Visions of Sugar Plums

Here's our little girl, at the peak of the magic.  What better night in your life than being seven years old on Christmas Eve?  No doubt she's dreaming of sugar plums and a whole slew of other childhood delights!

NORAD is tracking Santa in this area currently, so we'd all better get to bed quickly - so before we go, here's the scoop on today's fun and adventure:

We woke up early - too early for Daddy, actually.  But Madison was up, and so be it.  I think it was the excitement that today was Christmas Eve.  We let Mommy sleep in a bit as the two of us went downstairs for our "quiet" ritual, which is playing Lego Marvel with the volume down.  When Mommy comes up, it's back to full scale war on the screen, this time with all the X-Men doing Lego battle.

Madison will be in the kitchen area and call out to us to come.  We do, and then she says, "Come closer."  Which we do - and then it's an ambush!  She's hiding near where the mistletoe is hanging, and gives us a sudden kiss on the cheek.  It's a great way to get ambushed!

Mommy did a bit of shopping today, as did Madison and Daddy. We also got wood for the fireplace and did a few other cleaning up chores.  After all, we want the house to look nice for Santa when he gets here.

This is kind of funny:  in Daddy's entire life, he's never won a drawing before.  You know those random contests where someone is chosen to win a prize?  Yes, those.  Never.  Countless assemblies and small groups and online contests and well, anything that requires luck.  To quote that pirate in "Pirates of the Caribbean," the one in the jail cell:  "You have no manner of luck about you whatsoever."  The highlight of this may have been a recent school drawing.  There were five of us and three prizes.  You'd think I'd have a pretty good chance there to win a prize, even if it were something small and pathetic.  But no.  I have never won a drawing before.

That is, until today.  Recently Madison and I were creating our own model versions of the different characters represented in the song, "The Twelve Days of Christmas."  Each year, PNC Bank puts out an estimation as to how much each of the items is worth on the list in the song, and totals up the amount the giver is actually spending on his true love.  Well, this year, we got to make those creations, and enter a contest where we could win a plastic and colorful version of our creation.  Daddy actually won a French Hen.  Yes, it arrived in the mail today, and Daddy gathered the family around much like the dad did in "A Christmas Story."  It's a major award!  The thing was carefully packed in this curled straw inside a cylindrical box.  The family gathered around to see this majestic thing, this major award that Daddy won.  And that's when he pulled out a small colorful plastic french hen, made from these parts:

I'll show a picture later, because I'm just so proud of this award.  It's wearing the striped shirt, and has a red head with a beret.  Currently, he sits proudly on the mantle, his new home each year.  It's the only thing I've ever won in my entire life.  And I'm going to treasure it forever.  Yes, these are tears of happiness rolling down my cheeks - it's a beautiful little chicken, isn't it?  The neighbors will all be so jealous when they see my major award!

Ahem.  Anyway, as is our tradition on Christmas Eve, we went over to Ye-Ye and Nana's house, where we ate and ate and ate.  And then we ate some more.  And then ate again after that.  Followed by more eating.  Shrimp, sandwiches, cheeses and crackers - and all sorts of chocolate.  Ugh, I've got too much in my tummy right now.  Not sure what my dreams will be like!

We exchanged a few gifts tonight - just one per person the night before Christmas.  We all got socks, which was pretty funny.  Daddy actually got Luchador socks, while Madison got Princess Merida socks.  Despite the fact that they were, well, socks, everyone was happy with the gifts.  Seriously, I want to wear mine tomorrow!

We also played a few games, such as "Christmas movie charades," which was rather fun.  We had to guess the titles of Christmas movies, and also Christmas songs.

It was great to go over to their house again for Christmas Eve.  But tomorrow is the "big show."  We're all so excited about tomorrow that we can't wait.  Just one more sleep 'til Christmas!

The cookies, carrots and milk are on a small table by the fireplace, and tonight before bed, Madison and Daddy sprinkled reindeer food all over the front lawn.  The stockings are hung by the chimney with care - and we're all dreaming of yet another wonderful Christmas.

Before we go, here's the second-to-last entry for the Christmas devotional series, based on the movie we saw last night:

DECEMBER 24 - "Ernest Saves Christmas"

Joe Carruthers has been doing the right thing for years. He doesn’t make much money, but he loves his work on a small children’s television show called “Uncle Joey’s Treehouse.”

Imagine his surprise when none other than Santa Claus shows up to his place, wanting Joe to take over as Father Christmas. It was a long list of names at first, Santa says, but in the end, Joe was the perfect fit. He was faithful with small things, and Santa just knew he would be faithful with this next big thing.

Of course, with Ernest P. Worrell in the picture, there’s bound to be a certain amount of craziness. The movie “Ernest Saves Christmas” is a story about making the right choices, despite peer pressure. Ernest always tries to do the right thing, although sometimes he makes a huge mess in the process. And despite a very different kind of pressure, Joe refuses to do the things the world expects of him. He knows better, just like we all do. But he also does better, standing up for what’s right, even while others are mocking him for it.

It’s a simple test: If you are faithful with a little, God can trust you with more. Each time you’re tempted to back down on what you believe, remember this: God is watching, and wanting to see you faithful. He wants to see if you can handle the greater blessing that’s just around the corner.