Advent II

Our Advent fun has continued.  We visited S*nta's Trains at a local park.  What a beautiful experience!  It was one of the first nights, and there weren't many people there, so it was quiet.  The train displays were fun, and visiting Santa was quite spectacular.  Two elves checked for Sarah's name on the Nice List (and found it right away, of course), then we made the long walk along a line of gorgeous Christmas trees to reach S*nta and Mrs. Cl*us.  Dad went first to prove it wasn't too scary, then Sarah and I followed.  She didn't want to get in S*nta's lap (which is completely understandable), so she sat on my lap on his foot stool.  She made her request ("all the different color markers in the whole wide world") calmly and politely, and he said he'd see what he could do.  Afterward, we went to dinner at our favorite Ch*nese restaurant.

Sarah is getting quite good at making cookies.  We made four different types (sugar, pecan sandies, peanut blossoms, and oatmeal-cranberry-white chocolate chip).  I discovered I had my nana's recipe for peanut blossoms, on a card in her handwriting.  They were especially good.  :)

She's a careful gift-wrapper, also.

Although this month has been filled with excitement and anticipation, it has not been without drama.  It's still not clear why, but Sarah had a rough time in her physical education class a couple of weeks ago.  She was determined not to return and begged me for days to stay home the next time.  After much angst and many tears, she mustered her courage, faced her fear, and triumphed.  I had a special snack waiting at home to celebrate.

Then there was the class play....  The notice came home in early December -- the kindergarteners would be acting out folk tales for their parents the last day of school before Christmas break.  Sarah burst into tears at the news -- "Mom, I don't want to be in the show!"  I told her she didn't have to, but she had to work with her teacher to find a way that she could participate and support her classmates. 

Fortunately, that week, Dan*el T*ger's Neighborhood happened to have an episode with a similar storyline.  Sarah and I talked about how she could make props or maybe treats for the audience.  I alerted her teacher, and she and Sarah settled on prop-making.  Sarah made the best-looking pretend pizzas ever for the three bears and even got special recognition from the teacher before the show started -- the only participant singled out by name!  She's a shrewd one, that girl.

 

When we got home from the show, there was a package from Grandma to open....

Saturday afternoon, we went caroling in the center of town with members of our church and the community.  There were wagon rides (the horses were from Minnesota!), cookies, and hot cider and cocoa.  It was festive despite the warm temperatures and light rain.

At church on Sunday, we lit one of the Advent candles (Love) and became members.  Although we've felt a part of the church family for months now, it was nice to make it official, especially during this season of wonder.