Away in a Manger

the Sunday School class & the toddler room kids. You can see Sweetie's profile, the red sleeve of Lovey's dress & a glimpse of purple for Honey just behind the blonde in the red.

This was the song the girls' Sunday School class was supposed to sing in the Christmas Pageant today at church. Once again we have to go with our standard "2 out of 3 ain't bad" stance. Can you guess which two? Lovey & Honey were the best at singing it at home but apparently that doesn't mean anything! LOL I almost fell over when I saw Sweetie piping up and singing out strong. They were tucked in behind some other kids so I couldn't see anyone else but assumed the other 2 were singing along as well. Murray had a different viewpoint as I'd gone up front to take pictures and he says that Honey didn't let out a peep but Lovey sang along just fine. You just never can tell! At the very end of the show, the entire Sunday School was singing Joy to the World but the girls never wanted to sing this or practice it so never learned any really. Lovey went up anyway & stood with the kids but Honey & Sweetie boycotted this number. Darling angles that they are...

the entire Sunday School & Youth Group teens

I am so impressed with the kids at our church, their numbers seem to keep growing all the time. The girl in the green pants behind Lovey comes with her 2 older sisters, on their own. Their parents don't come, they just want to be there & come for Sunday service & to the youth group events throughout the week. They also came & volunteered for the week at bible school this summer. Very nice to see!



I asked Honey what happened to her song & she said there were too many people so she must have gotten stage fright. I know all about that but usually in a group I'm ok. It's a solo that will crack me! (although I think the choir director learned her lesson as she's never asked me again!)

wheeeeee! we're outta here!!!!

After each class did their part, they got little snack bags with marshmallows, goldfish, pretzels, chocolates and a candy cane. These kept the little ones busy & quiet as the rest of the show continued. Last year I remembered our youth minister telling me that she & her husband had left that to the end and had been up til 2am putting those together. This year I thought I could help her out with them & then decided that Murray & I would just do them for her as she has a fair amount on her plate and is recovering from surgery. Murray was thrilled with this opportunity to serve the Lord... or maybe those weren't quite his words but he did fill over half those bags in no time! Anyway, the bags were a big hit again this year and did what they were intended to do.



Everyone thought the girls were lovely in their "baby prom" dresses and I was explaining how I'd foolishly splurged on these outfits to another mum and she told me they were worth it & that it wasn't the least bit wasteful as they'd be enjoyed to the hilt. (she also has young daughters who like to dress up so she knows what she's talking about I guess!) I did get quite a chuckle out of the people who asked if I'd made them myself. Anyone who saw my grade 8 home ec project that would only have fit a severely disfigured Frankenstein and required a week's worth of repair by my seamstress grandmother would understand how funny this question was. I'm well aware of my weakness in the sewing department and promised my Grammie never ever to venture there again. I wonder where that sweatshirt is now??? I know I decorated it beautifully with puffy glow in the dark paint a la 80's style.....


This afternoon was a little colder than yesterday but we went out to play anyway. The girls wore their new boots and it made a big difference in keeping the legs down on that one piece snowsuit. Hooray! The kids showed Murray the igloo they're working on (humour them if they tell you or show you ok?) and also made snowcakes and some other little snow houses. I worked on clearing out a little space in the garage so the carpenter can have a little more room in there.




With everyone still in their snowsuits, we piled into the car & headed to M&D's for supper. Mmmmm mmmmm beef stew & biscuits! My mumma is a fine lady & a good cook too! (must be where I get it...) She had a surprise for them when they got there that was a big hit. She's taken up beading and is turning out some fancy creations these days. The girls all got new clip on earrings. They immediately ran to the mirror to check out their jewelry and were quite in awe of them. Unfortunately we were only able to find 3 of the 6 earrings before we left tonight but I'm sure they'll turn up under a cushion or something (I forgot to look in the couch Mum or under the ottoman).




I'm not feeling so hot, so I'm headed for bed. If you're a regular blogfan, you'll notice this is a highly unusual time for me to be turning in. With all the craziness of the holiday season, I'm not taking any chances & getting some rest. I don't want to be sick for Christmas!!!!