Elf Twister

Madison has put "Twister" on Santa's list this year.  The letter has officially been written and sent off to the North Pole - but we don't think this is the version of Twister that she had in mind!  Still, it was a pleasant surprise this morning under the tree, and the sock monkey seems to be having a great time!

Today was Wednesday, which is always a big day driving to and fro.  At KidPak tonight, we were talking about the candy cane, about the symbolism behind the red and white stripes, the shepherd's crook, and the fact that when you turn a candy cane upside down, it becomes a "J."  It was a simple message, combined with our Wisenheimer invention that showed kids what ideal present was perfect for them this Christmas (examples were handerpants and bacon-flavored toothpaste, items of course not quite on the top of Santa's list).

  

It's a busy season, isn't it?  We've got events coming up, things to do and people to see.  So much happens in December and it's all fun.  But meanwhile, there's work to be done - can you believe Daddy is still writing for January?  Today was a lot of deadlines for Daddy, but things turned out good in the evening at least.

Meanwhile, Madison and Mommy were at ballet.  Classes were scarcely populated due to the fact that many of the girls were involved in practice for the upcoming Nutcracker performance.  Madison will more than likely be involved with that next year.  Her instructor, Mrs. Jocelyn, thinks she'll be a great "littlest angel" next year, which would be sweet to see.  Of course, it will be time consuming with all the additional practices, but it will be nice to see her get involved a step further than the typical recitals.  It's just a matter of balancing all the things we have on the calendar in the weeks that lead up to Christmas.  Way back in October, every weekend usually has an opportunity to go and do something seasonal and fun, and we have so many traditions that are fun together as a family.  And yes, there's always the possibility of a new Christmas play at the church, with lots of practices.  The reason we didn't focus on the Nutcracker this year was because we thought we might have a Christmas play at the church, and that would be too much to go to all those practices.  After a month of planning for it, there was a change of direction, and no Christmas play this year.  So we could have done the Nutcracker after all!  And suddenly, we find ourselves with no practices whatsoever for either.  And that's okay - this is the time of year where we can always find plenty of fun things to do.  For example, this weekend we have the Festival of the Nativity and of course the Nutcracker, and KidPak as always.  There's more we can do as well, just because there is so much seasonal festivity going on.  It's the greatest time of year, isn't it?  

Back to ballet:  it was a smaller, and more personal class today.  Madison and her friend were the only ones there, and Mrs. Jocelyn allowed the two to create their own choreography for a dance.  This they did, after a lot of work together.  Both did the performance at the end of the class, and it was creative and beautiful.  Madison, the choreographer!