Stage Fright

A few weeks before Christmas our pastor called and asked if we would be at church on Christmas morning. I said I thought we would and he asked if we would be willing to be a part of the service. The service was called "A Family Christmas." The stage was decorated like a living room and they asked several families to participate. Some of the family's lit a candle on the advent wreath and read Scripture. Our family's role would be for Jeremy to read the Christmas story. Sounds simple enough, right?

I thought it sounded like fun and after checking with Jeremy agreed to help out. I asked our pastor what his expectations were. I warned him we weren't exactly Norman Rockwell material, but that if he was good with me slipping Titus M&M's to encourage (bribe?) good behavior then we might just be his family.

Our pastor started by introducing the "Family" on stage and commenting on how good looking of a family it was. That we had been hand picked. I thought to myself I've never been hand picked for any job based on being good looking ever....but hey, we have cute kids.

The girls looking all angelic and cute. Notice how I say looking.

Did I mention on Christmas Eve my children were up until approximately 11 pm? Or that Titus was due for a nap? Or that I thought I had this ingenious idea of bringing a basket of nativity themed books & activities to keep my children "busy"?

So, I came armed with my basket...gave a "pep" talk and hoped for the best.
Our pastor had three little brown chairs for our children to sit on throughout the service. (I however knew there was 0% chance our 23 month old would sit anywhere for over an hour...)
So, here we go. Microphone on. Jeremy attempting to read the story. Looking good....
And then Titus attempts to escape.
Faith begins asking me over and over and over again for an M & M. Did I mention Jeremy has a microphone.
Grace begins showing the parts of the story in an activity book to everyone in the audience. So I'm now trying to get Faith quiet, wrestling Titus, and holding Grace's hands......
We survived.....until the children's story portion when Titus and I decided it was time for an early exit.
Thankfully I missed the part where Grace basically attempted to practically crawl in our children's ministers lap to see the pictures. (faint)
Overall, it was pretty much a complete disaster. What made me feel worse is that the other family with young children sat on their brown chairs like they were glued there and barely made a peep. I left feeling like a parenting failure. What to do? First, never volunteer again for my 5, 4, & 1 year old to be on stage for an entire service. And then I gave out consequences, tried to not fall into the comparison trap and gave God the rest.

Aren't you glad our pastor's wife captured the whole thing on camera so I could do the play by play for you? I KNOW I will look back and laugh......someday.

The Excitement of Christmas Morning

The Setup: (I went downstairs first to get a better angle for pictures)

Love the play by play.
A bit sleepy... (We had to wake our kids up on Christmas morning due to their late night on Christmas Eve and us having to be at church on time.)
Jeremy made the girls a bunk bed for their American Girl dolls. It is adorable! (And he is willing to make one for sale to benefit our adoption fund if anyone is interested :)
I even did stockings for the girls' dolls. Ruthie & Kit got matching outfits. :)
Titus' main gift was a "top" for his train table. I found this great train table for super cheap at a garage sale (I think I paid $25) for it! It is solid wood and has two huge drawers on rollers that go under it for storage, but the top that has the design on it had been peeled off. I was able to find a table close in size that sold replacement parts. They sent me this new top for under $20 including shipping! Jeremy trimmed it up and the table was as good as new!


My gift from the kids- a container from the $1 store. :)
Faith waits for Daddy to get out her "Barbie" that Grace picked out for her.
Another super easy & frugal gift were photo albums for the girls. When print were free/cheap I sorted out all the pictures from the past couple years of just the girls together. I made them "sister" photo albums. They loved them!
Grace opening her gift from Faith, a princess art/sticker pack. Don't you love the dramatic face? I have no idea where she gets that from.
Titus opening his rocket plate. Hooray for no more eating off princess, hello kitty, and flower plates.
Our big splurge was on the Disney Princess dolls I got on a Black Friday deal. The girls really loved them.
Sometimes I start to feel guilty about the fact that most of my kids' Christmas gifts are stashed away yard sale finds or handmade. I realize the world doesn't always "get" our life. Why we live on one income, are getting ready to adopt, let our son sleep in our bathroom...

But, when I see my kids' faces in these pictures I realize they were grateful and excited not disappointed. I hope they will grow up with a different set of ideas about what makes a gift special. Not that its new, but that its thoughtful and given with much love. I often see when God asks me to step out in faith in an area my kids are already running playfully ahead. Not worried, but enjoying the joys of a childlike faith. Isn't that what Christmas is all about? God being willing out of love to send the perfect gift, his son, even though the world wouldn't understand. Only this gift would cost him everything so it could be free to me and you. Isn't that the real excitement of Christmas morning?

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve the plan was to go to church with my family and then to my parent's house to enjoy time with my mom's side of the family. Great plan. We were running a bit late due to picking up some pics for my sister. But, we weren't too worried until approximately 12 minutes into our trip we realized neither of us had packed the veggie pizza that was our contribution to the annual Christmas Eve appetizer feast. Opps! We turned around at the next exit but now we were super late. We were rushing because at the end of the service families take communion together. (one of my favorite parts of Christmas each year). We literally waltzed in as our family was going up to take communion. We were there 3 minutes and left. Oh, well better luck next year.

Here are a few pics from the night.

Titus opens his Christmas pjs.
Alison & Kara- gorgeous girls. I enjoyed time to visit and get caught up face to face with Kara and the girls couldn't wait to see their "China cousins."
Bingo


Late night. Kids are in their pjs and ready to head home when they catch their first glimpses of Home Alone 2 on the TV. They were so mesmerized. The Home Alone movies were a favorite at our house growing up. Our kids are still too little for them, but I think it will be fun watching it with them in the future.

Wish we'd gotten a few more pictures. But sometimes you are too busy having fun (or eating) to capture it with a camera.