This year I snagged tickets to the Alpine live nativity way back in November. They sold out the day they went on sale (for $1 a person), so I was glad to get some. It was a pretty cold night for an outdoor activity, but it was so well done. We walked up and met some Roman soldiers at the entrance, who explained what we would see. Then we wound our way around barns with camels, sheep, peacocks, chickens, and other animals. The girls really enjoyed feeding the sheep. The final small barn had Mary, Joseph and Jesus. It probably would have felt slightly more reverent if the kid in front of us hadn't barfed all over as we walked in, but there was still such a peaceful feeling. When we walked out we were given hot chocolate and then we were on our way.
I tried to get some cute pictures of the girls in the matching pj's Carolyn made them. Cute pictures with all 3 of them just seem to be impossible lately. Oh well. At least the pajamas are adorable. Another big thing this year: we purchased an artificial tree. I love real trees. I LOVE REAL TREES. I do not love the mess, the cost, and the disposing after Christmas. If Daniel didn't always travel so much during December I probably would have kept with the real tree tradition, but it was always hard to find a day to go. Maybe when the kids are older we will go back to it. This year the thought of climbing my pregnant body under the tree each day to water it was the final thing to send me over the edge to an artificial tree. I definitely don't like how it looks as much, but it isn't a big difference.
The school holiday program is always a hit. I am guessing in a few years I will wish each grade didn't sing the same song every year. For now Sadie's songs are new to me each year. And Elise was cute enough I didn't mind listening to the same songs from Sadie's Kindergarten year.
Millie decorated her face with mascara for Christmas, the little booger. It took a lot of makeup wipes to get the thick layers of mascara off.
Finally, about a week before Christmas I heard that our local Sub for Santa office desperately needed more people to sponsor families. There were about 60 families that still needed Christmas. Sub for Santa is a program to provide Christmas presents to children from families who can't afford it. I signed up and chose a family with 3 kids at similar ages to our kids. The program asks that you purchase 2-3 toys, 3-5 clothing items, and 1-2 books for each child. The parents supply toy ideas, clothing sizes, etc. We took the girls and shopped for about 4 hours on December 23rd. Sadie had a hard time picking out toys for another child. She kept picking out things she definitely didn't like because she didn't want to feel jealous of the girl she was shopping for. We had a good talk in the toy section of Wal-mart and she turned her attitude around a bit. Elise and Millie just struggled with that much shopping. When we got home we sorted all the stuff into a box for each child. We ended up being able to buy a bit more clothing and books than suggested because of some good sales. Daniel took Sadie and Elise to the family's house to drop off the boxes with the dad, or so we thought. When they arrived the father insisted they all come in and give the stuff to the children themselves. He said he wanted his children to know there are kind strangers who help others. Daniel said Sadie and Elise were a little uneasy at first, but when they saw how happy and excited the kids were it made them really happy too. Sadie told me it was the happiest she has ever felt. The parents could not have been more grateful and sweet. I was at home putting a whiny Millie to bed and the father texted me lots of pictures and thank-yous. Here's a picture that doesn't have much of their faces. It helped bring such a good feeling to our house to be able to help give other kids a fun Christmas.
We hope to be able to continue participating in the Sub for Santa program every year.
