Angels we have heard...last night.

Last night we attended our very first children's program. It was not the longest program ever, it lasted 20 minutes and we waited 45 minutes for it to begin. But it was the best program that I have ever attended. Mainly, because my kids were in it. They sang about 7 songs, all as a story was being told of a very special tree that was being decorated. You'll have to excuse the pictures. As I'm sure most of the other parents were attending their children's first program, they were also very rude and I couldn' t get many good pictures. I do have a very good mental image though, and that's what counts...right?!

C's class started the whole thing off by singing "Jingle Bells." You can see that he spotted us right away and did NOT take his eyes off of us the entire time.

They had only been practicing for 2 weeks (The teacher said 2 weeks, but I think longer. I know my kids were singing the songs many more weeks before in the car on the way home), but they sounded so great. 2 year olds all the way to 5 year olds!

They not only sang the songs, but they did motions with them as well. It was great!

Miss M's class were the bear family, so of course they wore their bear ears so we all knew who they were. Here she is walking in. She hadn't noticed us yet, but like C, once she did her eyes didn't stray from us. Except to look for C, she had to make sure she knew where he was and what he was doing the whole time.

Now she's found us!

This is her watching to make sure the tree that was being decorated was done correctly. I am willing to bet, that if someone had put a decoration in the wrong place, she'd have let them know!

This was also the reason that Miss M had to watch C. She knew that he was playing the roll of Joseph during "Away in a Manger" and she wanted to make sure he was dressed just right.

He was. He did such a fantastic job. He sang the song and did the motions. He was the best Joseph that I've ever seen.

This was also a very special honor since he and Mary were the only one's chosen to dress up for the program. We're proud of you buddy!

Here is the finished product. The tree is all decorated with a star, Shinny Pinecones, Hollyberries, Chunks of Cheese, and Sparkling Lights.

One of the songs that the kids sang was "Go Tell It On The Mountain." I love hearing Miss M sing this song because she learned me something new. Did you know that we have been referring to Jesus the wrong way?! Yep, we sure have. He is not Jesus Christ, he is Jesus Prist. And in the song, just so you know, "Jesus Prist is born!" and she sings it so enthusiasticlly that you actually start to believe her!

The kids loved practicing for the program as well as putting it on. In fact, in the car on the way home from school today, Miss M said "Mama, we didn't go to the stage to practice today :(" I had to tell her that they wouldn't be anymore since the program was over. It made her sad.

Then she realized that Santa is comming tonight and she got over it :)
Speaking of, we do indeed have Santa comming tonight. Since we spend Christmas with family, we choose to celebrate Christmas early for two reasons.

1. We don't have as many toys to load into the truck. and

2. The kids can enjoy their stash from Santa and us for a while, and then enjoy the rest of their goodies when they get them at Christmas from everyone else.

I think that we are all prepared for the big guys arrival. We wrote him letters letting him know what we want him to bring us, we baked him LOTS of cookies and have the plate and cup sitting out (as well as a brand new gallon of milk ready for him), and we are making reindeer food for the reindeer (duh) as soon as they get up from the naps that they are NOT taking.

We have all of our presents bought and wrapped. AND the stocking are hung from the chimney entertainment center with care. Since we don't have a fireplace we can't very well hang the stockings from it, so our entertainment center will have to do. Actually, we've hung them here for a few years, minus the last two since we had fireplaces in the last two houses, and I quite missed them hanging here. I've come to realize that they look quite nice on the entertainment center.

I also have breakfast ready to go for the morning. I love to make something special Christmas morning and this year I am making Stuffed Sticky Rolls...a Paula recipe. I can't wait to try them!

Santa...get your belly ready for some yummy good cookies!

Presents...HERE WE COME!