A Christmas Pageant

Taylor and Chandler decided that this year we should begin our Polk family Christmas festivities with a reinactment of the story of the birth of Jesus. They worked so hard on assigning parts and making costumes and did a great job managing all of the "actors."Taylor called me the day before to tell me that Collin, Henry, and Parker would be the three wisemen, and that if I had "like a cape, or a crown or something fancy he could wear...that'd be great." Sarah Kate was the north star. They firgured that this would work because she could just roam around and everyone would follow her. What sounded to me to be nothing more than a recipe for disaster actually turned out to be the highlight of our Christmas together. It was great to see the kids work on something together, and even better to have our time together centered around a celebration of Christ.

Our directors take the stage to make a we're-not-sure-this-will-work disclaimer.

King Herrod (Colton) orders the death of all firstborn sons.

Edie plays the role of the baby Jesus. (Gender, age, and presence in the 'manger' before Mary and Joseph arrive are to be ignored...they were working with what they had.)

Mary (Lexi) and Joseph (Patton) travel to Bethlehem where they gaze lovingly at the baby, as does the donkey (played by the ride-on dog dubbed "Mr. Nippers" by the kids. We were delighted to see that Mr. Nippers had landed a role.)

The north star (and baby) shines, leading the way to the baby Jesus!

The three wisemen bring their gifts to the baby. (It was impossible to get a good picture of the three of them...this is the best I could do.)

The proud Mama....and wiseman? Looks a little confused.

Chandler performs "Silent Night" in sign language.

The entire cast performs a Casting Crowns lip sync, and takes a final bow!

Happy Monday

I saw this in church yesterday and laughed way too hard. Pretty sure I embarassed David...and anyone else sitting near me. Happy Monday!

Thanksgiving

Watching my kids grow into a relationship with the Lord has been one of the biggest blessings of parenthood so far. They are still so young, but I love to watch them pray. The other night as we were sitting down for dinner David and I pulled SK's high chair to the table and watched her, for the first time, fold her hands, bow her head, and say, "Dear God..." in her precious little voice. Of course, I started to cry.

It had just been one of those days. The garage door broke, kids were sick, I was forgetting things and felt pulled in a million different directions and her words hit me hard. I don't think I cried because I was giving myself a virtual pat on the back, or that I was touched because of her innocence. I think that I was convicted that God wants prayer to be exactly what it was for SK in that moment, an immediate response. It should be an ongoing conversation that we carry on to each new day- a part of what we do and who we are. I was reminded that too often I fail to spend enough time with the One who wants so desperately to hear from me.

So this Thanksgiving, I was reminded of how blessed we are to be able, as children of God, to call upon Him and to access the power of the Holy Spirit. I am so thankful for that! I am thankful for my sweet husband and our precious children and the gift of a loving faithful extended family. I am thankful for friends who encourage and challenge me. I am thankful for the life of Dr. Prentice Meador who so eloquently and boldly taught me the gospel from a very young age and the legacy that he left behind. I am thankful to live in a country where I live so comfortably that my biggest problems are kids with runny noses and to-do lists that never get finished.

And, I'm really thankful that David can fix garage doors! What a man!

Happy Thanksgiving!