The tantruming toddler did not get the last word. She sprung out of bed after nap declaring, “I’m in a good mood now!” Her parents were too. Sleep is good.
There was the rush and rumble to get to church and get the coveted seats before the Children’s Xmas Eve service. We got there in good time and got our prize. Sara and I prayed Laura wouldn’t melt down in the service. We got prayers answered on that, too.
The service was lovely:
-it’s shorter than most services (about 40-45 minutes)
-it’s filled with visuals
-it’s led by 5th graders (who do a wonderful job sharing their musical, reading, ushering gifts)
-Pastor Dan reads a story he’s written in place of sermon
-there IS a children’s time, so kids can stretch their large muscles in coming forward and returning to their seats (this was the best part! What’s special about being born? Aren’t we all born?)
-there’s LOTS of congregational singing (O Come All Ye Faithful, Angels we have Heard on High, Joy to the world, Silent Night) It’s fine for younger children to stand on the pews during the carols when we all stand, so they can see
-the congregational candle lighting at the end always makes children’s eyes grow very wide in wonder… (and parents sweat about children catching things on fire. Again God is good!)
And then we headed home.
I wondered if being home by ourselves would be a let down. It was not. Home is a wonderful place to make memories. We just haven’t had the chance for 3 yrs.
We had leftovers. Yes, leftovers. Lovely, simple, silky leftover homemade mac n’ cheese. We lit all our advent candles. We sang Silent Night along with Bing Cosby. We read the Xmas story. We reenacted it with the Playmobile Nativity Set. Laura was baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Sara took care of moving the wisemen and the camel around. When the angel came to Joseph to warn him to move his family to Egypt, Laura (pretending to be Joseph) screamed and ran away in terror before the angel could deliver his message. It made us all break out in gut-bursting laughter.
We dumped the idea of making cookies from scratch. Maybe tomorrow. There are 12 days of Xmas. No hurry. Santa have to settle for leftovers also for his cookie plate. Sara arranged the plate and opened the doors to the fireplace to make a way for Santa.
Wayne made a lovely fire and played chess with Sara while I read every Xmas book we own to Laura (15). Two of our favorites are Mortimer’s Xmas and Winter’s Gift.
Kids to bed. Parents snuggling on the couch waiting for REM sleep to occur. We relived the past and watched the Farscape premiere. Totally Xmassy. It’s fun that we’re now watching Jim Henson’s shows in Sid the Science Kid and Dinosaur Train. There’s been definite changes, but the puppets in Farscape are still awesome this many years later.
Xmas cheer restored.