Today was jam-packed FULL of special Advent activities.
First, our church was having its Christmas service this morning which was so beautifully put together and a great reminder of the BEST gift we will ever have - JESUS! Our friend Brienne played her flute to "O Holy Night" which was extremely powerful! Praise God that He can speak to me even through a flute! Also among my favorites of the service was getting to hear our kids sing (yes, Owen was singing his own little words, too) at their seat especially "Go Tell It On The Mountain". My heart wells up so much when I hear my own kids sing songs to our Lord, and if my heart wells up, I can only imagine what our Lord is actually doing when we, as His children, sing to Him! :-)
After the service, we had a luncheon where we enjoyed every kind of finger food and dessert you could imagine. Yummy! While the luncheon was being set up, we used this time as an opportunity to pass out the Christmas cards we wrote and the snowmen magnet crafts we made for all of the teachers and helpers in Jr. Church and nursery as a way to thank them for their service this past year. Ivy and Owen LOVED hand-delivering the cards; Owen loved it so much that he was grabbing anything he could find to deliver to someone. :-) Great job guys!
I don't know if anyone ever feels this same way or if anyone has ever experienced this or not, BUT I always feel like when you as a parent attend a function with your small kids there that has any kind of a crowd and you try to get around to other adults that you want to talk to and visit with, but no matter how hard you try you are unable to carry on a full and complete and uninterrupted conversation because you are busy keeping an eye on your kids or making sure they are behaving, and then you leave that person and go home and think of all of the sentences that you never finished OR if you did complete a conversation with a person, your kids were probably misbehaving. Well, this time, Nathan and I took on a new strategy at this luncheon to help with these concerns of ours, and, I must say, our strategy REALLY seemed to work! We just sat and stayed in one spot! Yes, we did! We didn't even attempt to get around to other people to talk to them; we just talked to those people who came to us or to those who were around us. I must say...it was wonderful. I felt like I actually really truly talked to a person, and better yet, our kids were contained and behaving. I think we may be adopting a new plan of action from now on. :-)
Anyhow, back to our day FULL of activities...
After returning home from church, Ivy, Owen, and I were to attend our their friend Lincoln's birthday party, while Daddy and Letty were to stay at home; however, Owen fell asleep on the way home and wouldn't wake up for the party so Ivy and I got some special time away.
The birthday party was at a place that was a lot like a Chuck E. Cheese. Ivy really enjoyed going and got to...
...jump and slide and tumble around on bouncy houses...
...play arcade games...
...climb in a little playground...
...bonk sharks on the head...
...and get LOTS of tickets...
to feed into the "Ticket Eater!"
What a fun party and a fun place!
After the birthday party, Ivy and I stopped at Walmart to rent a movie from one of those $1 a night Red Box machines for tonight's movie/sleepover night. We were limited in our choices, but the movie we chose was "The Dog Who Saved Christmas Vacation."
While Ivy and I were out, Owen, Letty, and Daddy had their own fun...
Did you notice Letty making her own truck noises? How cute!
Then, shortly after supper, we had a special visit...
...from our neighbors who were out Christmas caroling for the night! What a special treat! We loved Lincoln's hat - it danced and played music! :-) (Sorry, blurry pictures but a good memory!)
Bathtime for the night was extended to be a little later because the STEELERS were playing...
...and we just HAD to cheer them on! Here we go, Steeler, here we go!
By the way, don't you just LOVE Owen's terrible towel? Someone wouldn't share with him, so he decided to be creative!
Now, the big night FINALLY arrived...we got to watch our movie The Dog Who Saved Christmas Vacation...
...and then sleep in the living room. What a night! I discovered that Owen only wants to sleep where I was sleeping, but not only the spot but ON ME!
AND, Letty had her own sleepover...
...in her crib!
Whew! What a DAY (and night)!
When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us." And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them." ~Luke 2:15-20
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