Christmas Sunday

 Christmas Sunday just happened to fall on our annual class breakfast with the kiddos. Miller likes to play hooky from time to time from his K Sunday School class to check out just what goes on in his daddy's classroom. Today was not an ordinary day though with our breakfast social with kids. Miller needs a few more years on him to sit through a whole lesson.

We have lots of boy children in our class! Miller loved sneaking donuts and running around playing chasing games. I hope we weren't too rowdy for the surrounding classrooms. The Veggie Tales movie kept them still only for so long:)

No Christmas breakfast is complete without a lively reenactment of The Christmas Story read by Landon.. He usually reads from The Jesus Storybook Bible--{love that version for kids btw}.This year, he changed it up to keep it interesting.
Praying our kids are able to focus all their bursting excitement on Jesus' birthday. The gifts, parties, and candy are all exciting, but we'd have nothing to celebrate if it weren't for Jesus.
Enjoying all these events this season!
 

"Snow" much partying!

I've been itching all year to get into Miller's classroom more often. I do realize I was spoiled last year co-planning & volunteering at every party for PreK4. It's been just a little competitive at his school to secure desired reading slots & party dates this year. The room mom posts the volunteer spot online with a sign up genius & within one hour of posting every single snack, helper, and supply has been secured. So, I got a little smarter and asked her to send me a quick little tip of when the sign up would be coming out. Once I had the inside scoop--this proactive momma secured the Christmas party--{err celebration of the snowman party}.

 Miller's classroom follows a traditional Kindergarten party schedule and celebrates just about everything party worthy. That's what Kindergarten is about ya know.

Miller and his buddy "W". They are two peas in a pod. The room moms planned the party--a traditional "snowman" breakfast party was the theme for all the classes.

 I ran the snowman door stopper center. Aren't these "snow" cute? I love a memory that you can pull out from year to year and reflect on the sticky little hands that crafted such cuteness.

 Miller and "B" ride the same bus route and sit together each morning. He loves her. Her mom commented that Miller's always shouting a morning greeting from the front seat of the bus welcoming his pal each day. I can only imagine.

So the donut stick was so popular this year from Pinterest that grocery stores were lacking in powdered donuts in our area near party time. Confection sugar moustaches are a great souvenir from a successful party.

 They were "snow" adorable & definitely worth repeating at future snowman parties. Between foam snowball shooting, and modge podge illuminaries--we called it a party!
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And, while we're talking parties-here's a fun flashback from Eliza Kate's Thanksgiving party at preschool. The one where I dropped the ball & forgot my camera:) Another sweet mom snapped a few quick photos for memory sake. Oh how it does my heart so good to plan a preschool party.

 Pin the pilgrim hat on the turkey was a hit. Although, some two year olds weren't really into being spun around and blind folded.

Candy- corn tailfeather sugar cookies left the class with frosted noses & fingers. Eliza Kate requested two cookies. She's my good eater always negotiating for seconds any way she can.

The last center was creating fall, pasta necklaces. Lacing with plastic string was just the trick to help  chubby two year old fingers thread the colored pasta.

christmas best

 

Our church has a beautiful trio of trees set up in the preschool department. After church, I wrangled my two for a quick little "christmas best" memory maker. Eliza Kate took some convincing to sit on the wooden rocker. She is seriously so cautious these days in front of Christmas trees. I think she's on guard for a jolly old man to jump out from behind these Christmas scenes.
We really do love all the special activities for the kids at Christmastime. Eliza Kate visited a Trip to Bethlehem with a live nativity and animals on this Sunday. And, there have been crafts & parties galore celebrating Jesus.

Miller is my little cooperative boy with these momma requests. He knows that if he gets the job done--he's off to play.

Eliza Kate's little friend Sarah from class.  Sarah was bribed with candy for her momma to take her picture. EK had candy envy. These two darlings in their red Christmas bows were as pretty as a picture. 

Can you tell this opportunity was prompted & staged? Hey, I'll take any brother, sister affection that I can get.

They really do love eachother, especially at Christmastime.

These two Kindergarteners have been church friends for a few years. Miss Ruby in her Christmas dress was a vision. I know she was praying that she wouldn't get her cheeks kissed by Miller man.
Christmas countdown at our house!
 

The North Point & a donut run

Our kids love taking quick trips to "The North Point" as they like to call it. Miller has North Point Mall confused with the North Pole. But, it's just one of those adorable mix ups that we refuse to correct for cuteness sake. They love chasing eachother in the indoor playscape and visiting the Lego & Disney store. We watched Santa visit with kids from afar and then my two did some "rocking around the Christmas tree" in front of a festive department store display. Can you tell they're bursting with joy?

Forgive the green tint and dark quality. It was not an ideal light situation. But--these were too sweet not to post.

Snowman donuts were calling our names when we spotted the "hot & ready" sign on our way home. Miller got a kick out of taking a bite out of poor old snowman's head.

I love the vintage soda pop hats that make the kids look like they're straight out of the 50's.

This one was so delighted with Mr. Snowman, counting his buttons and admiring his scarf. She very cautiously enjoyed her dessert exclaiming "I'm eating snowman's belly".

And, then she got the hang of the inhaling trick with this addictive dessert.

 

Miller's favorite perch at Krispie Kreme is high atop a chair staring and commenting about the donut making process. That conveyor belt with moving donuts perks his interest. He gives us an excited announcement if one of the donuts falls & takes the plunge into the icing river too early.
Thankful for donut runs & family night outs!

gingerbread tradition

Family traditions make my momma heart sing. Gingerbread decorating is just one of those special traditions that add to our Christmastime merriment.  Not to mention, it's the first night the kiddos sport their matching jammies together. Another Fokens' tradition that gets us in the spirit of things.

We mixed our project up a little this year by crafting a "his" and "hers".We stick to the pre-assembled kits to help us all be less stressed.  After starting both candy construction zones at once--we decided to concentrate on one at a time. 

Every year, I promise that I'm going to remember to construct the project before nap time so there's no waiting around for everything to set before the artist goes to work. And, this year--the day flat got away from me. Tis' the season! 

It's not about perfect construction, candy symmetry, and exact frosting placement though. That ruins all the fun in the 5 year old world.
This month especially nights like these are  cozy times together as a family participating in teamwork & sharing, listening to Christmas music, and relishing the times while our kids are little. So, that was our mission-- but at times these projects can get a little harried with little frosted hands, dropped candy and spills.

Miller won us over when he commented, "Santa's gonna loove seeing these when he comes down the chimney." That one comment made the construction frenzy all worth it.

Lots of little candies added to the train.

It takes attention to detail to please Santa:)

As you can see, Miller's smiler was enough to show how pleased he was with his finished project.

Cinderella's castle construction project was next. We had a minor wall mishap during construction, but a little frosting glue saved the day. Eliza Kate had her own ideas about where all the candies should go. 

The marshmallow clock striking midnight was just the finishing touch to make our castle complete. Of course there was a lot of imaginary play with her cardboard cut- out Cinderella doll & stand. 

Wa-La-- our gingerbread construction crafts circa 2012. Handmade with lots of love.
 

 

Now if we could only get the little miss to stop eating all the candy.

Treasuring our traditions & looking forward to many more.

 

santa's house & bethlehem

We loaded up our sleigh van for a journey to Hickory Flat to catch up with Mr. & Mrs. Claus again this year. Of course, we {oh so delicately} dubbed visiting Santa's house as "let's go see Christmas lights" to calm Eliza Kate's fears. She was on guard as soon as she spotted Mrs. Claus.

We toured their country cottage decorated with Christmas collectibles. This pair loves Christmas. Every nook and cranny of their home is a child's dream. Mrs. Claus' table is all set for Christmas dinner. Popcorn was popping and the coziness of their home gave off the feeling of Christmas. EK viewed all of it from the safety of her daddy's hip.

Since we've already had a lengthy lap visit with the ole' man, we took a holiday tour of lights & sights. There were inflatables galore and little scenes set up outside to capture the children's interests.

Eliza Kate loves spotting her baby in nativity scenes. There's something about little girls connecting with baby Jesus in the Christmas story. Lots of "night, nights" and soft kisses on His head as we read the Christmas story before bed. I keep sharing with Miller, we'd have nothing to celebrate if it weren't for baby Jesus.

These two were up to lots of chasing games and antics. Lots of oohing & ahhing over the festive tackiness and lights at the Claus' home. There were so many details to soak in. They do enjoy a night out with family time as the focus.

On our way back home, we made a very impromptu stop at Walk Through Bethlehem. It was like stepping back into Jesus' day. Actors and children not only dressed the part, they used a memorized script to unfold different elements of the Christmas story. Miller connected to the pint sized actor's the most.

There were interactive booths that would have been similar to the town of Bethlehem. I enjoyed the inn keepers perspective on not having enough room in the inn while Miller busied himself stroking the head of the inn keeper's pet snake:)

Of course, seeing a real baby Jesus drew Eliza Kate into the living nativity scene at the end of our tour.

 

After attending the Johnson's Ferry choir performance on Sunday, we called it a weekend of celebrating the hustle and bustle of Christmas. Hanging in there & thankful for weekends of togetherness to celebrate the reason of the season.

holly jolly again

Once St. Nick was out of her field of vision, our little miss recovered from her Santa woes. Tear stained cheeks were dried , hair combed again, and her bow was positioned just so. Throwing such a dramatic cry around has a way of making a little girl look dishevelled.. She got herself together though with the help of  her dear mommy! Sometimes, a girl just needs to get it all out there with an ugly cry.
 Candy canes have a way of smoothing over frazzled emotions in the two year old world. Yes, Santa's lap was becoming a thing of the past with each minute passing.

They let me snap a few to capture some happier memories of the morning. The after photos show a different mood--thankfully!

 

Now that we've had 2 years of classic crying photos under our belts, I'm crossing my fingers for smiling children next year. For now, we're thankful that we have a year to practice!