{"id":1012,"date":"2010-12-01T10:04:41","date_gmt":"2010-12-01T15:04:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/winklerworldonline.com\/sda2\/?p=1012"},"modified":"2010-12-03T21:59:09","modified_gmt":"2010-12-04T02:59:09","slug":"december-first-snow-carollers-and-mini-tree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/winklerworldonline.com\/sda2\/2010\/12\/december-first-snow-carollers-and-mini-tree\/","title":{"rendered":"December First\u2026 Snow, Carollers, and Mini-Tree"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Today was a very good day.\u00a0 We woke up this morning to the first snow of the season, and though it didn’t last through the day, it had covered the grass with a ‘sheet’ (certainly not a blanket) of white to remind the little ones of the wint’ries to come.\u00a0 We wrapped two presents today, and spent some quality time in the basement playing sleigh bells\/carolers who knocked at Fran\u00e7<\/em>ois’ house, sang a song or two, sometimes brought a present, and then stayed for the Christmas party.\u00a0 (Once Aidan brought Connect 4×4, another time, Elefun)\u00a0 Aidan likes to knock at the door, be wholeheratedly greeted and welcomed in, sit for a minute, then depart with a cheery “bye!”\u00a0 only to return on his car with another knock moments later.\u00a0 Alexander has been decorating his house with his own creative “Christmas decorations” since the weekend.\u00a0 Then, on a whim he ‘packs them up for summer’\u00a0 Only to take them out again at whatever time he specifies that he will tell us.<\/p>\n

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The kiddos also watched the Cedarmont Kids sing some Christmas song while I worked on sewing Alexander’s Wiseman Cape for his Sabbath School class (so he doesn’t have to use blankets anymore, he says).\u00a0 After a little while Aidan hopped down to spend his usual quality time with the\u00a0 train– pushing it around the track, or running the “troller” to have the train pull his lava rock around the track, and switching out the ‘guy!! guy!!’ to drive or ride on the rock.<\/p>\n

Today, Aidan also brought big smiles to Muma’s heart as he<\/em> took up the “Sabbath School Teacher’s Bench.”\u00a0 He rather clumsily flipped brother’s cards to a couple of pages and shyly told us what he saw, and Alexander and I burst out into the corresponding Sabbath School song.\u00a0 Then, oh, Aidan would smile!<\/em> so excitedly to get his point across and begin fingering for another page to turn to.\u00a0 We probably did only about 4-5 songs, but both Alexander and I were pleased to see him take a turn.\u00a0 AND, though we’re still working on coming right away when Muma calls, Aidan consciously made a very good decision today. And though it seems trite– to watch him after bopping Brother a couple of times on the head quite harshly (he was laughing and wanting to instigate play), stop…hand raised in the air, listen to my voice, watch him register my words, the situation, and make a good decision to lay his hand gently on Brother’s head– it was a beautiful moment today.\u00a0 Then for all of our smiles, he bends down, peeks up into Alexander’s face and says “Okay?” as if to ask him if that was, or maybe he was all right.\u00a0 “Yes, Aidan” says Alexander in his big brotherly voice, “That’s okay.\u00a0 That’s gentle.\u00a0 You can do that.”…<\/p>\n

We ended the day with bath-time and as Papa came home Alexander went to spend some time with him.\u00a0 So Aidan and I took a long casual story and worship time with extra songs and rocking at the end.\u00a0 Alexander got to stay up for a special treat this evening (he slept 3+hours today at nap) and was just so excited to finally get to decorate the little tree ‘just his size’ that we’d set up in the classroom.\u00a0 He carefully helped wrap the garland, and hung all the ornaments sometimes too close to each other, or backwards, and mostly in the front.\u00a0 And though we guided him a little bit, he was just having so much fun in his beyond-his-years mature little way.\u00a0 But he was so excited and proud of himself.\u00a0 We finished the event with a slice of Nana’s pumpkin bread, and later worship with the Shepherds and Temple chapters of his new favorite Christmas story.<\/p>\n