We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

Well, again, here I am trying to play catch up on the blog. In a Nut(cracker)shell...this fall was ridiculously busy. Busy to the point that I found myself wondering just about everyday if it was worth it. Nutcracker was so much work. Mentally and physically, and many days emotionally exhausting. Working with 5 other people on an in some senses completely new production, and not really knowing the ropes with all of these people was really a feat. In the end, I was very pleased with my party scene. I was very pleased with the dancers that I was blessed to work with, and the Drosselmeyer that stepped in for me when my original Dross suffered a shattered foot injury. In the end, the show hit the stage, and ended up being a very nice production.

The very second that Nutcracker was struck, I was fully engaged in Angel Tree. I had 10 days from Nutcracker till the Angel Tree party at our church. Now, Angel Tree is also a fair amount of work...but with Angel Tree I know that I am doing something with truly lasting significance. Yes, Nutcracker is a wonderful holiday tradition, and many young dancers are affected by participating, BUT Angel Tree is God's work. And at the party, watching all those kids (43 this year and 22 families, compared to 14 families last year) open gifts- and honestly, the only gifts they will receive for some of them- is an absolutely out of this world joyful experience for me. And 2 things made it even more special this year.

The first was that our church really really took ownership of this ministry this year. Often it seems like only  a small percentage of the church population really embrace any given outreach opportunity. But I was blown away by the response from our members this year. We had so many attend the party, love on the families, and just dive in to do whatever needed to be done. And that was a great help to Jess and I. I was especially blessed by several new member families that got really involved and were excited to help out.

The second was the fact that my children were really involved this year, as opposed to being stuck back in the nursery "not getting into anything." This year, they really helped me in a variety of ways with the set up, decorating, and even at the party. It did them good to have a part in giving gifts to the other children. And while they noticed some of the toys and commented about how they liked them...they didn't whine about needing a present to open. It's a good thing for children to experience the joy of giving.

Our Angels got gifts and Bibles and our caregiver families were blessed with giant boxes and bags of TONS of food from our food pantry. I got a lot of hugs and a lot of gratitude from some very overwhelmed peoople.

A few days after the party, the kids and I got to play Santa and take the gifts and food to 3 families that were unable to attend the party. And I actually love getting to do that, because at the party I'm usually running around like a crazy person, and don't get to engage with the families as much as I'd like.

So, here we are. We made it to Christmas. Oh...well...there was Thanksgiving. I managed to completely leave that out, didn't I? Thanksgiving was fantastic. I cooked for a week. And then I roasted my 2nd turkey ever. My family came to our home for T'giving, and we had a really great time. The kids had a blast with their cousin, Kylie. We did a little Black Friday shopping (to replace two tv's. Yes, I said two tv's. One was an old tube tv from our bedroom that was going out. The other was our nice living room 47" Aquos that Alec cracked by throwing a wooden block at. Yup. Life with small children.) But the good news is that we landed a great flat screen led 3D tv, dvd, and glasses bundle AND a new flat screen for the bedroom ALL for about half of what we payed about 5 years ago for our other big tv. So, the burn wasn't TOO bad.

Okay...now we made it to Christmas. We are currently enjoying a wonderful holiday with Aaron's family. We had a lovely Christmas yesterday. The kids got some really nice gifts. They both got what they wanted more than anything: for Alec, a spiderman talking action figure and for Emma, a Buzz Lightyear action figure. Hey, it's kind of a doll! They haven't put them down since they opened them.

We are looking forward to seeing more friends this week, and then on to another "Christmas" with my family. The best gift for me is just getting to enjoy down time with our families. I don't have to cook, or clean. I don't have anything to organize right now. I have a moment to blog and drink a nice cup of coffee. My kids are happily playing with their new toys and the people they love. Life is good.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you, my friends!