Christmas Performances

It's that time of year-- Christmas performances all weekend! The first was last Saturday.... we had two piano recitals in a row. The first was the "official" recital where each student performed several Christmas pieces. Alex played a jazzy version of "Let it Snow." He really got into his performance... he is such a little ham! Caroline played "O Christmas Tree", "Silent Night" and "We Wish you a Merry Christmas". They both did very well. So proud of their hard work.

The second performance took place at a retirement community in Sandestin. I don't have any pictures, but the residents really enjoyed listening. I love that the kids can share their gift of music with others.

On Sunday, the children at church put on a play and musical. Alex had a singing solo with his group.




And Caroline was an angel and sang with her little group of girls.


Finally, Santa made an early stop at our house last weekend as well, since we will be away from home on Christmas morning. Alex's main gift was an electric scooter--he was beyond thrilled. And here is sis with her beloved American Girl doll, also know as "Sissy".

It was a small, but fun celebration at our house. Teaching the children about the joy of giving to others because of the most precious gift given to us at Christmas-- Jesus our Savior-is our heart's desire as parents. It is so easy to get caught up in the craziness of decorating and parties and buying everyone the "perfect" gift. Since we have downsized and simplified, it has been much easier to focus on advent and preparing our hearts for the birth of the Lord.

We are getting ready to celebrate Christmas with our families in Indiana, so stay tuned for pictures of the crazy fun we will have!