IT'S ALMOST CHRISTMAS!

Well, Christmas is almost here, and the kids are getting excited and were busy with parties and choir performances and stuff last week. PJ's school had a combined 5th & 6th grade choir performance last Thursday that was great! It's amazing how great the kids sounded. It was beautiful!

Then, last Sunday, PJ was in charge of our Family Home Evening lesson, and wanted to act out the Nativity, so he and the other kids were busy all afternoon, getting the props and practicing. It was so cute! They had to do it in different phases, since there was only four of them to play Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, the Shepherds, Wise Men, Angel, Star, and Sheep. It was so cute. They wrapped Clay up in a sheet and had him snuggle up in a wicker laundry basket and pretend to be the sleeping Baby Jesus, while PJ was Joseph and Tessa was Mary. Later, Jonah was a Shepherd, Tessa played the Angel, while Clay was a sheep. He played his part well, and continued to "baaa" through the whole scene! There were a few other scenes when PJ, Tessa, and Jonah were the Wise Men, and Clay was the Star (holding a flashlight). Anyway, the kids had a lot of fun, and it was very entertaining.

Then on Saturday night, we had a Ward Christmas Party at church, with a dinner, singing carols, and Santa came. As soon as Santa walked in the door of the gym, Clay's eyes got big, and he took off, running to him, past all the other kids that were waiting in line. He walked up to him and stood by him, with his hand on his leg, just looking up at him in awe. It was so sweet. That look was priceless. I wish I had been able to get a picture of it! I remember Tessa doing the exact same thing when she was about the same age.

Last night, some friends of ours invited us over to their house to decorate gingerbread houses. It's a family tradition at their house. We read a sweet Christmas story, reminding us of the true meaning of Christmas and giving. Then we decorated the gingerbread houses. The kids had a blast. As soon as Clay finished decorating his house, he started pulling off the candy to eat it. Within 10 minutes after he finished decorating his house, all the candy was gone! We didn't even realize he was eating it, until it was almost bare. Then when we were getting ready to leave (a couple hours later), he started crying because he wanted to decorate his house again. So, we took some extra candy and frosting home to re-decorate it in the morning. I was surprised that the other kids didn't decide to hurry and eat all their candy, so they could re-decorate and get more candy too!

Anyway, it's been a fun week, and we are looking forward to Christmas, and the next 2weeks, resting, relaxing, and having fun together. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!