Christmas 2012

Things at our house have certainly been busy lately and we are thankful for a bit of down time before we head out of town to have a baby.
JP's parents arrived for a visit the 18th of December just in time to help us get ready for Christmas festivities.  We did lots of shopping, lots of holiday baking, went to church, threw a party, attended a party, went caroling, went to the zoo... It was a busy time and we had a lot of fun.
Though this is Silas' 3rd Christmas, it is the first time that he had any idea what was going on.  Starting Nov. 29th and continuing to Christmas morning, we read a Jesse Tree devotional reflecting on Old Testament and New Testament passages about the Savior and anticipating his birth.  Silas did not get into the story much, but he loved singing out of the hymnal Christmas and non-Christmas songs that had to do with the day's theme.  I personally enjoyed singing "Come Thou Long Expected Saviour" and "Oh Come Oh Come Emmanuel".  We did not actually have a Tree for Jesse Tree this year, but hopefully we can incorporate it next year.

Silas really loved the music and decorations of Christmas.  He learned to sing several songs: Away in a Manger, Silent Night, Joy to the World, Jingle Bells, O Come O Come Emmanuel... and he loves to talk about Christmas trees "Kissmis Tree!"

My other favorite thing this Christmas was hosting a Christmas party with women who live on my street.  As is customary (apparently), the day before the party I went door to door to invite the ladies to the party.  Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) it took 2 hours to get to 5 houses because you have sit, chat, eat something... It was a great way to get to know some of my neighbors a little better.  On the day of the party I was ready just in time - 4pm- and then waited around at least 45 minutes for the first guests to arrive.  And then we continued to wait until everyone arrived - 5:30- and then we were able to start the party.  It was a lot of fun sharing my culture/faith and learning more about their party customs at the same time.  At the end of the party the ladies started talking about how much fun they had and how they needed to make it a monthly thing.

Before church on the 23rd

About 33 weeks