from the Sun, which could have been written to our own Virginia...Enjoy.

Yes, Amelia there is a Santa Claus.

He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist,

and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy.

Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus.

It would be as dreary as if there were no Amelias.

There would be no childlike faith then,

no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence.

We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight.

The external light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus!

You might as well not believe in fairies!

You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus,

but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove?

Nobody sees Santa Claus,

but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus.

The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men see.

Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn?

Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there.

Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside,

but there is a veil covering the unseen world

which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived,

could tear apart.

Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance,

can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond.

Is it real? Ah, Amelia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Amelia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

Christmas Prep

We have been preparing for Christmas ever since Halloween ended.   The tree went up the second week of November and we haven't stopped since.

Due to the remodel we had to make a few modifications to our traditions.  The stocking advent is now located along the stairs.  Kinda nice as Amelia just moves up a step each day.

Broke out the other advents too!  

We all have a lego advent and we race each morning to see who can complete their daily build first.  

Amelia's elf Kevin joined us back in November and has been showing up in all sorts of places.  

St. Nicholas Day was a hit.

And we checked off the Gingerbread House last weekend.

Always exciting when the walls stand on their own.

We head outside everyday for recess....

taking long walks....

playing in the snow....

And building as many snowmen as you can in 45 minutes.

In case you were wondering...it is 15 for us.

More merriment to come. Stay tuned.