Countdown to Christmas

The Christmas Season is upon us.  I don't feel ready for it at all, but I am ready for this year to end.  It has been a very eventful one at our house and not always in a good way.  I sometimes feel I have had more than my fair share of trials.  I have learned a lot from them and have come to realize my Heavenly Father's hand in my life.  When I was faced with something that seemed impossible to handle or deal with, there was some one right there encouraging me and helping me out.  It's funny how things work out that way.

We decorated the tree the other night.

I wonder how many more years Dan can get away with re-decorating it after the kids have gone to bed.  They don't seem to notice how drastically different it looks when they wake up in the morning.  I think it would be fun to leave it as is.  The kids always have a favorite branch, where all their ornaments end up.  So only half of the tree looks decorated.  This drives Dan crazy, he wants his tree to look perfect.  This is our attempt to keep a one year old from destroying the tree, tuck it in the corner and block most of it with the couches.  We shall see how it works.

Last night was the Ward Christmas Party and Talent Show.  I was so busy making sure that the food was ready to serve and everything was running smoothly that I missed out on a bunch of things.  Thanks to the Foist family my kids got to visit with Santa.  Too bad I never figured out where the pictures were posted.  Zoe was eager to ask Santa for a baby sister, I don't think she knows how things work.  Noah was yet again
terrified to sit on Santa's lap and really didn't know what to ask him for.  It took a lot of bribing and convincing him to do it.  I'm not sure how Jack did.  Next year he should be more aware of things.

The kids participated in the Talent Show.  They sang, "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas," with a bunch of kids from the ward.  Janie was kind enough to take a few pictures for me.  In all the craziness of getting out of the house on time and all my responsibilities I forgot the camera.

Dan Participated in the "12 Days of Christmas," with a lot of the priesthood brethren.  He was number 2 this year.  He created his own costume, fashioning it after Napoleon Dynamite.  He was really creative and came up with 12 different ways of saying, "Two Turtle Doves."

Unfortunately, Noah missed his Winter Concert this year.  He had the misfortune of coming down with a stomach bug the morning of the performance.  He was particularly bummed since he had a solo part.  The countdown to Christmas Break has officially begun.