Tis the Season! Make It Merry!

It is the most wonderful time of the year… !!  The week after Thanksgiving, Silas and Avery had their precious preschool choir program at church.  They rang their bells with intensity and sang all the words… except that time Avery saw me lower my phone from taking a picture and yelled out, "Mommy, take a picture of me!".  So I raised my phone back up and, of course, held it there for the duration of the program.

I take a half day off about every other week so I can pick up the kids from school - we try to do something fun before going home for their naps… This particular day, they picked Roosters.  Mimi introduced them to this delicious burger place and they want to go every day after school!

Then came Carols by Candlelight week, where life just about pauses for a few days while everyone is at the church for the event.  This year, by far, was the most moving and impactful Carols I've ever seen (this is our 9th Carols)…. truly, it is just as (if not more) powerful to sing in it as it is to sit out to watch it.  You can stream the entire thing here: http://firstbaptistjackson.org/resources/media/media-library/


Friday night, the Sturdivants had their All Decked Out Christmas party at their house - HUGE shindig… and we had Carols, so Mimi and Gay Gay came down for the weekend to help with all the kids. Friday, Silas and Avery had their first sleepover!  They had looked forward to it all week and were so excited Eleanor and Garnett would be staying all night at their house.  After Carols, Bruce and I had a staff meeting at church, then went on to the Sturdivants for the party.  It was a great party!!  We got home about midnight (whew, LATE for me!) and this is what we saw:

No clue how long it took Mimi and GayGay to get them like this….
"Garnini" slept in Avery's crib in the nursery.  I think everybody got at least 3 hours of sleep…..

On Sunday morning, GayGay had to go home, but Mimi took Silas and Avery and Micajah took Eleanor to New Stage to see Peter Pan!  They loved it!!  Remember, this was Silas' favorite ride at Disney World:-)

One night last week we went to do a little Christmas shopping.  Barnes and Noble is always one of their favorites. We played and looked for books, and I said, Avery, sit here with me, I'll read this one to you".  She politely said, "No, mommy" as she turned to sit in the green child chair and cross her legs… "I can read it myself".  I sat there sadly but smiling as she "read" from each page loudly and confidently. Purpilicious no doubt took an alternate ending… but all around enjoyed the story (and Avery's unmistakable voice inflections strikingly similar to Minnie Mouse sometimes).  Precious!!

 

 

Next was Jackson Academy's Pre-K Christmas program. It was absolutely fantastic...marvelous performance by all, but if you ask me, the two toward the left with last name Warf outdid themselves... :-)

Then, Santa came to visit their classroom - one last stop before working hard to finish the toys and pack his sleigh!

Their classroom Christmas party was so cute and fun. Silas was beyond excited to tell me as soon as he saw me walk in: "Mommy, I'm the LEADER today"!!  Sweet boy!

 

Every night, we tell our Elf, Fred, exactly what they want from Santa... or what message they'd like Fred to relay to the big man at the North Pole.  Sometimes, they hold up the magazine (with everything circled...) and tell him exactly what they expect... too funny.

One day Silas decided to let us know that Fred was a girl elf. He explained that Fred couldn't be a boy since all the boy elves stayed and worked all day making the toys at Santa's factory.  Hmm. Okay.

 

Another little note to remember... Silas and Avery were with me in my bathroom one morning while I was getting ready for work. Silas began to rough-house a little (don't worry, Avery has no problem holding her own), but this particular morning she wasn't in the mood. She told him emphatically, "Silas, the elf is watching you and will tell Santa not to bring you presents"... Silas promptly replied "Avery, the elf can't see me in here."  After he thought about it, sweet boy asked me in private, "Mommy, Santa still bringing me presents, right?"  Yes, little buddy, he'll come.

 

Then again, another night, apparently some kids at school told Avery she wouldn't get toys... I sensed her sadness and probed a little. "Table 1, two people told me that cause I talk".  I never thought that kind of thing would begin at age 4!!  Geez, I haven't prepared my peer talk or bully talk to them! (And, of course I had to remember that Avery can be a little "drama" as well) We talked about others making fun of people and how that wasn't nice... and she shouldn't make fun of anyone nor let anyone making fun of her upset. She said she understood and was happy.  Whew.

 

When we were at Mop and Pop's house for Thanksgiving, I noticed a little sign hanging from the lamp in her powder room that said "Make It Merry."  If I had to describe Mop and Pop in a phrase, that'd be it!  Shouldn't we all take the responsibility to make all situations happy? Avery has inherited that too... wherever she is, she wants to "make it merry".  May we all do that wherever we are... all year long!!