Taj: After saying a prayer he says, " I forgot to say thank you for Christmas to help us remember the birth of Jesus."
Eden: Devoted to her role as Mary in the reenactment of the Nativity. She wouldn't leave the side of "Baby Jesus" for about an hour and a half. She was very serious about it, and it touched my heart to see how reverent she was.
Eden: On Christmas morning she kept asking where Santa was and when he was coming to our house. I guess the presents weren't enough.
Taj: After Eden kept singing "Glory to God," Taj decided she needed to learn the whole song and taught it to her. Where did they learn this?
Taj: Taj loves anything made of gingerbread. After making a train and house Taj was playing with it. He acted out the gingerbread man putting up Christmas lights on the gingerbread house, then falling off the roof and breaking his arm and leg. He had another gingerbread man be the doctor come to the rescue in the train.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
Cookies With Santa
There's a crazy shop nearby called "Dear Lizzy". By crazy I mean DON'T look at the prices. It's all fancy and fru fru. They have a great little Christmas tradition though. They have cookies with Santa! It's nestled back in a little section of the shop where the kids can't do much damage. You have to sign up for it so there were only about 15 kids. You get cookies and milk and a bell to ring to get Santa to come. One by one the kids get called up by name to sit on Santa's lap- the sweetest Santa I've ever met. The kids loved it. Eden wants 2 bikes and Taj wants a race track for his cars. I think Santa can handle that this year.Thursday, December 10, 2009
The Reason For The Season
On Monday we went to a live Nativity. It was a huge surprise. We heard talk of it the day before at church, but we were a bit skeptical. We knew it was outside (it was snowy and about 20 degrees), we also heard there were camels and shuttles. What? We had to check it out.
We got the kids all bundled against their will and 45 minutes later (it really takes FOREVER) we were on our way. Fortunately it was only a few minutes away. We parked at a chapel in Alpine where sure enough there were shuttles. And not just any shuttles. We were herded into horse trailers where we sat on bales of hay. That alone made the kids day.
The shuttles took us to a nearby farm where we were greeted by what looked like a shepherd. He told us the story of Jesus' birth. We were then told to follow the lit path to Bethlehem. On our walk we saw Roman soldiers and a family traveling on donkey. We got to the "city" and were met by hard working towns folk. They were making unleavened bread, weaving baskets, carving wood, tending to real sheep and camels. It was really impressive. We talked about how different things were back when Jesus was born. As we continued we found ourselves in a small barn with Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus. Eden LOVED that baby. We explained to the kids that it wasn't really them, but just pretend. Eden didn't want to leave for a long time. There were "angels" singing, and I can't blame her. It was very special.
On the way home we talked all about what we saw and experienced and the real purpose of Christmas. They seemed to kind of understand. As we're driving home Eden says, "I'm baby Jesus. Mom, you're Mary, and Daddy Joseph. Who's Taj?" Micah joked that he was the donkey. It was funny at the moment, but now, three days later Eden and Taj are still playing "baby Jesus." I'm not sure how appropriate this game is, but it sure makes me smile. I'm really glad we went to the Nativity. It's something I'll remember in my bank of Christmas memories for a long time, and hopefully the kids will too.
We got the kids all bundled against their will and 45 minutes later (it really takes FOREVER) we were on our way. Fortunately it was only a few minutes away. We parked at a chapel in Alpine where sure enough there were shuttles. And not just any shuttles. We were herded into horse trailers where we sat on bales of hay. That alone made the kids day.
The shuttles took us to a nearby farm where we were greeted by what looked like a shepherd. He told us the story of Jesus' birth. We were then told to follow the lit path to Bethlehem. On our walk we saw Roman soldiers and a family traveling on donkey. We got to the "city" and were met by hard working towns folk. They were making unleavened bread, weaving baskets, carving wood, tending to real sheep and camels. It was really impressive. We talked about how different things were back when Jesus was born. As we continued we found ourselves in a small barn with Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus. Eden LOVED that baby. We explained to the kids that it wasn't really them, but just pretend. Eden didn't want to leave for a long time. There were "angels" singing, and I can't blame her. It was very special.
On the way home we talked all about what we saw and experienced and the real purpose of Christmas. They seemed to kind of understand. As we're driving home Eden says, "I'm baby Jesus. Mom, you're Mary, and Daddy Joseph. Who's Taj?" Micah joked that he was the donkey. It was funny at the moment, but now, three days later Eden and Taj are still playing "baby Jesus." I'm not sure how appropriate this game is, but it sure makes me smile. I'm really glad we went to the Nativity. It's something I'll remember in my bank of Christmas memories for a long time, and hopefully the kids will too.
Friday, December 4, 2009
What day is it?
The kids are in a total dress up phase. It's fun, especially when they come up with stories where Taj, the red Christmas Power Ranger, is saving the princess from something horrible which is usually my role. Then Eden calls me her Fairy God Mother and we all do something wonderful to save the castle from a sharp tooth (T-rex of course). I guess it gets a little complicated -hee hee. These kids crack me up!
Everyday is like Halloween.
Everyday is like Halloween.
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