Merry Christmas

We sent out a handful of cards this year, but most of our greetings go out over the internet. We hope it's a happy Christmas for all of our friends and family.

We had a good visit with Santa at our new grocery store (which has been so nice to have nearby) last week. There was no line, he gave out giant candy canes, and they even had photographers taking pictures. I thought, "Oh great, they're going to charge for pictures." But they told me to come back several days later and they'd be ready to pick up. Sure enough, they were waiting... for free! I know it's a silly thing to be so happy about, but it seems like even getting a picture with Santa can cost an arm and a leg and be such a headache to wait in line. What a relief! Ezra was silent with a little grin on his face that got bigger when Santa gave him a candy cane. Nolan told Santa that he wants a surprise this year.

I helped Nolan write a letter to Santa. He did a little of the writing and then I just wrote what he told me to. And he's sticking with the "surprise" request. Cute. It's so fun to have kids understand the magic of Santa Claus.

And we've also been doing some new traditions to help us remember Christ during the season. The book "A Christ-Centered Christmas" has been wonderful to use for Sunday activities and family home evening lessons this month.

I highly recommend it since the activities are simple and can be adjusted for kids of all ages. Every time we do one of the traditions we get to place the corresponding figure into our nativity. We're still anxiously awaiting the lamb, the wise men, and the baby Jesus. We most recently talked about the shepherds, made shepherd staff (candy cane) cookies, and shared our thoughts about Jesus by candlelight as we ate our cookies.