Amazing Grace: Christmas Through Her Eyes

It's just 3 days before THE BIG DAY! Somehow we are about to celebrate another Christmas. It all seems like it is going by so quickly. This Christmas season has been so fun! Lilly is really having a ball and enjoying everything so much! It is so refreshing to see her excitement at Santa and Christmas lights and all of the other sights and sounds of Christmas. We have tried our best to experience all kinds of fun "Christmassey" events with her over the past month or so...here are a few...

*Stone Mountain: We went with Cheryl and Marty and it was SO much fun!! Lilly loved it all!! We listened to "The Gingerbread Man" and she had a her picture taken with him, we met Rudolph and Clarice and had our picture taken with them, we watched "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer in 4D"...Lilly was a little scared because of the snow falling and the seats shaking but it was fun!...she wasn't too sure what to think about Bumble either...she would say "I don't like him" and scrunch her little face! :)...we met Ms. Clause and Santa, too!...there was a parade through the town...we went on a train ride and saw all kinds of lights and pretty scenery! It was the best time!! Lilly loved every bit of it and loves to talk about it even weeks later!

*Dickens of a Christmas: This tradition began last year with us and my mom. Once again we ate downtown and walked the streets admiring the people dressed up, singing carols, selling goodies, the live nativity scene, and of course the big Christmas tree downtown. Lilly loved it all! Nick and my mom got a warm drink and Lilly ate a cupcake as we walked around downtown. It was a lot of fun! :)

*Downtown Greer: We met Erica, Daniel, and Emersyn at a pizza restaurant in Greer and then after we ate we walked around. We saw Santa who read "T'was the Night Before Christmas" to everyone! Then we got to see Santa light the big Christmas tree. It was a lot of fun with our sweet friends!

*Christmas Performance at First North: We took Lilly to her first Christmas performance at First North with Poppy, JoJo, and Granna. It was a lot of fun! She loved the bears and the toy soliders the most! She has been marching around like soliders ever since then! :) She also loved the ballerinas. :) The show lasted over an hour and she did great up until the end. When the pastor was talking and praying she yelled out "I ready to go Mama". So red faced and all we scooted out of there as fast as we could.

*Christmas Performance at New Life: She loved watching the kids perform and sing the songs at our church's performance one Sunday morning. But when she was ready to go she was sure to let everyone know!!

*McAdenville Lights: Granna and Paul took her to see the lights and decorations and she was amazed! She kept saying "They worked so hard, Granna!" :)

*Christmas Cookies and Ornaments: Adri, Brandon, Kadence, Kennedie, Kannon, Amanda, Kelbyn, Taelyn, and Bailey came over and we baked cookies and made ornaments. It was a lot of fun! The kids were more interested in running around and playing than baking cookies, but when it came time for decorating them with sprinkles and icing they were excited! It was a fun first year tradition and we are definitely making plans tom do it again next year! :)

*Polar Express: We bought the book and read it, then we bought the movie and Lilly watched the whole thing! Then we went and stayed in a Watershed Cabin in Bryson City, NC Monday night. We met Lacey, Eric, JT, and Oliver and we ate at a BBQ restaurant and then went to our cabin. The next day we ate breakfast, hung out, then got ready and ate at an Italian restaurant in Bryson City. We came back for a nap (Lilly would not fall asleep!) then we left for our Polar Express Train Ride. It was A LOT of fun! Very magical and "Christmassey". They read the book on the train ride, served hot chocolate, a chocolate chip cookie, danced and sang Christmas carols! We had a blast!

We have also enjoyed everyday things like...
*Watching Christmas movies...she loves Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer!! She is still so funny about Bumble though! I bought her a little stuffed animal Bumble so she would realize he is not scary.:) She also has a little Rudolph stuffed animal and Rudolph pajamas that Joy got her and a Clarice lovie that I bought her. To say she is rotten is an understatement! :)
*Singing Christmas Carols...she loves to sing Christmas songs! They are on in our car 24-7. She will burst out singing "Frosty", "You better watch out", "Winter Wonderland" and any other Christmas song you can think of! She is too funny! I love hearing some words that she gets mixed up...like in "Frosty" she will sing "eyes made out of GOLD". :) Too cute!!
*Christmas Decorations...she loves seeing lights and other decorations outside on houses and in yards. Her favorites are the blow up ones of Santa and Frosty. She gets so excited when she sees them! :) She also loves the decorations in our yard, too. When Nick first put lights on a tree in our yard he took her out to show her and she said "Ohhhh pretty!"
*Nativity Scenes: She loves seeing baby Jesus in the nativity scenes. We read books about Jesus all year and she knows who He is. Then at Christmas time she gets to see Him everywhere! She gets so excited and she wants to touch Him and play with Him. Nick's mom bought her a rubber set and she loves to get them out and play with them! :) They had a birthday party for Jesus at church last Sunday in her little class. She had a cupcake and got a little goodie bag with candy and a "Happy Birthday Jesus" cup, too. :) She definitely knows the REASON for the SEASON! :)

Christmas is definitely different through her eyes. She notices everything and calls attention to it no matter where we are. It makes it so much fun because she lights up and gets so excited! I can't help but smile and get just as excited! It takes the ordinary out of everyday life for sure. The lights haven't looked so bright and beautiful as when I saw them when I was a child. The nativity scene has been looked at and talked about more than ever this Christmas. No matter how many times she sees lights and decorations and baby Jesus in the manger, it never seems to get old to her. She soaks it up every time and looks just as excited as she was the first time she saw it. How special it is to experience Christmas with her and to make these special memories! I feel so blessed and so thankful to have these times with her. Christmas through her eyes is so new and refreshing and I'm so glad that I get to share these experiences with her and we will cherish for years to come.

It makes me think of my daddy and how he was always such a big kid at Christmas time. He would get all wrapped up in the movies, and decorations and of course the food and sweet treats! He loved it all! I keep thinking about his last Christmas with us. We went over to his house on Christmas Eve morning for breakfast. He wanted to make Red Velvet Pancakes like they were advertising on TV for IHop! He was determined to make them! I can't remember exactly how they turned out, but just being with him and sharing in his excitement that morning was so special! He always made the best omelets and pancakes! They were so fluffy! His specialty is definitely breakfast food!! I bet he will be cooking a nice big, fluffy batch of pancakes in heaven this Christmas Eve! Have one for me daddy! :)

Christmas has a way of bringing about memories from the past and I just want to relive them all over again. I just let myself go there to that time and that place and feel everything like I did back then at those very moments. Sometimes it hurts because it feels so real and then I realize I am missing those people that I shared those special times with. I can't have them back with me, but how grateful, how thankful I am that I get to savor those memories over and over again.

I know these memories that Lilly is making right now will be ones that she and I will both remember and think back on for years to come. Thanking God for this time together with my family and friends to etch these precious memories in time that will never be forgotten.