December Happenings

Oh my goodness, I am so far behind, I hardly even know where to start! We have had a busy, but oh so fun December! I'll try to give just the highlights.

• We started our Christmas fun with a trip to Santa's Wonderland to look at the beautiful Christmas lights. We went with some of the boys' best friends; Luke, Levi, and Titus, and it was an exciting adventure! We drove to College Station where we met up with our friends' family, and had a great dinner at the Chicken Express. This was a perfect break for the kids to get out and stretch their legs before heading out to look at lights. Santa's Wonderland is a drive thru Christmas lights display, which I've been to in the past, but nothing beats going there with my boys! They LOVED it! Luke was yelling and pointing the entire time! And the smile never left Isaac's face.



• Isaac had a Christmas program at school on the last day before the break, and it was precious! They sang Away in a Manger, Go Tell it on the Mountain, and Jingle Bells. Isaac looked a little more nervous than during his last performance, but he still enjoyed it and did some singing. He wanted to clap after every song, but the boys on either side of him kept stopping him. Poor thing, he was disappointed they wouldn't let him clap. Luke got SO excited when he saw his brother up on stage, his face was priceless as he pointed at Isaac. After the program we got to go back to Isaac's classroom for a brief visit with his class and teachers...I've said it many times before, but his school and teachers are a true blessing!



• Sinterklaas, the Dutch Santa Claus, is always incooperated into our Christmas traditions. Every year we get to see him at the beginning of December and he brings a gift for the kids. It is a great time of singing Dutch Christmas songs and learning more about our Dutch traditions. The boys did great visiting with him, Luke wouldn't sit with him, but he didn't cry...Isaac had a full conversation with him and sat with him for a few pictures. He brought Isaac a new microphone and Luke got a Thomas the Train book.



• We were supposed to host a Christmas cookie making playdate here at the house for our church friends, but Isaac got sick and so we had to cancel. I was so disappointed to not get to do this, so I decided that we'd attempt it on our own. Whew! That was a tough activity, I'm not sure we're ready for that yet. Hee hee! Isaac had fun though, and the cookies came out pretty good. Luke was mad that he couldn't help more, but he got over it once I gave him a yummy snack and a seat where he could watch us. After making the cookies we packaged them up and delivered them to some of our neighbors. Isaac was very excited to have a part in our gifts for our neighbors.



• Isaac talked all month about going to see Santa Claus, so I finally took them towards the end of the month. I knew that Luke wouldn't enjoy it, which is why I hesitated, but Isaac really insisted, so we went. They were both so excited to see him and talked all about him while we waited. Once it was our turn, Isaac crawled right up in his lap, but Luke grabbed ahold of me and did not want to let go. I went ahead and put him on Santa's lap just to get a few pictures, and boy are they priceless! Isaac sat perfectly with a sweet smile, while Luke screamed and reached out for me. I felt a little bad about it, but also got a good laugh from it. The picture was so funny I had to share it, I sent it in to a local TV station, and it was aired on Christmas morning! Unfortunately we didn't get to see it, but the news anchor e-mailed me saying she lvoed it and was showing it immediately.



• Our church held a Christmas Eve Eve service on Dec. 23, so we invited our family and some friends to join us. Oma, Opa, Emmy, Gumby, Mariah, and the Hendersons all came over for a lasagna dinner and then we all went to church together. It was wonderful to have so many special people there with us. The boys love going to church, but this day was different because they got to stay with us. Luke is normally hesitant to go to Sunday school, so he loved that he got to stay with us. He loved it so much that he surprised everyone with how outgoing and wild he was. During the service all the children were asked to come up front to listen to a story, read by the Community Pastor. This pastor happens to be a good friend of ours, and someone the boys adore, so they took it upon themselves to just climb right up next to him on the stage. I got them both down before he began reading, and was shocked by Luke's crazyness, he was so silly during the entire story, he was all over the place! Isaac was sitting nicely, or so I thought, I was busy watching Luke, after a few minutes I look up and see Isaac up on stage next to the pastor again! What!?! I'm not sure who those boys were...apparently they decided it was their night. Hee hee! The service was wonderful, the perfect way to start the true Christmas celebrations.



• Christmas Eve we decided to lay low, just have a quiet day at the house preparing for Christmas and enjoying family time. Isaac has been sleeping in a toddler bed, and we decided that it was time to move him to a twin size bed, so we did it on that day. He watched as Carl moved the bed in, but then I made him stay out as I put on his new bedding...a firetruck quilt...which he has been asking for! He was so excited about his new bed and his firetrucks, he couldn't wait to get in bed that night! Before bed we all crawled in Isaac's bed and read two Christmas stories together...one about the birth of Jesus and another about Santa. It was a sweet time for all of us.