The busyness of the season has prevented me from blogging or writing much, but I thought that I'd take a moment to share a few things with you. One of our busiest things that we do at Christmas is participate in A Festival of Carols at our church. My mom, dad, sister, husband and I all sing in the choir and my two oldest children are in the children's choir. This year, my two daughters were able to do some ballet during the prelude. I love having the opportunity to sing praises to my God and I love the time with my fellow choir members. Having my children participate just makes it even sweeter.
My oldest daughter participated in the Nutcracker this year and did a wonderful job. It's been fantastic to see her grow and develop her skills. It definitely added to the busyness, but seeing her face glow at the end was worth it all.
My brother and his family were able to come for a visit and we were able to do some of our traditional Christmas celebrations while they were here. It was so great to have them here to participate in our Christmas and I loved seeing my niece and nephews! It was great to have some time for all eight cousins to be together.
Last night we celebrated my brother-in-law's birthday and then headed over to our church for our candlelight service. My favorite part is always when the pastor has the children come to the front while he reads the Christmas story to them and asks them questions. You never know what those kids are going to say! I also love seeing the light spread throughout the congregation as the candles are lit. It's a powerful reminder that we need to be lights in our dark world. I pray that I can remember to do that throughout this coming year!
Today we celebrate our Savior's birth! My family has already opened presents and in a short while we will be joining our extended family to further celebrate this blessed event. I pray that as you celebrate this year that you will take time to pause and remember the reason that we celebrate today. We were given the greatest gift we will ever receive that first Christmas when God came down to dwell among us and sacrifice Himself in order that we could be saved. That's the sweetest story ever told.
Now as I sip my Christmas tea (White chocolate peppermint! Yummy!), I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!
