In the past couple of years, December has been a bit of a high octane month. And if we don't hit the ground running, we fall behind pretty quickly. This year was no different.
So we started our preparations the day we got back from our Thanksgiving trip to California. The first stop was our traditional Christmas tree lot in Lexington. It is safe to say that the girls were excited. And as usual, the first tree that caught our eye is the one we took home. It was by far the largest tree that we have had so far, and potentially the freshest. It made the house smell great right away, and it lasted the whole month without falling apart.
It has also become tradition to get the girls in their Christmas jammies, put the holiday mix on the iPod, and trim the tree. Callie and Reese were very happy with this year's pajama selections, and Sarah was proud of Reese's in particular, which said on the front, "Dear Santa, I can explain." Very fitting, indeed. Callie's had a more conservative look, but she loved them. We'll see how all of this plays out over the next several years and if the trend continues.
Tree trimming is always about enjoying the process of getting the ornaments on the tree while also maintaining a healthy oversight in terms of both risk management and aesthetic appeal. This year we only lost one ornament, and had to repair three. That's a pretty solid year overall. Reese and Callie both enjoyed sorting through the ornaments, finding their favorites, and remembering the trips and places we have visited to build our collection. This year we added ornaments from Big Sur, Chicago, and Atlanta. Not too shabby.
Although Reese's decorating style could still be classified as low and crowded, Callie has certainly matured in this area - she pays attention to widespread coverage and also knows to make sure that similar looking ornaments are not placed close to each other on the tree. We must admit that the end result did not require much redecorating after the girls had gone to bed.
For the last four years or so, we have had the good fortune to get to see Santa in the comforts of a friend's house. She hosts a party every year to kick off the holiday season, and Santa is there all night to talk to the children who want to share their wish lists. This year was a big year for Callie. For the very first time, she announced days before that she wanted to sit on his lap and tell him what she wanted for Christmas. And as you can see from the picture she wanted to make sure that Santa truly understood what a rainbow loom was, because that was definitely the most important item on her list.
In the past, in order to get a picture with Callie and Santa, we had to sneak one in. So several years ago, this exact grouping of girls with Santa in the background was the only kind of picture we could get. This year was pretty cute, because the girls asked to recreate that moment. You will notice there are no pictures of Reese with Santa. There is a very good reason for this. Even now, when she sees a picture of Santa, Reese informs us assertively that she does not want to sit in Santa's lap. She is quite firm on this point.
The next Christmas activity on the list was the creation of a good looking gingerbread house. The girls were excited about the craft, most likely because it created opportunities to sneak a piece of candy every five seconds or so. Sarah was excited because after several up and down years with gingerbread houses she located what is essentially a pre-fab house that allowed the girls to decorate as soon as it came out of the box. They did not have to wait overnight for things to dry or stop decorating while their parents invented new ways to hold up gingerbread wall and roofs that refused to stay in place.
The end result was one of the best we have had so far. And there were even enough pieces of candy left to make it appear decorated. You might also see from this picture that Sarah has allowed her children to have more artistic control of the project. And that shows some real growth and maturity on her part. Every Christmas provides opportunity for growth, and that is not age-restricted.
Our church does a lot of wonderful things for children throughout the year. But we have to say, that one of the most enjoyable evenings is in early December when the children put on the Christmas pageant. The folks involved in children's ministry and choirs do a great job putting it all together, and the chapel is usually packed with proud parents and church members who have attended every year knowing that they will be properly entertained in the spirit of the season. Where else could they go to see baby Jesus attended to by a zebra and a mouse? It also gives parents like us another use for Halloween costumes.
This year marked Callie's promotion from manger animal to angel. Needless to say, she was excited by the whole deal. And she was not alone. Here she sits, halo and all, next to her friend Eli, who is also in kindergarten at Callie's school. They do look pretty cute, don't you think?
Although you see all smiles in these pictures, we must share that there was a lot of hard work leading up to the pageant. In fact, our family had the opportunity to listen to all the songs featured in the pageant over and over again in the car on our very own personal CD. The music was good, don't get us wrong. But it was also very, very familiar by the time the pageant evening came around.
The next phase of Christmas preparation and enjoyment was the girls' outing to the Nutcracker. Although John did not participate in this activity, it would not have been possible without him because he was the one who made the last minute run to the Opera House to purchase tickets. And with a little help from a friend of ours at the Opera House, John was able to get some good seats. The girls had a fantastic time, and maybe next year Reese will even stay awake through the whole thing.
For the second consecutive year, we decided to stay in Lexington for Christmas Day before traveling to see our family. It allows us to wake up in our own beds on Christmas morning. But it also means that we can attend the Christmas Eve service at our church, which we have come to enjoy. Our favorite part of the service, without a doubt, is singing Silent Night in a sanctuary lit only by the candles held by each person in attendance. It's a beautiful reminder of what the season is all about.
And after all of the preparation, all of the activities, all of the running around, and all of the costume changes, we made it to Christmas Eve with smiles on our faces. The girls were prepared to welcome Santa and his reindeer with all the necessities. Although Santa may have left our house as thirsty as when he was when he arrived.
It was off to bed, and fortunately both Callie and Reese went to bed without too much fuss. That meant we could finish up our preparations for the big day. And there was even time left over to join the Chrismans for a special holiday beverage Chris had put together. Everyone was prepared to have a merry Christmas.
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