How do you sum up a season of love and light in just a few paragraphs? We have a few more days with family in Wisconsin ahead of us, but things are quieter. The presents under the tree are now empty boxes and Jason and his parents are "back to work" for one day before the weekend.
Despite two yucky colds in a row to hit our home, there has been a lot to savor this Christmas and Bereket has been right in the middle of all the joy.
It all started with something that's becoming a tradition with Auntie Jolene, a trip to see the holiday production at the Children's Theatre in Minneapolis the weekend before Thanksgiving (while Jason is in Wisconsin hunting). This year, we saw "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." At first, Bereket was afraid of the Grinch, but she has been obsessed with the grouchy green guy with a heart two sizes too small ever since!
The theatre fun continued the very next day at Mayo High School in Rochester. We enjoyed a production of "Cinderella" with our special friends Kathy and Addison and Axel and Lilli. Afterward, the children got to meet Cinderella herself!
The day after "Cinderella", the first yucky cold hit our home. It took a toll on Thanksgiving. Rather than host a celebration in our home, we just met my family at the Festival of Trees. Jason and I kept our distance to not spread our germs, but Bereket was healthy and enjoyed exploring all the beautiful trees and Santa's workshop with her cousins.
Bereket also sent off a top secret letter to the North Pole.
Jason and Bereket decorated our little tree Thanksgiving weekend.
Some new additions to the décor this year were four special sock snowmen that Bereket made with Grandma LuAnn. We also painted a special owl ornament.
Bereket made many Christmas crafts at her daycare. This holiday worksheet shows what a big girl she is getting to be. Bereket did such a great job of coloring in the lines and writing her name!
We surprised Jason with an early birthday present, a tour of Rochester's Christmas lights on the trolley! Last year we took the "south" tour, but this year we took the "north" tour and enjoyed it even more.
Bereket sang in her second church Christmas program. She did such an amazing job up on stage and we were so proud of her. After the concert, she called Grandma LuAnn and said, "I did a really good job!" Yes, Bereket, you did!
Bereket's first Christmas present this year was a special delivery from her beloved Kokeb. We had to try on the new Sophia the First princess gown right away!
More special Disney gifts followed. On Christmas Eve, Bereket and her cousins all opened their gift from Jason and I at the same time. Inside, they found a snowflake ticket and learned that we would be taking them to "Frozen on Ice" at the Target Center in April! Just 3 and a half months to wait!
On Christmas Day, Bereket was delighted to get a Frozen dress and slippers from Grandma and Grandpa Rebhahn.
Next she opened a beautiful Elsa necklace to go with her new dress!
The most exciting gift though was a doll that drinks water from a bottle and then pees in a diaper. Bereket spent the entire weekend feeding and diapering her baby and when she ran out of dry diapers, she held a potty training session in Grandma's bathroom!
But in Bereket's eyes, helping others open their gifts is just as much fun as opening her own!
But Christmas is about so much more than gifts. We were blessed by a beautiful Christmas Eve service at the church I grew up in. Oh, the anticipation of singing "Silent Night" by candlelight!
As we left Elstad, I was overcome by the beauty of this little country church and its stained glass windows. When I snapped this quick photo, it looked like God's hope and light was just pouring out into the night.
This morning, when I checked my email, there was a message from Macy's asking if I got everything I wanted for Christmas. If not, there was a sale sure to replace any disappointment. Thank you Macy's for the offer, but I've been blessed with all I need or could ask for this Christmas.
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