Don't Worry, I Won't Let Santa Hurt You

I have two very brave children and one child who is very insistent, but very sweet. I have no particular feelings about the other two children at this time.

Santa came to the church party. Meriel was bubbling over with excitement and occasionally would lean close to me and whisper, "Mommy, I LOVE Santa!" As usual, Keller let us know that he was not planning on talking to Santa at all. Ian volunteered to tell Santa what he wanted and to bring him a candy cane, but he kept trying to talk Keller out of his Santa-fear. He absolutely wouldn't leave it alone. I finally took Ian aside and told him it was perfectly fine if Keller didn't want to see Santa, and I thought Ian finally understood and would give it up.

Santa came, and the two oldest took their turns. Rheanna giggled as she always does, and Ian spoke carefully, insistently, and a lot (as he always does--this is serious business).

Meriel took one look at Santa then ran behind me and tried to use my legs as a shield between herself and him while she whimpered loudly. Keller knew the drill. He remained patiently at our table.

I took all the necessary pictures and figured we were done, so I began looking around for Keller. Next thing I know, he is standing in line with Ian. I guess Ian couldn't let it go and just couldn't stand the thought of someone NOT talking to Santa. He had managed to talk stubborn little Keller into standing in line and was now holding on to him tightly so he wouldn't get scared.

This is the first time Keller has spoken to Santa, and he was well-rewarded.

I suppose either Meriel was impressed with Keller's bravery, or saw that he got a candy cane for his efforts, so at the last minute she whispered that she did want to see Santa and ran to get in line. Once she started talking to him, she soon realized this was no big deal.

So I am pretty impressed with the behavior of my middle children right now. Two of them conquered their fears and one was pushy, but at the same time gentle, thereby ensuring the success of all. I take no credit for this incredible maturity.

What I do take credit for is getting all of the family dressed and poised for a family picture. It took two sittings and many exposures (and after all that, we still needed help from PhotoShop), but we got one decent picture to go out with the Christmas cards.

We did have quite a number of fabulous runner-up pictures that I've posted for you which didn't quite make the cut. The problems were minor, really. I guess I'm just too picky. You might not even know what was wrong with them, so I'll break it down for you.

Starting off, if you look closely at this one, you might eventually notice that a couple of children aren't quite looking directly at the camera:

I didn't quite care for the faces of some of the children in this one. I don't know, they're just not very picturesque:

Tim finally got grumpy old Mitchell to smile, but forgot to turn his own face back to the camera, and Ian has decided that the use of his sleeves is optional:

Meriel seems to have disappeared. She's probably trying to "help" Grandma take the pictures, and Keller is requiring a "talking to:"

Meriel is back, and is concerned about how Keller is feeling after being rebuked. Ian seems to have forgotten that we are in the middle of taking pictures and appears to be retreating deep into his shirt and into his own psyche. See, this is such little, nit-picky stuff, but I just can't get over that it bugs me. I'm such a perfectionist:

Meriel is no longer concerned about Keller and is either imagining she is a monkey or is trying to make music. Ian appears to have found inner peace. Keller has forgiven Daddy. Mitchell's not even trying. Only Rheanna is keeping it together (as are the ever-responsible Mommy and Daddy):

In this picture, I've finally had it. I tell them to do whatever the heck they want to do and get it out of their system. As you can see, I have also finally dropped the facade:

The Ryans would like to wish all of you a picture-perfect holiday as well.

Merry Christmas!!