Holi-daze

I'm behind and life is not settling down so here I am, photo-dumping so many wonderful memories from early December into one mother of all blog posts. Buckle your seat belts, holiday action coming right up.

Two weeks after moving into this new ward (church congregation) I was asked to be in charge of the Christmas party. I'm not going to lie, being the new girl trying to plan a party for 200 strangers (and begging for help from those 200 strangers) was not always easy. But I'm happy to report that our "Night in Bethlehem" was a rousing success and I feel so pleased with how it all turned out. I wish I had more pictures from the actual night but I was running around like a crazy woman, but here is one of the beautiful manger made by the EQ President and that killer well (full of bottled water) made by the Mid-Singles Rep. There are a few more photos below.

 

The idea was that our party-goers would be transferred back to Bethlehem on the night Jesus was born. We were taxed upon entry (everyone brought canned food to donate) and then signed the Census. From there, people were invited to walk through the "Israeli Market" and eat kabobs and rice, hummus and pita, cheese, olives and fruit. 

 The simple table decorations turned out lovelier than I had even imagined.

 The market and the star!

 The Winery was a popular stop--grape juice and 7-Up for the win.

We had a beautiful nativity performance from primary children and the greatest ever Joseph and Mary. Sure, there were a couple of hiccups but I think everyone felt the true spirit of the season which is all that we could ask for. I was so grateful for everyone who helped.

Everyone was invited to come dressed in clothing of the time period, so we bought every sheet our local thrift store had to offer and went to town! It was such a fun night!

The boys had a day off of school because of a terrorist threat (scary!) and were begging to make gingerbread houses. It sounded like a fun idea, but I didn't have ANY of the supplies. I kid you not less than an hour after their initial request I get a call from an awesome teenager who has babysat for us a few times asking if she could drop something off for the boys. She shows up with a complete gingerbread house, a bag full to the brim with candy and all the frosting glue they could ever need. I'll tell you right now I hugged her so tight and even kissed her cheek! Maddie was an answer to our prayers that morning and the boys had a blast! Doesn't their house look phenomenal? They were VERY meticulous about the whole thing.

Little girl and a BIG tree! I really, really miss NYC this time of year with all of those giant trees everywhere. This was our one and only big one this season. Sigh.

T's class had a multicultural feast which meant there was a whole lot of Asian food and then some good old American Christmas cookies with M&M's over there on the end (you're welcome, B9)! 

This little monster found a piece of licorice and then hid on the back porch inhaling the thing! She was already a mess by the time I caught her (and she looked so cute) so I put her in the high chair and let her finish it. She was allllll smiles!!!

Everett had a holiday performance and brunch at school and it was just the cutest thing in the world. He sang and danced to two songs and I could've watched him sing a million more. His favorite part, of course, was the feast afterwards with all the fruit and dessert a little one can fit on one plate! We've been so blessed to have him in this wonderful class with Ms. Ana and I'm so grateful she's given him such a fantastic introduction to formal education.

This is one naughty, adorable, feisty, sweet, friendly, wild, talkative, opinionated reindeer!!!

This is fast-forwarding a little to Sacramento (whoops!) but my parents treated us to a night at Winter Wonderland at Cal Expo and it was absolutely amazing! There were hundreds of massive light creations, there was bubble snow (that's my kind of snow), and ice skating shows, and warm treats. It was such a delightful night and I'm SO glad we got to go.

It really is the most wonderful time of the year. So glad there is so much goodness, fun and parties to enjoy during the holidays. You know me, always up for (and never want to miss) a party! More Christmas adventures to come soon!