We started each day celebrating Advent. Noah was eager each morning to discover the day's activity listed on the Advent card. We did lots of things from making Christmas cards or cookies to learning about another religion's holiday. We learned about Hanukkah. We did acts of service and compassion like shopping for a child less fortunate or donating food to the local food bank. It is very important that Noah learns and understands that this season isn't about getting, but giving.
Also attached to each Advent card was a sticker to complete the Nativity. Some days came with a verse from scripture explaining the significant Nativity piece like the Virgin Mary or the Three Wise Men. It was fun watching him get excited over a little sticker and the story behind it.
A few of us attended Kari Jobe's Christmas concert to get us on the Christmas spirit. My friends, Morgan and Kamrin, went with me to enjoy the amazingness of Kari Jobe. It was a wonderful, spirit-filled concert. Just the right amount of worship and Christmas carols to start off the season.
Noah's school had a little Christmas pageant at Northhaven. Starting right after Thanksgiving, Ms. Abby started teaching Noah and his friends "The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy" complete with hand signs and everything. Noah would come home singing (and still randomly busts out in song today). I bought the song from iTunes, so we could practice at home. His song only lasted three minutes, but it was so cute watching him sing and dance! Mimi, Daddy and Great Papa were all in attendance smiling ear to ear while he sang. After the pageant, we drove around adoring the twinkly lights on houses and made our annual trip out to the Downs' Family Christmas Light Show to watch lights set to music and support the OKC Food Bank.
Mimi and I took Noah to North Pole City, store devoted to everything holiday you might need for decorating, to pick out a special ornament for the Christmas tree. He got to ride the train round and round. It was very crowded - not really our cup of tea, but Noah picked out a great blue and white candy cane. Noah was fascinated with all the holiday decorations. This is a tradition I hope to keep up for years to come!
I made a few arrangements for my students to give back this season. My Philanthropy Club members made Christmas cards which my bible study girls delivered to a local retirement home. We also sang carols for the elderly after we delivered cards. We hope to go back soon for a game night or share a meal with them. It was a great experience.
For the second year in a row, my bible study girls wanted to volunteer at the Cleveland County Christmas Store. Again, it was such a rewarding experience. We helped moms and dads who can't afford to buy gifts for their children pick out the right present and stocking stuffers for absolutely free. All the toys were donated by members of my church, too! We thoroughly enjoyed giving up a few hours of our time to help spread Christmas cheer.One evening, Cody and I attended our small group's Christmas party. We hopped on a giant limo bus which chauffeured us around to a barbecue dinner at Rudy's then out to watch the lights at the Down's Family Christmas. It was a really great night with really great people. We are so blessed to have them in our life and be a part of this group.
One of Noah's Advent activities was to write a letter to Santa. Daddy helped Noah write it. He gave a shout out to his friends,, Cashton and Kynlee, to emphasize Santa needed to bring them toys, too. We 'mailed' the letter the day we took Noah to see Santa. Noah made sure he told Santa in person that he wanted the Batman cave and 'the claw' for Christmas.
One evening I had a Bestie Christmas with my besties from work, Amanda and Kamrin. We had a great time exchanging funny (and inappropriate) holiday cards this year instead of presents. Amanda and her step-daughter Madison made me a Pepsi Christmas tree. Cute, huh? Still, it wasn't the same without our other bestie, Stephanie Higley, who left us for New Jersey...
During December, I LOVE to check the mail. I anticipate all the holiday cards that will arrive in our mailbox! This year I stole an idea from Pinterest using kitchen cabinets and ribbon to display all the cards! It was such a merry touch to our kitchen. Good thing I have lots of cabinets because we had a lot of cards.
Then I got this crazy idea to have a sleepover for my bible study girls - all 15+. We had a great time playing Minute To Win It games, decorating sugar cookies, watching movies and staying up really, really late.
Get the candy cane from your forehead to your mouth without using your hands or it falling off in less than a minute. Masha, Cody's sister, did it in 4 seconds!
Team Game: Walk 5 paces away from your partner. Throw a small red pom pom on your partner's Vaselined nose and get it to stick in under a minute. Masha and Morgan did it in 51 seconds!
One of Noah's Advent tasks was to make a gingerbread house, but we couldn't find one at the store, so we dipped pretzels instead. We made white chocolate, dark chocolate and mint chocolate ones this year. Noah was the sprinkler. He loved that job.
After our holiday festivities were finished, I took Noah to Hey Day! Family Fun Center for a few hours of games and fun. He collected 845 tickets in just a few hours! He hit the jackpot on one game getting him 255 tickets in one turn! We like to hoard our tickets. We'd been saving up for a while, so Noah and I decided to cash a bunch in. We had nearly 4,000 tickets saved up. We spent half of them getting these really cool Transformers and a few smaller trinkets. We saved the rest of the tickets for another 'rainy' day.
Get the candy cane from your forehead to your mouth without using your hands or it falling off in less than a minute. Masha, Cody's sister, did it in 4 seconds!
Team Game: Walk 5 paces away from your partner. Throw a small red pom pom on your partner's Vaselined nose and get it to stick in under a minute. Masha and Morgan did it in 51 seconds!
One of Noah's Advent tasks was to make a gingerbread house, but we couldn't find one at the store, so we dipped pretzels instead. We made white chocolate, dark chocolate and mint chocolate ones this year. Noah was the sprinkler. He loved that job.
After our holiday festivities were finished, I took Noah to Hey Day! Family Fun Center for a few hours of games and fun. He collected 845 tickets in just a few hours! He hit the jackpot on one game getting him 255 tickets in one turn! We like to hoard our tickets. We'd been saving up for a while, so Noah and I decided to cash a bunch in. We had nearly 4,000 tickets saved up. We spent half of them getting these really cool Transformers and a few smaller trinkets. We saved the rest of the tickets for another 'rainy' day.
Then we decided to call up Great Papa and go to the OKC zoo since the December weather had been in the high 50s and low 60s. We had a great time riding the tram out to see the baby elephant and new male elephant, Rex. Then walking the rest of the zoo grounds to see all the other animals. We really had a great time enjoying the weather and the end of December...and the end of 2011.
