Day 5: Cousin Olivia's turn! It's really cute to see the kids' eagerness more and more each day. They swarm around to see what piece will be added to the Nativity and quickly hand me the activity paper to read.
It's our second "Surprise a family with a special blessing" day. I feel like we can definitely do more than one family or person, so we multiply it!
Chex Mix is one of my personal favorites!
All lined up and ready to deliver.
Our first two go to the twins' Apple Tree Preschool teachers,
Ms. Debbie and Ms. Tracey.
They have been the boys' favorite addition to their lives this year
(besides Baby Carter of course).
Next we wanted to bless Ms. Mary at church. Then Ms. Natalie, Ms. Nicole, and the
R family got surprises left on their desks.
I usually take the majority of the work on these types of advent days, but in future years I can't wait to see what the kids do when they are able to take the reigns.
How will they bless? The ideas are endless.
Day 6: "Make gingerbread men and read the book to go with it."
No, this really doesn't have a focus on Christ for our little ADVENTure, but I felt like I should throw in some typical kiddie activities.
Some major cuteness here from my little pastry chefs. They all loved their time to roll, etc. I love this shot of Noah's hand. He can do just a few things all by himself in the kitchen at this age. I'm going to miss how small those hands are in no time.
And here is Hayden, my passionate baker. He is an artist with everything he touches. Coloring, drawing, music...
Oh my goodness, I would love to record him attempting a cooking show in a few months or so. Now that'd be entertaining!
Olivia and Gracie enjoying the festivities. Don't you love Gracie's "Mom, haven't you gotten enough pictures?" face?
Yeah, I sure do.
Finished products!
And now we read. It's an adorable story called "The Gingerbread Baby."
Time to decorate! More of that maple frosting with some red hots and sprinkles.
Day 7: "Watch a Christmas movie!!"
Ahhh, a much needed 'downtime' activity for Mommy to recover. I'm exhausted! For tonight's feature film I chose "The Nativity Story." Perhaps surprising to some, I have already allowed my kids to watch the Mommy-edited version (fast forward through scary soldier raids and births). We did the same thing this evening and by Jesus' arrival in the cave, I was bawling. I absolutely love how the director of this film guided the Mary and Joseph actors. Their facial expressions are so moving and realistic to how they probably felt. As a mom, there is an unexplainable empathy we have for Mary. The joy and crazy love she felt for Jesus as He grew inside her... we feel that on some scale with our own unborn children. How much more did she feel knowing He was her very own Savior? The thought locks up my mind and baffles me. I have this new-found respect and admiration for her. This time of watching the movie was my favorite and the best experience I've had with it. Call me crazy, but I have no doubt that it's because we've been working on getting our hearts ready. It makes this season of anticipation that much more meaningful. I'm not sure yet if this ADVENTure is having a lasting impact on our children. But I do know that it's affecting me; so I'm pretty confident that's a good start. And please, if you haven't seen this movie, DO!
P.S. Since Noah first saw the movie several months ago, he's miscalled it "The Activity Story." Absolutely cracked me up the first time he referenced it that way!
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