Let the Fun Begin!

Christmas celebrating is in full swing at our house.  We started by attending a Christmas tree lighting at our city hall on Friday night.  The weather was great and we were able to stroll along, visit Santa and the Mrs., carb-up on cookies, cotton candy, popcorn, hot cocoa, and hot cider.  It took two tries but our second countdown brought on the luminous glory of the giant tree and the blaze of fireworks.  A nice night indeed.

On Saturday morning, we headed over to the annual Nativity Exhibit our church puts on for our community.  Thanks to the donations of trees, fabric, lights, and nativities, not to mention the hours and hours provided by the members of our church, this event is a beautiful way to invite the Spirit into our hearts and keep us focused on our Savior.

This year there were many from around the world, as usual, but we really enjoyed the gingerbread nativity, made from replica molds of ones found in Europe ranging from 100-500 years old.  The original molds are being housed in museums.

I thought this print was quite endearing.

And this one baffled us and left us questioning what we had been taught in the scriptures. :-)

He had a twin?!

We enjoyed listening to the music, both live and piped in, and viewing the nativities.  Sophie was intrigued by the live nativity.  She wanted to go up on the stage and look in the manger to see the baby Jesus.  We got close to the stage but not close enough to see in the manger, then she knelt on her knee and whispered to me that baby Jesus was in there.  I was struck by her simple faith and reverence and told her, "That is what Christmas is all about."  Our quiet, hallowed moment was over in a flash and she was off twirling herself around but I was grateful for that special experience.

On Sunday, we were off to church and glad to have started singing the Christmas hymns in our sacrament meeting.  Sophie has been waiting to wear her Christmas dress for about a month now and today she got the green light from her parents.  I put her hair up and she looked like little Miss Christmas.

And okay, so it's the 4th of December, but today we finally got our advent calendar up to help Sophie and Rhys understand that Christmas is not today or tomorrow (so please stop asking). 

Our first box was opened and the activity revealed: Write a letter to Santa.  It was a great time to practice writing and fine motor skills as they wrote, colored, and peeled and applied stamps and sealed them up.  Sophie made the following requests: snowman, snake (stuffed animal--to be friends with the one Aunt Kira and Uncle David bought her), dolphin (pillow), candy, and a duck.  Rhys had some help from Mommy and requested Elmo stuff and candy.  Santa does not need any help from anyone reading this blog so feel free to keep your wallets tucked away.  We just wanted to keep it in on record since this blog is very much our family journal.

 Other tender moments from tonight--the stuff that makes all the crazy day-to-day stuff seem like fluff--
1.) Neal and Rhys cuddled up in blankets, listening to Christmas carols on daddy's phone.

Neal and Rhys have a cute ritual when "loving" on each other.  They will kiss, hug, and touch foreheads.  Here they are finishing up.

While Rhys and Dada were enjoying their tunes, Sophie helped mommy put up the nativity.  She was careful and arranged them well.  This is the nativity my parents brought me from Israel.  There were probably 5 like it at the Nativity Exhibit but they space them apart.

Definitely a miracle worth pondering!