The Twenty-Four Days Before Christmas - Day 8

Today our special thing was the Christmas program at church. Every single year I say I will never do this program again and every year I do it. This year the kids seemed extra rowdy and the night of dress rehearsal I had little hope it would go well. But, all considered, I think it actually went well. The kids all thought they did a great job. After the program we had a small party with tons of snacks so it was a great ending to the program. 

The rest of the day Bethany, Tess and I went and got lots of Christmas tree lights and then went to my parent's house and put them on the tree. I actually did all the work and Bethany and Tess seemed to be in a very silly mood so they giggled and acted silly while I put the lights on. As we drove home we listened to Christmas music and when There's No Place Like Home For The Holidays played, Tess said she loved that song as it was homey and made her feel happy and she was so glad she was adopted and came to America. It was so sweet to hear her say that. 

The Twenty-Four Days Before Christmas - Day 16

Well, we are over half way there and we have managed to find some small enjoyable thing to do each day. Today was easy - we had our Christmas program at church. The kids really look forward to doing it each year and so do I - until around November when I realize how much work we need and how few kids I have to work with. But, it is always ok, and the kids always enjoy. I want them to have this every year. 

First I have a picture of my youngest grandchild - Jakob. He came to see the program today along with big brother, Luke. 

Baby Jesus was my next youngest grandson - Finn. He did a great job - slept in the manger the entire program. 

The kids did a pretty good job considering how few of them there were and Sarah even sang a solo. She was so happy. That is what I like about a small church - everybody gets a chance. But, I am definitely glad it is over. I usually say about this time of year that I will never do it again. But, I always do. 

Reagan was the Angel of the Lord and is also Finn's big sister. 

The Twenty-Four Days Before Christmas - Day 24

Today is our last post before Christmas and it was a nice day - though I will say I was rushed. We had two special things today. First, the kids had a birthday party for Jesus at church and it was really nice. Their teacher did so much work on this party and the kids were so excited. It was great and we are so blessed to have teachers that care so much for our kids. 

Then this evening we went to the candlelight service at church. It was beautiful as usual and I love being there with all my family sitting together. I was going to post a video of Bethany as she sang a solo tonight at the service. But, my 18 month old grandson from Louisiana FaceTimed me right in the middle of her solo as I was recording. It disconnected the video. So, I can't post it as I only got half of it recorded. Instead, I will post her singing her solo in the Christmas play at church two weeks ago. 

Merry Christmas and hope everyone has a wonderful day. 

The Twenty-Four Days Before Christmas - Day 10

Our special thing today was to do the Christmas program at church. It was a very small program with only three kids that were not in our family -  small but nice. After the program we had a birthday party for Jesus. 

Most of the pictures I took were before the program while they waited on the side. 

This was our baby Jesus this year and he sure looked cute. 

The Twenty-Four Days Before Christmas - Day 11

Today we did our Christmas Pageant at church. The entire performance was done by my kids and one other child. Well, I did let my granddaughter go up in an angel costume today even though she had never practiced and wasn't going to sing, as she didn't know what they were singing. But, when she said to me that she wanted to be a fairy -- like Bella -- I didn't have the heart to say no. I knew she would behave and would do fine so I hunted down a costume and let her go up with them. The only child that wasn't in our family was Joseph. My Sarah was Mary this year as she has always wanted to be Mary and has never gotten the chance. This was a big year for Sarah as she was Mary and got to sing a solo, too. When your mom leads the program she can let you be anyone you want and let you sing a solo. Sarah started talking about singing a solo weeks ago, but no way was I going to let her have one. She really has a hard time keeping the pitch right. But, my oldest daughter convinced me to let her and so I did. She must have been fine as one of my older daughters told me she cried when Sarah sang.

Sarah Singing Her Solo

Baby Jesus was my grandson, Luke.  And Luke's dad played the piano for us. My oldest daughter narrated the program so it was quite the family affair. Joey usually does the sound for us but he had not been feeling well. 

The program went better than I expected seeing that we barely practiced this year and I really had low expectations. I have just been so busy that I thought I couldn't get it done, but I wanted the kids to be able to perform. I especially wanted Piper and Tess to be in a Christmas pageant so I decided to go ahead and see if we could get it done -- and we did. 

Then this evening we decorated the tree. It already had lights and beads on it, but that was all. So we got the ornaments out of attic and all the kids went through them picking out theirs. Piper wanted to know where her ornaments were. I had to explain that we got each child an ornament every year and she and Tess had been in China so they had not gotten any yet. We are going out this week to let them both pick out their first ornament. 

So, we actually did two things today.