Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! What a wonderful time we had celebrating when LOVE came to us in the form of Jesus! The live nativity at Bolivar United Methodist Church was a wonderful experience. I was able to help serve hot cocoa, spiced cider and of course those yummy cookies the Youth Group baked for this purpose. The only sad thing was how few people there on December 23rd. At least all the participants got to enjoy the treats.  On Christmas Eve, I helped with the first children's worship service. We did a practice then dressed in the costumes and had an interactive play and worship for children. Dolly Koon wrote the script and Chad Bowers was the tour guide. He was so funny! He used an accent inspired by Achmed the Dead Terrorist - I know hard to believe he was looking for Baby Jesus and singing Christmas Carols.  I played the part of the Inn Keeper. It was so hard to tell all those kids there was no room and that Mary and Joseph had to go to the stable. They should have made reservations! ;-) After the fun of that worship experience, we enjoyed some hot cocoa, spiced cider and cookies while we waited for the Live Nativity. That was too cute. We had the littlest shepherds and angel. The kids did a great job acting out their parts and the weather was crisp and clear. We followed that experience up with a candle light Christmas Eve service. The music, communion, and candle lit singing is always so moving. When we got home, we connected computers with Joel Jr and Mary via Skype. It was like we were in the same room! Just wish I could have felt those hugs! It was a blast to open presents and chat. Watching the cats play with their catnip toys and walking in front of the web cam made us smile! After we'd chatted, watched Joel Jr. change hats every few moments (I guess I've made enough to last a while), I was feeling pretty tired. It was way past my bed time, but I still wanted to give Papa Bear his specially made book. I was going to just write a letter, but my fingers kept typing - kind of like now! Dayna printed out my finished product and bound my book with a beautiful cover. It looks so professional. This was one more gift of love.   Merry Christmas!