The telling of the birth of Jesus by kids 15 and under is always fun. At some point you learn the art of stage presence, but most haven’t yet. Some of my favorite moments from this year’s Nativity presentation were: Julia’s decision to not stand, baby lamb Thea’s wanderings (so appropriate that she was a sheep, she even said "ba"), one very active camel, and the existence of Magi princesses (I know, who knew – pretty brilliant).

The simple truth is that Jesus loves the children. He loves their simple offerings of joy. We love to watch them offer it!

This is from their practice night. Something about this sweet girl reminds Mama of the Littlest Angel. Nothing could be more sweet than a small angel patiently waiting.

When did this one grow up?

The Bradford Pear leaves have fallen and the day for leaf pickup is quickly approaching so it is time for Leaf Day! Emily was disappointed that she had to go to school and miss out on jumping time. Julia was disappointed that she was under the weather and her friends couldn’t come and help. But despite the runny nose Julia was a big help to Mama while the leaves were raked.

Daddy ran by the house while Julia was playing in the pile and got some lunchtime hugs!

Running and jumping into the pile is fun! She was very intent to try to build the pile back up before jumping back in. Julia declared that it was Jump Day!

When Emily got off the bus after school she ran into the yard, dropped her backpack on the way, and jumped into the pile. There was plenty of jumping time left before the sun went down.

We had lots of grins all day long!

Julia’s other favorite game of the day was to walk up the mountain. She would walk into the pile while pretending that she was hiking up and over the mountain. Mama called her Bilbo Baggins because it seemed somewhat appropriate that a little person was taking such a big adventure over the mountain. That and we are reading the book together and she would know the reference.

Aren’t they so cute? Don’t they seem like they just love playing together? You would never guess they don’t always show love each other would you?

Well, they are sisters aren’t they – Recently while coloring and making fun paper things they showed that they are sisters too. This was pieced together from reluctant confessions so it might not be as accurate as we would hope. While Mama was out of the room, Julia decided to do something to Emily. She walked over and cut some of Emily’s hair. This made Emily mad and Emily returned the thought and cut a selection of Julia’s hair. Julia’s hair damage is really not noticeable and without the confession it would have taken Mama awhile to find it. Emily’s cut section is a lot more noticeable to Mama. Noticeable enough that it is the reason Mama discovered the act.

Mama’s concerns – Julia thought it was funny and now that she has had a taste of hair cutting she is likely to try it again. It is also interesting that the girls didn’t tattle on each other and all the hair remains were cleaned up before Mama returned.

The girls were super excited about decorating the Christmas tree and all the other decorations going up in the house. Some of the fun kids sayings that came out while we did our decorating were Emily asking if we were going to hang the “garlic” this year. She was referring to the garland. Robby and I had to think about it for a while before we decided to correct her term. Although we have continued to refer to the “hanging of the garlic”. The other cute saying was from Julia. She kept asking when we were going to hang the “jewels” and “diamonds” on the tree. It was her words for ornaments, but we loved the idea that to her the ornaments were like diamonds. Now though if you ask her what we hung on the tree she will tell you that it was marshmallows. She must have loved the S’more ornament collection we have on the tree.

Emily mentioned to me the difference in how we decorated something over the last couple of years. I know she loves Christmas and having the decorations, but it was cool that she could remember such detail about what she sees from year to year.

The girls are counting down the days to get to countdown to Christmas. We have an advent wreath we decorate with ornaments and a book a day to read and it all starts on December 1st. They are ready for the excitement to begin!!

. . . the little girl who organized the silverware drawer. Emily had been fussing about getting her silverware out, so Mama let her organize the kid silverware anyway she wanted into three containers in the drawer. She loved it and was given the job of maintaining it. She doesn’t love the everyday part as much.

Emily’s first class trip was to the Museum of Appalachia. They were the only school group there, so it was easy to keep up with the kids. Keeping up with the kids was made easier as there were also a lot of parents to help with the kids. In Emily’s class alone there were 12 parents for the 17 kids, though not all of the classes had as many parents.

Emily chose to hang out with her friend Charlie for most of the morning outing. We explored the buildings, saw the wildlife, had to speak to all the kids we ran into, and bounced around quite a bit. Emily was not too interested in all the buildings and how things were done, but she picked up on a few things. Charlie was fascinated with the lady demonstrating quilting. I expect she will be asking for someone to give her a go at it herself.

Just as the morning got warm, it was time for lunch and then the return trip to school. Emily was a bit cold because she like most of the kids in her class left their coats and sweatshirts behind at school. Silly kids, maybe they will remember next time.

A warming up Emily in the big field.

The Hominy Mamas who entertained the kids with funny songs and a few fast facts about pioneer life.

This amazing Dad lifted each kid so they could ring the dinner bell. That would be 45 kids in 20 minutes. He got in today’s workout.

Emily with her friend Charlie.

Some hungry sheep out for their lunch.