Christmas Lights & Magic

 If you aren't looking for over the top saccharine sweetness and sappiness today- you might need to skip this post.  I can't help it.  Christmas is pushing me over the edge and I am over the moon in love with my family and our night out.  There are moments from day to day that I just can't help feeling overwhelmed by how much I love my family.  Those moments when I just want to squeeze my babies because they are so adorable.  Then we move onto the next moment and life has to keep on going. Then, every once in awhile we have a completely perfect afternoon or evening together and I seriously almost cry because I want to stay in that feeling forever.  It's usually something small like going on a gorgeous hike together or having a picnic or an especially awesome movie night with extra cuddles.

Last night was one of those perfect nights.  We have a ridiculous amount of fun things planned for this Christmas season.  We have enough outings and events to fill a year crammed into one month. I had already prepared myself for grumpiness or non-cooperative children for many of Christmas activities because I didn't want to be dissapointed by every moment of our December not being magical. I may not have been prepared for how magical our night turned out.

 We went downtown to see the lights and go on a carriage ride.  Red Fish has been asking us to go on a carriage ride downtown for years.  She has seriously been asking to go since she was tongue-tied and couldn't use words (we spoke our own language.)  We agreed last year that we would wait until this December so New Fish would be old enough to remember it.  We didn't tell the girls until we got downtown and saw the horses.  Red Fish was beyond excited.  We waited in the little line and lucked out with the carriage with the most sparkly lights on it.  We rode around for 40 minutes.  Red Fish just rode around admiring all of the lights and occasionally waving.  New Fish made it her business to shout "Merry Christmas" to every single person we passed and wave at them.  It was adorable.

She was a little disappointed that not everyone would wave back or respond.  She didn't think it was very polite.  I think people just don't remember how to be friendly anymore.  Some people did wave back and return her salutations and she would get the biggest grin on her face. She also added a few "watch out for monsters out there" for good measure. When we went back to walk through the lights she couldn't contain herself and still called out to people as we were walking around.

The girls noticed that Two Fish and I were holding hands and they asked us why.  We told them it was because we love each other.  New Fish immediately held her hand out to Red Fish and said: "Quick, hold my hand because I love you."

New Fish was too distracted by the horse and the twinkly lights to worry about pictures.  Silly Mommy- always taking pictures.

We told the girls that the carriage ride was a special present from Mommy and Daddy.  As we were finishing our foot tour of the lights and fountains, Red Fish wanted to go in a hall and hear an organist playing Christmas hymns.  As we sat down, Red Fish turned to us and said: "Now this is my special gift to you.  I don't want you to miss this music because it is just so beautiful."  It doesn't get any more adorable than that.  We drove home with happy, sleepy kids and Christmas carols on the radio. I know these perfect moments can't happen everyday because then I wouldn't appreciate them but I really needed this tonight.  Sometimes when parenthood seems a little wearing, we are gifted with a reminder of why it is all worth it.