I really enjoyed our month of December and the Christmas season. (Last year I was very GRINCH, so this was a nice change.) Brek, of course, was super excited about Christmas. All month long he talked about "giving gifts to Jesus" and we loved that. He also wanted to wrap everything under the sun to give to people.
We had a Christmas party at Church early in the month, and I've got to say, our Santa that came is pretty real looking. Brek has had some major Santa phobias in the past, so we talked a lot about who Santa was and why it is exciting to meet him and what will happen, etc. Brek kept telling us that he wasn't going to be afraid this year. But right before it was his turn, the few women standing at the door, who were really just trying to amp up the excitement, in fact, re-instated his fear and panic. Needless to say, I then had a screaming child I was trying to comfort and calm down in the corner. We watched for a while, and tho he still had no interest in going over to talk to Santa, he was finally convinced when he realized he wouldn't be getting what he wanted if he didn't actually tell Santa his gift request. Brek asked Santa for a Baymax toy. And Santa told him that he liked Brek's hat.
As we were leaving to go home, we saw Santa and his wife leaving as well. Brek was quite disappointed that he didn't fly in with his reindeer, so we explained that the reindeer needed lots of rest before Christmas Eve. Brek also informed us that he wasn't the real Santa, but a Santa helper. I am not sure where he got that idea or information, but it sparked some interesting conversation on the drive home about who Santa is. Brek mostly settled on that Santa loves Jesus very much and he brings us presents on Christmas to celebrate Jesus' birthday because Santa also loves us.
A few weeks before Christmas, my sister and her family stayed the night at our house on their journey from Chicago to Utah/California. We got to meet my new nephew Bennett and see my adorable nieces. The time was too short, but we had plans to see them again just after Christmas, so it was alright. The only picture I took was of Brek trying to hold Bennett, which as you can see, wasn't the perfect picture we wanted.
One Sunday during our "skype" chat with my parents, Brek told my dad, "Wow Grandpa! You're really smart! You must be in kindergarten!"
Joe and Brek shared a conversation that went like this:
Joe-We give presents to people to show them we love them.
Brek-Right. Like we give presents to Jesus.
J-What kinds of presents would you give to Jesus?
B-Be obedient. Be nice to people.
J-That's great!
B-And also to play with Him.
J-Yeah ... Wait. Play with Jesus?
B-Uh huh ... But how do I get up there? ... an airplane?
Our school concert went well. We ended up with a snow day the day of the Elementary Christmas program, and the only day left to move it was earlier in the day of the high school concert night. It made for a very long evening, but all the students did well. My piano playing wasn't too shabby either, if I do say so myself. (It's always a relief when it's not a personal disaster.) We did have the cord come out of the piano mid-song with one of the elementary groups. But we all survived. Joe got to play a tuba solo of "White Christmas" while the high school girls sang backups. That was fun too. Brek was a hoot afterwards, barking orders to all the band kids about putting away instruments and chairs. At one point he was pushing the heavy percussion cart down the hallway back to the band room, with the "help" of another student who could also barely see over the top. And like I said, Brek would see a band kid and tell them to go get such-and-such piece of equipment and then telling the next kid what they should do and then shouting, "WILL SOMEONE OPEN THE DOOR!" Looks like his leadership skills are off to a great start!
Anyway, stay tuned for actual Christmas festivities and the after-parties.
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