December 23 with the kids

Tuesday:  It's "Christmas break" from school until January 5--so today, I had all four kiddos for a little while. I picked them up at their house at 10am to come over to my house to play, eat lunch, and do whatever else we felt like until later in the afternoon.

It's been a few months since FOUR children have been over here at one time. It's always an interesting mix of chaos, and a bit of exhaustion for me. !! BUT ... thankful they still want to come over to my house. We did have a nice few hours together today.

As usual, Aidan went to work crafting Origami projects and making "books" and Cal found the Hot Wheels cars and played for a long time with them.

Erin made some cool things with the MagnaCubes ...

Brendan had a sore throat today, so he was not saying too much (because it hurt). He got settled in on my computer and found a few games to play.

We played some basketball in the hallway ...

We ate a bunch of different things today: Pasta, hot dogs, chocolate milk, apple juice, crackers and cheese, peppermint-stick ice cream, chips and a few cookies.

We also played "Blank Slate" (everyone except Cal) and had a LOT of fun doing it. Erin won! We didn't make it all the way up to 25 because Aidan got tired of playing--so we quit a little bit before the 25-mark. Still, it was interesting to see how the three older kids played this game and I enjoyed it a lot. I think they did too.

We drove back to their house and arrived somewhere around 4:00 in the afternoon. These guys still had a lot of "play" left, so Aidan got out the bin of railroad tracks and together with Cal, we constructed this enormous layout! They have a LOT of track, very interesting ones too!

This is Aidan sounding out a song from the "Harry Potter" movies. He just about has it figured out, too.

Cal was feeling a little bit cuddly, so he snuggled right up and we kept each other warm for awhile.

Aidan also set up his very own bowling alley. Blocks were the pins, and they have a toy bowling ball. So we bowled for awhile too.

When Dylan and Kelly came home at 6:00, I was ready to go back to my house--I was pretty tired! Just two more days until Christmas. 

December 21 at Holy Trinity

Sunday:  It's always a delightful occasion to attend the Christmas Pageant at Holy Trinity. The little children are just so adorable dressed in their costumes, and the Scripture's account of the birth of Jesus is read and repeated throughout. It's not a flashy display of the greatest story ever told, just a quiet and simple telling. 

Here are some pictures:

I kind of snuck into the classroom (!!!) where the children were being costumed and grabbed a few pre-pageant pictures of Erin and Cal.

This is Brendan's last year to be part of the pageant as he will be in high school next year--which I have TOLD him he is NOT ALLOWED to graduate into!! But then, I also told him he was not allowed to turn THIRTEEN, and he completely ignored me and did it anyway. Kids!

And look! Do you see who is one of the THREE kings/magi?!?!? [see the child on the far right, holding the royal blue sparkly box]

And who on earth is giving me a "thumbs up" in the picture below? Can it possibly be our ANGEL ERIN?

In all of your life have you EVER seen a group of more angelic angels?

That one magi, there on the right, looks like he is up to something ...

The children sang beautiful songs about our Savior's birth ...

Note: See that one magi on the right ... doesn't it look like he is holding his present with his chin?!!

I think he is!!!

And look at Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus!

And now for the presentation of gifts from the magi! The fellow holding the blue box finally took his chin off it ...

Excellent presentation of gifts ...

... wouldn't it be such an honor to have been one of them?!

The narration was talking about the *STAR* resting over the place where the young child was born--see the fellow holding up the star? I loved this part!

I think his arm must have gotten very tired holding up the star for such a LONG time! 

And who is that MISSING-IN-ACTION ANGEL being held by his mama (way over to the left)? 

Well! It's none other than young Gregory Callaghan, who declined wearing any wings (perhaps they didn't have enough wings) and decidedly did NOT want to wear a halo on his head. Humph! A BAH-HUMBUG angel in the flesh!

I do love these pictures so much ... Aidan even allowed me to get a very decent few pictures of him returning up the aisle of the church. Such a handsome magi!

After the pageant, we all went to the hall and had refreshments. Aidan and I had a conversation about upcoming Christmas presents--he had a lot of questions about which ones I had gotten for him. I didn't bow to pressure. I told him absolutely nothing.

And here is Erin, completely comfortable and relaxing in the game room (which is probably not what they call it, but I don't know what else to call it ... perhaps it's the "Youth" room?). She has taken off her angel wings and halo ... but she is STILL an angel.

Thank you, Lord, for these children--so precious.

December 18 at Jesse's

Thursday:  I stopped over to Jesse's to say "hi" to he and KT this afternoon. They were putting up their Christmas tree. It's actually an extra one I had out in my shed that I handed down to Jesse a few years ago. I forget why I "needed" a different one for my little house; but it doesn't matter--it looks very nice at Jesse's place! Dear Kaity was in charge of the decorations for the tree. She does a good job!

However, she was lamenting that there was no "star" or "angel" for the top of the tree. I'm not sure what Jesse decided to do about that. Tree toppers are hard to find! I looked for quite awhile and never did find anything suitable for my tree; so I just made do with an angel ornament, and actually like it a lot.

I left Jesse's in order to have dinner with three of the women from my small group. We met over at FayMing's place at 5:00 and enjoyed a very nice Indonesian meal together, telling family stories and getting better acquainted. It's important to do this in order to actually have a friendship! There isn't adequate time on Monday evenings for chit-chatting--because we have our Bible study lesson to discuss, which is the main reason we get together on Monday nights. This year, however, there are 18 women in our "small" group, which really makes is far less than ... small.

The picture below has nothing whatsoever to do with friendships or family or really anything ... except that I love the birds that come to my feeders. And look! There was a very sizable Pileated woodpecker, AND a Downy woodpecker at the same time!

Aren't they beautiful?!

December 16 Friends

Tuesday:  I did it again! I did not take a single picture of the kiddos today. I think what happens is that I am a little worn out from cleaning in the afternoon, and then the three little children get off the bus, come running into the house, all of them talking at once--and then they are immediately ready for a snack, and by the time I actually accomplish some cinnamon toast and fruit for them, I completely forget about taking a picture. 

So pooh.

Prior to my coming over to the kids' house, though, I had lunch with my friend, Julie. I love her. She has been such an encouragement to me. We eat lunch every single Tuesday over at Russ's because we love the fried chicken there. We order exactly the same thing every week! Fried chicken: dark meat, no wings! Julie's side is always the 1/2 order of onion rings, and mine is mashed potatoes and gravy. Each of us orders a tossed salad, and we drink water.

Since we come at the same time every Tuesday, we have the same waitress--a young woman by the name of Daree (which rhymes with "Sorry"). Daree is so good at what she does that she remembers our order right down to the weird details! She has a very large tattoo on her arm that reads: LAM 3.28. We have asked her about it because it's just so visually prominent--it takes up her entire forearm. She kind of hems and haws about the meaning. So we looked up Lamentations 3.28 which reads: "Let him sit alone in silence, for the LORD has laid it on him." It seems a very odd verse to have tattooed on one's forearm, doesn't it? Daree said she chose it because she is a quiet person who prefers to be alone. I don't think that completely answers why on earth you would have that verse indelibly placed on your skin! Anyway, Julie and I have been praying for Daree because she does not profess to know the Lord. We brought her a Christmas card this week and a copy of the book, "More Than Just a Carpenter" by Josh McDowell. It's not a big book at all--perhaps 100 pages. I read the whole thing before wrapping it. What I appreciated about it was that it factually lays out the historical and biblical facts about Jesus, and clearly presents that Christ came to save us from our sins, darkness, and this evil world--and promises new life in Him. We gave it to her after we paid for our meal, and she gave us a big hug.

Julie and Victor have given up mailing out Christmas cards (for many reasons), so in response to my card to her, Julie brought me a gift! Look how pretty it is:

"My dear friend--you are a blessing to me."

Doesn't it go so beautifully on my tree? 

We gave Daree the card I designed this year for Christmas--which is a very simple card actually. The Scripture on the inside reads: "This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him." I John 4.9 It's our prayer that the Lord will use this verse and the little book to plant a seed of truth in Daree's heart.

December 15 Winter Concert

Monday evening:  Brendan is in the Middle School choir, and their winter concert is tonight over at the Forest Hills Fine Arts Center. The concert begins at 7:00, but Brendan needed to be there by 6:30 so I was asked if I could come a little early and give him a ride--Dylan, Kelly, and the rest of the kids would show up by 7:00. 

You have to understand something here: Dylan and Kelly have been married 15 years and have been a one-vehicle family the entire time. I'm serious! They have made it work, even though sometimes it's difficult. It's not like I live close by or anything--but really--what on earth else have I got to do but be available when needed? I'm always glad when they ask, and usually I can accommodate. 

The concert tonight included the 6th grade choir, the middle school choir, and also the Northern Singers (which I think is an ensemble group from the high school--I think the high school might also have another choir too, but I'm not sure). It's always a treat to be at the Fine Arts Center. Forest Hills school district has some very decent and talented music teachers, who truly know what they are doing as far as teaching children how to sing and present themselves.

Here are a few pictures I took with my I-phone (which, in this environment actually does a better job than my Canon--through no fault of my Canon--it's just that "flash" is not allowed during the concerts, and I have no idea how to operate my Canon in a dark environment without a flash).

The sixth grade choir is on the left, and the middle school choir is on the right. Brendan is in the front row, next to the student in the wheel chair. The middle school choir sang "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree", "Last Christmas", a medley from "Frozen", and then all the choirs wrapped up the concert with "Carol of the Bells".

There were many "solo" parts, and Brendan had a brief one too! Of course, I failed to zoom in on him when he was front and center stage, but there he is (below)!

I zoomed in only as he was walking back to his spot in the choir ...

But after their piece was over, all the soloists were called forward for an extra applause. Aidan, Erin, and Cal were very thrilled that their brother was being honored with clapping. 

The Northern Singers sun "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" very beautifully (I love that carol), and later they sang "Mary Did You Know?" arranged by Pentatonix. They sang other songs as well, but these two were my favorites.

Here is Brendan after the concert. It was nearly 8:30 when everything was wrapped up. The little kids looked pretty tired by this time.

I was happy to attend this very happy concert.