St. Nicholas Day

 

I found a space for Mary's path! Each day the children remove a stone and move Mary and Joseph forward. By next Advent I hope to have made a felt star path for her to follow. Maybe as a table runner.

I am behind in my posting. It has been a busy weekend! Yesterday E had his second meet. He placed third in floor and vault, and 6th all-around for level 5 ages 9 AND 10. This boy of mine was made for gymnastics!

 

But let me back up. On Thursday we attended a Navy Fleet Band Christmas concert. The Navy does things differently than the Army, and my children were quick to pick up on the differences. For instance, no National Anthem. No Christmas in Sarajevo. No commentator with a deep voice (where does the Army find all those baritone men?). No medley of service songs where you stand up when you hear your song (my kids enjoy that most of all- standing up to sing 'and the Army goes rolling along') and clap for all the people in the other branches. And no sing-along at the end. The concert ended with a long, slow, dramatic piece that was not familiar that almost every child in the audience found impossible to sit through. No Stars and Stripes or rousing rendition of Rudolph. Sigh. It's hard to please a musician or his family, lol. It was lovely to be out after dark as a family, and to have C sitting with us rather than on stage. The percussionists were fun to watch, Santa showed up, and there was a mini-parade of brass.

 

Before the concert, we helped dear old St. Nicholas fill a few shoes. I was worried that it would ruin the magic for e, but on the contrary! She was curious who might have filled hers, since we filled someone else's. :) The kids were excited to sneak up to a friend's front stoop in the dark, and it only got better when we saw the shoes J and S had left out- clog slippers! They knew their friends would love the goodies and wondered over how I'd known what to put on their year's accomplishments scroll. Advent magic!

When the children woke up, they found that the horse had been quite messy with the hay. In fact e came to the conclusion that the horse ate the plate instead of hay and carrot! I love how she thinks. Imagine her reaction when in her shoe sat the same treats she had put into her friends'. Was it that I had filled her shoe? Nope. It was simply amazement and joy. I love this girl.

In their shoes, e and E found scrolls listing some of their year's achievements, nuts, apples, chocolate coins, and clementines. Even E, who steadfastly refuses to enjoy the magic, smiles when he reads his scroll.