Christmas

We have had a busy and fun holiday season. It is over now and I need to relate the highlights of the month, but it seemed like only a week ago that I was setting up the tree and decorations while the kids were dancing around the house in such excitement. We have much to be grateful as we celebrate the birth of Christ and the close of an eventful year.

Maggie was in a Christmas play at the school, acting the part of an elf. I must admit she made a beautiful little elf, looking far older than her 8 years with stage makeup on. She is also pictured below with some friends in the ward, Caitlin and Lily Sloan, who came up to the school to see the performance.

Xander had a music concert with all the Kindergarten classes at SAS. His class performed the song "Santa Lucia" about the Swedish tradition of lighting candles at Christmastime. I guess it was fitting since our boy is more Swedish than anything else.

Gingerbread Houses for Activity Days with the girls .

Grandpa and Grandma Gordhamer came shortly after the school holiday began to celebrate Christmas with us (and to do a visa run for their mission in East Malaysia.) As is our tradition, we headed down to the busy Orchard Road to see the Christmas lights and get ice cream. Trying to keep up with 5 busy kids took all 4 of us adults. Fortunately, no one was lost for too long.

On Christmas Eve we went to an ice skating rink in a local mall not to far from our house. The kids were all excited to really go ice skating. The biggest challenge was coming up with enough warm clothes. Xander has church pants on, Ella is wearing PJ's, Abigail and Maggie pulled out their single pair of jeans and only sweatshirt. As you can see, Joseph didn't even try to wear something warm--a true Minnesotan.

Later that evening on Christmas Eve, we had our traditional Bethlehem dinner of lamb, lentil soup, olives, goat cheese, grapes, hummus and such. We try to make the night a time to think about Christ and his life. It is something the kids really look forward to each year. After dinner we had a small program reading the nativity story in Luke, singing carols, and then listening to Abigail and Maggie perform O Come All Ye Faithful on the cello and Silent Night on the harp.

Santa came through again this year and left lots of good things for the kids. We had a fun and lazy Christmas morning opening gifts and relaxing, followed by a Christmas dinner with Cami and her family (I wish I had a picture of that--oops.)

Last child in our family and the last one to celebrate a birthday each year, but certainly not least, Juliet turned 1 on December 26. She has lots of older siblings who love her and wanted to help out on her birthday. Her cake is individual cupcakes in the shape of a "1" in case you can't tell.