Our Christmas Season

We spent the long Thanksgiving weekend watching the snow fall and passing the sick bucket around...all three of us got hit at once.  Let's just say it was NOT pretty. Thanksgiving was cancelled and my washer & dryer earned every dollar I paid for them.  We didn't go out into the snow, but it sure was pretty to watch!

Our "window" tree, covered in nativity ornaments. 

Our annual tradition to grab some snacks, bundle up and go find Christmas lights!

Caught this at 5am on the security camera. 💖

Santa was a big hit this year!  Mila kindly asked on my behalf to please wipe his boots before coming in the house in the middle of the night (he always leaves a mess!) and Isaac confirmed that he had been leaving out the right kind of chips & salsa for the Jolly Old Elf: "not too spicy, Santa. Not too spicy". 😂 

A lovely afternoon with Gramma at the Seattle Symphony Holiday Pops concert.  A fun reason to get dressed up!

(he is so proud that he finally perfected his wink!)

"ooohhhh, mommy!  Beautiful Christmas sticks!!"  ~Mila, 2022   😍

School concert week started with Mila in the high school choir and Isaac rocking it in the 5th grade school performance:

We pressed hard into Advent this year.  24 days of Bible stories preparing us for Jesus'  birth:

I was able to sneak in some Christmas reading.  Two thumbs up for "At the Manger" by Peter Orullien:

The Seattle ice storm forced us indoors for extra Christmas movies:

Christmas Eve service:

Christmas snacks--becuase momma isn't cooking for a few days!  The feed trough is open-stay alive kids!:

Homemade gifts.  This year Mila made Isaac a cup to hold his markers at church, and Isaac designed a headband holder for his sister:

Despite Mila kindly asking Santa to keep the floors clean, once again he left a trail on my clean floors *fistshake*: 

At 7:00 on Christmas morning I heard a worried gasp from Mila's room..."oh boy...he made a mess"  😂

Santa brought matching Packer gear for the whole family, which apparently is exactly what the Pack needed to pull out a stellar Christmas Day win against the Dolphins!  We were all yelling for the green & gold!!

It's been a good Christmas season full of special adventures, planning for Jesus's birthday and receiving Him as the ultimate gift, plus snow in Seattle. ;) 

My Christmas Elves 2022  💕

The Best Night of the Year

Every year I've bragged about the awsomeness of the Special Stars Christmas program my kids have been apart of; a beautiful gift from our friends at the Adventist Church.  It's so very precious, amazing, incredible...truly, truly special.

But I wasn't going to sign us up this year.  I've been tired.  The week before has been full of school concerts & parties, teacher gifts and IEP meetings not to mention an overflowing clinic full of hurt kids. Gramma is getting ready for a major surgery and Isaac literally has SEVEN teeth coming in poorly timed with an adolescent growth spurt. In an attempt to cut something somewhere from our schedule, maybe this would be our year to sit out the Special Stars program. It's just one year. We can circle back in 2023.      

The truth I kept coming back to was...it's our Christmas Friends. The cold call 5 years ago from a denomination an entire county away has lead to an annual blessed gathering of now not-strangers.  I look forward to this night to see my kids shine but also to be part of sweet fellowship of Christmas Friends families who have walked this road with us.  I know Sam's mom (Joseph 2019) and I swap photos with Katrina's family (Mary 2018) and little baby Kevin (Baby Jesus 2019) is now in preK!  I have a delightful interchange with the pastor's wife from Auburn every year and there is always a warm hug with "Christmas Heidi"  (I literally have her name in my phone as Christmas Heidi, because I only ever see her at Christmas!). I cheer their kids on with loud hoots & cheers because I know their cheers are the loudest for my kids. We are in this life together not only as special needs families but as Jesus lovers and servants of the Most High.  When we sing O Holy Night together, it's with my brothers & sisters in Christ who speak Spanish, Vietmanese, English, Ukranian and my children from China and Albania.  If there is ever a joyful glimpse into a moment in Heaven, it is this night every year with our Christmas Friends.   It feeds my heart; we needed to be there this year. 

So my Angel and Shepherd (although he declared pretty quickly he was Moses and was here "to make da wader go away"...um...yeah, think a couple books to the right, bud) practiced all week to sing Joy to the World for more than 500 people at the Performing Arts Center. 

This slayed me...when they saw eachother from the opposite sides of the stage <3 

It took multiple minutes to get my two broadway stars off the stage.  They both took to the mics for their personal thank yous (including a shout out to mom!), relished in the ovation, then walked to the front of the stage to take their bows.  If only they didn't struggle so much in the personality department! 

If I had to pick a favorite moment that didn't include my two Special Stars it was the sweet nonverbal boy with CP. His neurotypical angel-helper guided his decorated wheelchair to center stage so he could perform as the nonverbal Zachariah (genius casting by the way!). The angel-helper held the prop as close to his christmas friend's hand as possible to give the illusion that he indeed was carrying the item...but what wasn't seen clearly was the angel-helper softly stroking the hand of his assigned christmas friend, reassuring him, encouraging him, serving him as "Zachariah" shined in the spot light.  My heart absolutely glowed.  I am confident that the heart of Jesus did too.  

This really is the best night of the year. It feeds my soul and while my kids make an attempt to erase Donny & Marie from showbusiness hitory we worship Jesus deeply with these soujourners of faith that have become our true Christmas Friends.