First Annual Christmas Pageant…the unconventional version

This year we attempted our very first Christmas pageant with our grandchildren.  (We used to have our Christmas puppets when our children were younger.)

It was a bit rough and unconventional, but we wanted to rekindle the tradition with the next generation.

Our animals included a cow and a zebra.  That’s all.  Yes, there probably weren’t any zebras in Bethlehem, but we had the costume and not a lot of time to create new ones.

We only had one shepherd-and he kept climbing in the manger on top of the baby.

Joseph was frustrated that the animals wouldn’t cooperate and he realized midway through that we didn’t have any wise men.

Our angel was so eager to appear that she peeked out throughout the entire production.  When she did appear, I kept expecting her to yell out “Shazam!”

Mary tried really hard to defend and protect baby Jesus (who did an excellent part lying in the manger).

The paparazzi (whom we love for the pictures they get that capture memories) popped in and out throughout the show, too.

Our stage hand, Irene, had to keep plugging the chords back in for the video which we had playing in the background.

The Christmas Story "Birth of Jesus Christ" Silent Night Music by LDS David Archuleta

Click here if you want to see our unconventional version of the Christmas story.

Merry Christmas!

JoAnn

 

It’s a Wonderful Life…..and a long post

Nothing helps me get things accomplished more quickly than hosting a party at my house does!

Jobs that can take weeks have to be finished on a deadline.  I need that motivation.  Maybe I’m a procrastinator or something, but a little pressure seems to start my “engines” better than anything else.

This Christmas season we have had some good memory making experiences already, and that makes me conclude that all the work and pressure is worth the effort.

(A week and a half ago I might not have been so positive!)

We had a fun party with some friends whose friendships go way back to when our children were babies.

When we were younger, we had the tradition of progressive dinner parties, where we could see each neighbor’s house with all the creative Christmas decorating touches, and then eat something wonderful before moving on to the next house.  All our children were included and it was always a fun evening.

Now that we are older and our children are grown and out of our homes we just go to one place for the evening.

(Maybe it’s all the stairs!)

The concept is the same, we all help with the food, but it is less physical and more relaxing.

This year it was our turn to host.

I wish I’d taken more pictures, but I was pretty busy.

We each brought a sweet treat to exchange-lots of delicious and fun gifts to have for the holidays.

Isn’t it wonderful to have friends?

We have had several family activities, too.  Yesterday we celebrated Liz’s birthday.  Happy Birthday, Liz!

We also took some photos for a very late Christmas card.   
Since I usually take all the pictures, Ken and I were not in very many together and it is pretty difficult finding one that flatters both of us at the same time (ha ha).

I thought about pulling out one from years past, but even that was difficult.

Someone captured these three making some Christmas music!

And my favorite part of the holidays- playing with my grandchildren.

Wish we could have had Paul here from Portland, too.

It really is a wonderful life.

Merry Christmas!

JoAnn

Favorite Christmas Links….part 2

Last Christmas I did a post on some of my favorite Christmas links.  You can check it out

here. 

Here are a few more wonderful Christmas links to watch from this year.

The first one is a short movie about the reason for the season.  It is a beautiful reminder of why we celebrate Christmas.

#1.  He is The Gift

The second one is a wonderful version of  “Angels From the Realms of Glory”performed by The Piano Guys, David Archuleta, Peter Hollens, and 1,039 people dressed as wise men, shepherds, and angels.  It was filmed by Devin Graham.

(It broke the world record for number of people in a nativity scene.)

#2.  Go here to watch.

 

The third link is about the sacrifices of Jesus Christ and what we gain from his life of love, service, and sacrifice.

#3.  Because of Him

I will probably update this post and add more links as I have time and as I run across things I want to share.

Please pass on any good Christmas links you run across, too.

I love my sister Linda’s statue of Christ.

We took these pictures a few years ago when we were at Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake.  The reflecting pond adds to the beauty of the scene.

Beautiful, isn’t it?

Well, have a great week!

JoAnn

P.S.  We made it!  The floors are in.  The dust is gone.  The house is almost back to normal…..

A peek at Linda’s festive Christmas decorations….

My husband and I are crazy!

Certified crazy.

What-were-we-thinking-crazy?

With our first holiday party less than a week away, we decided to do a home improvement project-one that involves moving furniture and a lot of dust.

We had this extra laminate flooring that had been temporarily living in boxes behind the sofa and decided it would be much better served by replacing some old, berber carpet in our basement family room.

(We bought it before we decided to use bamboo in our kitchen and dining room.   We were going to try selling it, but now I’m glad we didn’t.)

My husband is almost finished and the transformation is amazing. (At least I think it will be when everything is put back in place.)

The seams on our berber carpet were never very well hidden and after many years of big family living, it needed to be changed.

Since my house isn’t quite picture worthy right now, and since everyone  seems to be posting fun Christmas decorating posts, I’m putting pictures of my sister Linda’s house on here.

She and her husband David hosted our Thanksgiving this year and their home is so lovely.  She mixed up a little Thanksgiving with Christmas, but it all worked.

We had a wonderful time with all my sisters and their husbands getting together.  Some of our children were with their in-laws, so we had a smaller, mixed group this time.

Don’t you agree that their home is lovely?

I’ll bet our Thanksgiving entertainment was more unusual than most.

We made and launched paper rockets!

It was a blast!

(Sorry about the pun.)

Thanks, Linda and David for letting me share your home and for a memorable, fun holiday.

JoAnn