Hudson,
We traveled before Christmas day so that you could wake up in your house. You were so absolutely precious and you made the entire Christmas special. Just seeing the glow in your eyes and the excitement in your face made mamma and daddy so happy. You received a bag of reindeer feed from school. On Christmas Eve, you spread it all over the lawn for Santa's reindeer. You were so sweet and excited to leave the reindeer food! We put milk and cookies on out for Santa by the fireplace. You said, "Santa's gonna come through here and bring my drum set." Too sweet! The only think you wanted from Santa was a drum set.
The next morning, you woke up and ran down the stairs. Dada was trying to video record you n the i-phone, but it was hard because you were running fast. You sprinted to see if Santa had eaten the cookies and drank the milk and he had! Then, you looked back at your play room and Santa had left your drum set and made the room into a music room. There was a saxophone, a piano/keyboard that Siti added, a new guitar stand for your acoustic guitar, and a new microphone. Your face! That smile, the lights behind your eyes. WOW! It was heaven to see your face. You were screaming, "My drum set! My drum set! This is so cool!" You were so happy and you made us so happy.
Santa left you a note explaining that you had to continue being a good boy and that mamma and dadda had the power to take your drum set away if you were not being a good boy. The letter told you how proud he was of you, and that if you needed help fixing your set or using it, to ask mamma or dadda (you do not like help at all, which can be frustrating for us.) My little musician. A truly blessed Christmas.
This Christmas I want to tell you some important things about the man I hope you are. Remember Jesus' Golden Rule, "Do unto others what they do unto you." You should always treat others as you would like to be treated. Remember how you would feel if you were in the other person's shoes.... Try your hardest not to pass judgment on anyone. It can be hard at times, but remember that you never know how someone feels until you walk in that person's shoes. If someone is mean to you, try to look at it in a different way. Learn from it. Why was that person mean to you? Is that person sad? Is there something going on in their life that you could not possibly understand? ... Remember that we are not alone. You were born in a wonderful country, a country that I love, but we remember that we are not the only ones. Some Americans forget about the world outside of the United States, but the world is truly global. There are many different peoples and languages and cultures - RESPECT them. Do not judge them, yet try and understand them and be open to learning about them. A man who is not open to understanding another culture is cursed with ignorance in my eyes....Do not be a hyprocrite. Mean what you say and say what you mean. There truly is nothing worse that a man who says or does one thing to look a certain way in the eyes of others, but says or does another thing in private. Try very hard not to do this. Be honest with yourself and be yourself - you are beautiful and people will love you for who you are.... Keep your ego in check. Never forget to eat your humble pie - it is good for you. Let others compliment you. We are all equal on this earth. Use your smarts and your success to help others, not look down on others.... Look for ways to help others. You will get busy and not have the chance, but keep looking for ways. It doesn't always have to be something big. Helping others is the cornerstone of a life well lived.
Your Daddy and I are so very proud of you this Christmas. You are such a good boy, you are so intelligent and you have a heart of gold. You have the ability to sense what others are feeling and you empathize with them - it is beautiful.
We love you so very much, with everything we have,
xo Mamma
Banging on the drum set that Santa brought for you.
You're already trying fix something. You are very particular about your things. You like them just so. You get mad if someone touches them and you'll try and put it all back the way it was. If I clean up at night, you wake up, run down to your music room and say, "No! I don't like it this way." Or iif we play your drums, you say, "No, those are my drums." I am hoping some of this is your age - you are still 2. I explain to you that nothing is that important, that these things are just objects and nothing is really yours. I tell you it is ok to get upset if you fall and break your head, but you can't get upset over drums.
Daddy making music with you.
This was your music room that Santa set up for you. Your play to jam, be yourself and let it all go. We want to foster your love of music because it is beautiful.
You actually stopped playing your drums to open your gifts!
You spread reindeer feed on the grass on Christmas Eve.
