On December 2, Friday, we went with some friends from school to a local parade. The parade was relatively short, but the huge red lobster was in the parade and quite a few fire trucks. 😄 We also
met up with one of the other teachers from the school, and it's nice to go to local events and recognize people we know. After the parade, we walked down the street to "A Walk to Bethlehem". A local church puts this together every year, and it is amazing. I've seen several living nativites, but nothing quite like this one. The people line up outside the church building, and then as people file into the sanctuary a person hands them a piece of paper with one of the tribes of Israel on it. They take the "tribes" one at a time through the display, but as you're waiting they have people leading the congregation in Christmas carols. Then a person dressed as a Roman centurion will be your guide through the walk. I can't even fathom all the work it takes to pull something like this together! Each person is dressed for the part, and it is literally a "walk to Bethlehem". You first walk to a room where the prophet is foretelling the birth of Jesus. Then the guide takes your group to where the angel speaks to Mary and she visits Elizabeth. As you weave your way through the building, we come across the tax collector in Bethlehem, and in the church kitchen the "inn keeper" tells you that he had to turn away a young couple. Following the path to Bethlehem, you enter the church fellowship hall which is set us as the marketplace in Bethlehem. There are a bunch of different booths set up each displaying something that might be sold or taught in Bethlehem during the time of Jesus's birth. Also in the church fellowship hall, is a menagerie of animals, yes, real ones! A cow, donkey, sheep, and chickens are on display at the Bethlehem market. Following the market, you are guided to the stable. There a couple is playing the part of Mary and Joseph and Baby Jesus is there also. The "walk" concludes with the pastor giving a simple plan of salvation and inviting people to join them for church on Sunday. It was an amazing experience and one that will be on our calendar for next Christmas season. You are invited to come visit us during the first weekend in December so you can come along with us next year!
On Saturday, December 3, we invited a family from school to join us for supper. This family has children in three of the boys' classes, and the boys have been asking about them coming for several weeks now. Although we did not really know the parents or their boys that well, it was a blessing to have another family over for supper. Roger and I enjoyed an evening with great fellowship, lots of noisy kids and nerf guns, and it was a good opportunity to meet another family in the school.
Sunday, December 4, we picked out a Christmas tree after church. The boys were so excited, and Emma was excited about whatever they were excited about! Since we are not very familiar with Christmas tree farms, we picked one that was a bit disappointing. We had to pick a tree from the already cut ones because it was over budget to go out to the lot and cut your own. However, the boys didn't mind too much, as they were just excited to be getting a tree. We are "living and learnin'" and next year we will do better at finding a place to cut our own. The amount of places to get a real pre-cut Christmas tree are amazing as there are just so many! However, since we enjoy the experience of cutting our own tree, we will try a different place next year. The kids had a good time decorating the tree, and I did a good job of letting them. 😀
Last week was a busy week for me at school, as we were preparing for the Christmas program. I spent several mornings at school with the practices for the program. I played the piano for several of the songs, so Emma and I did have a few mornings where we stayed at school while the program practice was happening. I didn't mind, but I was very glad to spend most of the day on Saturday at
home. On Thursday, I worked with a few other moms doing a Christmas shop for the students at the school. All the items ranged in prince from .25 to $1.00. It was a ton of fun to set it up, watch the kids shop, and wrap presents for them. Several ladies from the church graciously volunteered to help wrap the gifts. This was a huge blessing and those dear grandmas can certainly wrap pretty and efficiently! I wouldn't mind helping with the Christmas shop next year, however, hindsight tells me that we should not do it the same week as the Christmas program!
I also took the boys to get their first professional haircuts on Thursday. They really enjoyed the experience, and I'm glad we made this treat happen for them. I also reminded them that next month mom would be cutting their hair again. 😀 They are certainly enjoying putting hair gel in their fresh haircuts!
Friday night was the school Christmas program. The kids did a great job, and I enjoyed playing the piano for the prelude and a few of the songs. I also think the staff and students are happy to have that behind them. It's a lot of work, but the kids did great. My sister was able to come down for the program, but not her husband. That's probably because I forgot about telling them until Wednesday morning...oops!
Saturday was a "catch up" day at our house. The boys spent much of the day outside building, destroying, laughing and fighting. I made Christmas cookies for our children's Sunday night Christmas party at church. I also had a conversation via phone with a dear college friend. Elizabeth and I have not talked in probably over three years, but we jumped right back into our friendship. We were very close in college, and I'm looking forward to renewing that friendship. On Saturday afternoon we invited ourselves over to Hannah and Josh's house for cookie decorating, supper, and board games. It was a fun evening of famly togetherness. We should do it more often....not the inviting ourselves over to people's houses, but the impromptu get-togethers!
Sunday was a day of worship with other believers. I was asked to play the piano for the church Christmas choir, so I enjoyed playing in church on Sunday. I've actually been thinking that I would like to go back to taking piano lessons again if I could find a teacher who will teach me and fit in our budget plan. Someday...,maybe...we will see.
Monday, December 12, was our first snow day!! We all enjoy snow ❄️ and cold weather, and it was so fun to have a day to stay at home with all the kids! Roger had to work, and he ended up soaked to the skin by the time he arrived home. He could wring water out of his socks as they were that wet! We were just far enough inland that we got mostly snow and not the rain that the coast had. It did change to rain later in the day, but the boys just switched to water boots and kept on going! There were plenty of puddles to mop up by the back door, but they did enjoy this first snow day. The days are flying by, and I wish I could hold back time for just a little bit. The children are so excited about Christmas, and all the fun events happening at school. They are growing up so quickly in the decisions that they are making about picking out presents for others...no more wrapping of used handkerchiefs! We mailed out several packages to friends this week, and the boys are wanting to be more involved every year with wrapping, taping, and mailing. We are praying for more snow, and we are supposed to have cold weather on Friday. Yay! The boys are anxious to try their hand at ice fishing in Maine, so maybe we will get to do that soon along with some pond hockey.
My parents are coming to Maine next week. I've been busy cleaning and organizing for their arrival, but since their arrival isn't until next week, I will still be busy cleaning and organizing! Somehow there is always something that needs doing! We are excited about my parents coming and the arrival of my sister, Jen. It's been about six months and the boys are full of memories and experiences that they want to share.
Christmas tree excursion
Snow!!
Cookies and crafts!
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