Melissa's Musings: Christmas Recap--Part 1

We had a wonderful Christmas, and a wonderful week since then. I always love the week between Christmas and New Year's; it's so much more relaxed than the week before Christmas! We've played with lots of toys, eaten lots of yummy food, and just enjoyed some good family time together.

On Sunday night before Christmas, we had the annual children's Christmas musical at church. This year's musical was "Shepherds, Sheep, and a Savior" and Matthew was one of the shepherds (who were the main characters). Can you tell what he's doing with his staff?

Yeah, that's right...trying to grab me with it!

Here are two of our cousins, who were also shepherds.

They really did a great job, and I'm soaking it all up, because I know one day Matthew will get to the age that he probably doesn't want to do this kind of thing. I hope I'm wrong, but most kids get a little shy about performing at some point!

After the program, we had refreshments, and then a special visitor. When Tracy was a little boy, Santa always used to visit the kids at church one Sunday night and gave everyone a little goodie bag--maybe an apple and an orange and a few pieces of candy. Most everyone was excited about bringing that old tradition back, although we did have a couple who were vehemently opposed to the idea of Santa. I have to admit, I was a little nervous, and was a bit unsure myself of whether or not it was "appropriate". However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that to some of our kids at church, that might be the only bright spot in their holiday season. You see, most of the children at our church attend because of our bus ministry, and most of them come from sad situations...broken homes, poverty, parents who are not only unchurched but also unsaved, and in some cases, even abuse. For some, that little bag of fruit and candy might be one of the only gifts they would receive. So Santa came by that night, and what a fun time it was! I think the adults liked it as much at the kids.

However, while Matthew does still believe in Santa, he was a bit suspicious of our visitor. He thought he sounded a lot like Uncle Tommy! In fact, one of those cousins even told Santa, "You sound like my granddaddy!" Ihad hoped that Luke might warm up to Santa, since it would be in familiar surroundings and a familiar voice...no such luck!

Moving on to Christmas Day....we always spend Christmas Day at home. Since Tracy and I are both only children, we have no problem coordinating the family gatherings. My mom comes and spends the night on Christmas Eve. She is in charge of getting Matthew in bed and keeping him in bed! We open gifts on Christmas morning and then Tracy's parents come over for lunch.

In July, Matthew decided he wanted to ask Santa for a Wii. Some cousins came down for the weekend and brought theirs, and we had a blast. From that point on, that's what Matthew wanted for Christmas. However, he didn't even see it when he first came into the living room. He was more interested in the guitar he got. Then we directed his attention over toward the television, and here's his reaction!