Lots of Christmas Cheer

We had a wonderful day together yesterday, FILLED with Christmas activities. We started the day off with a visit to Santa. We had planned to be there right at 10, when the mall opened, but since we dressed up the girls and all, and a few other things happened that morning, we ran about 30 minutes late. When we got there, we found out the big guy wouldn't even be there till 11, so we hung out in great anticipation for him. Finally, he arrived, looking fat and jolly as ever! Kayla was so excited. Anna, on the other hand, instantly dug her little claws into me in great fear. We attempted to put her on his lap, but she was wiggling so much, she kicked him in the leg and that was that. We decided it just wasn't worth it if she was that afraid. Kayla was the first customer of the day (although we didn't even have her picture done professionally since we think their prices are OUTRAGEOUS) She sat in his lap for probably a full 5 minutes, and although he was talking fairly soft and intimately to her, I was able to sneak close enough to hear what they were talking about. First of course, there was the "what do you want for Christmas?" question. She answered, "new Christmas toys, of course!" They chatted about this and that, "make sure to go to bed early...", you know, the usual Santa talk I suppose, but then the conversation took a turn. I heard him asking her if she was going to sing "Happy Birthday" to him on Christmas morning. Could it be? Was Santa talking to my baby about Jesus...the REAL reason for this season? Yes!!! He went on to tell her all about how he was born in a stable in a little manger full of hay. How cool is that? It was completely unexpected and a total blessing that he openly and unashamedly spoke of Jesus to her like that. It was a total God stop moment for me...you just never know where you might find them, even in the presence of SANTA! He topped it off by making her an official reindeer (which she later shared the title with Anna)



After our visit with the big guy, we headed out to look for our Christmas tree. It was a great lot of trees, and the owner even took the time to snap a quick family shot of us, a rare thing indeed! The girls had fun running around, and even cooperated enough to take a few sweet sister shots. After grabbing a bite to eat and realizing it was WAY past their nap times, we headed home for just that.




After naps, it was time to decorate!! Kayla was really into it this year.....and just bubbling with excitement each time she put a new ornament on the tree (most of them were clumped at the bottom, so we helped out a little with the distribution) Anna enjoyed it too, but was still a little groggy from her nap, so we just let her cuddle the plush decorations for the most part. After finishing the tree and decorating the house up a bit, we were ready to make our very first gingerbread house! I think we'll make this a tradition....it was just so much fun! At the end of the day we all felt tired, but so blessed to have had such a wonderful day.....21 days to go!




Blessings,

Ali