Christmas 2012

Christmas is in the bag for the Mehaffey crew and we have two very happy (albeit tired) boys. Even though it is 32º or colder in Indiana we can’t keep Jackson from wanting to saddle up his new bike. I love that we just got one kiddo out of training wheels just as another is getting started. 

Mother Nature might just play her trump card cause right now there is a blizzard warning for most of central Indiana. That is about the only thing that could curb Jackson but it won’t stop Chase from curling up by the fire with his new LeapPad 2 (thank you Aunt Stacy and Uncle Chip for the headphones). 

Merry Christmas from our family to yours and a very happy 2013 too!

Christmas Portraits – Stoeke Family

Last month, I was hired to setup my photo booth for a local March of Dimes event at Disney’s Dolphin Hotel. It was there I met the Stoeke family who needed family holiday portraits for Christmas cards and other purposes. We met up in downtown Winter Garden for this festive shoot. I was really pleased with how these turned out and more importantly so were they.

We received the pictures and LOVE them! Thank you for working so well with our family, we appreciate it!! 

– The Stoeke’s

McDonald’s Christmas Mini Photo Shoot

I had a small window this afternoon for a mini photo shoot for three of our favorite people in Orlando. Nate is a bodybuilder with a lumberjack beard, who looks like he could go a few rounds Paul Bunyan. Meredith is one of my wife’s best friends and is really the reason Janie has become a runner. Their beautiful, little Lija has become Chase and Jackon’s surrogate baby sister. She calls them her “bubbies.” Awesome.

They wanted a few photos to go on their Christmas card, so we took a few shots by our Christmas tree and a few more by the pond behind my house.

This was such a fun photo shoot for me because it became a family affair. Janie was great at helping setup different shots and kept us moving quickly and Chase was a fantastic photographer’s assistant. He grabbed his Vtech Kidizoom Digital Camera he got for Christmas last year and took shots right along with me. 

Even Jackson got in the act. You can’t see him in this final photo below but you can see the result of him. He is standing on the couch next to where I was and doing what he does best…making people laugh. At least it worked on Lija. 

In Full Christmas-mode

From the Starbucks Christmas Blend we brewed in the morning to the M&M’s (dark chocolate and mint) in the Christmas packaging we ate as our after-dinner treats my crew has quickly shifted into Christmas-mode.

This is the first year both Chase and Jackson are at an age where they understand this Christmas-thing is kind of a big deal and they are anticipating each day as we countdown to the birth of Jesus.

We broke out the Christmas Pandora station (just like mom and dad used to do) and the decorations after breakfast and were soon on our way to pick out our tree. After strapping our Fraser Fir to the roof of our Honda Odyssey, Chase made his famous “I am going to spontaneously combust cause I am so excited” face. On the way back to the house, the boys made me open the sun roof just so he could see the tree. 

The rest of the day was a blur of lights, ornaments and little helping hands getting sappy.

I remember vividly decorating the tree with my mom when I was little. Each morning I would come downstairs and plug that bad boy in and just sit and stare at the lights. It is so cool to watch Chase and Jackson now in that role. After dinner tonight they wanted to turn all the lights off and oooh and ahhh over the tree. 

Yeah, this is going to be a very fun month. 

A Breath of Fresh Christmas Air

If you are anything like me, every December you find yourself listening to the same Christmas albums and watching the same Christmas television specials and movies. Interestingly, most of the holiday staples we know and love were made long before I was born. With few exceptions, from 1970-present most have failed miserably (check out this link for great examples). The Christmas genre has become the LA Clippers of entertainment. I just can’t imagine sitting down with my boys and throwing in The Santa Clause or even the Jim Carrey Grinch reboot. 

Disney’s Prep and Landing Christmas special and I was thoroughly entertained and even laughed out loud at several parts. Make sure you search for it on your DVR this season. 

And as for music, check out Coldplay’s single “Christmas Lights” and Pink Martini’s album “Joy to the World.” None of these have cracked any of my top 5’s (see below) but they may very well be in the conversation.  

Movies

1. White Christmas

2. Christmas Vacation

3. Home Alone (Yeah, I said it.)

4. Elf

5. Miracle on 34th Street

Television

1. A Charlie Brown Christmas

2. Rudolph

3. How the Grinch Stole Christmas

4. Mickey’s Christmas Carol

5. Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Music (Entire Albums)

1. When My Heart Finds Christmas by Harry Connick, Jr. 

2. A Charlie Brown Christmas by Vince Guaraldi Trio

3. The Christmas Song by Nat King Cole

4. A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra 

5. Merry Christmas by Bing Crosby

Honorable Mention: Last Christmas by Wham! (Also the most unintentionally funny music video EVER!)

From a Traditional to Tropical Christmas

When we moved from Indiana to South Florida in 2007, one thought I couldn’t shake was, “Christmas will never feel like Christmas here.” All my life Christmas was synonymous with snow, hot cocoa, a fire in the fireplace, etc. I have to admit our first Christmas in Miami was pretty pathetic. Luckily, we were able to travel up north to see our families and we got our fix. 

Oh, how things have changed. Today I can honestly say, I look forward to Christmas here just as much as I did in the sub-freezing temperatures (and in many ways I prefer it).

What was the catalyst? Simple, Disney. On a side note: it’s also not the worst thing to live where the high is usually 70º and the low hardly ever dips below 55º. 

Each year since 2008, my family has gone to Disney World in late-November or early December. There is no other place on earth where you can immerse yourself in all-things-Christmas. If you have never been to Disney World from Mid-November-December you have missed out on a completely different experience.

All the parks and resorts are decked out in their Christmas finest and there are so many special attractions and shows it is almost impossible to see them all. From the hard ticketed event, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, to The Osbourne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Hollywood Studios, over at Epcot there is the Candlelight Procession which tells the story of the birth of Jesus (yes you read that right) better than most churches I’ve been to, and of course you have to see Cinderella’s Castle lit up with thousands of Christmas lights in person. Clark Griswold would be proud.  

One of our favorite things to do (and cheapest) is simply to tour around the Disney Deluxe resorts and check out the Christmas decorations. Our favorite is the Wilderness Lodge which is where we are staying on this year’s Christmas trip, December 13-17 (our first time at a Deluxe Resort). The Christmas tree in the lobby is several stories tall, the ambiance feels like you’re in a chalet in the mountains and I get my fire in the fireplace.  

Chase & Daddy at Wilderness Lodge ’09

Merry Christmas

To think, exactly one year ago today we got the phone call that changed our life forever.  Now we have TWO sons (Jackson not pictured cause he’s still in Taiwan).  We are so grateful to God for all the blessings our family has experienced in 2009.

Have a Merry Christmas!