December 30 – “Our Christmas Day – Part Two”

Lunch is always a special part of our Christmas Day.  This year I actually got to choose the main course.  That was an easy one for me.  Since we weren't sure about the weather, and since frying shrimp around our house is done outdoors, I selected Chris's chicken enchilada pie.  It's more of a casserole than a pie, but whatever you call it, it sure tastes good.  Chris had to make two separate dishes, though.  One was made with some of the turkey we fried at Thanksgiving and put in the freezer.  But she had to make a special one out of plain old chicken for Jachin.  He's allergic to peanuts and the turkey was fried in peanut oil.  Christina brought over a chocolate pie and an apple pie.  I think there were probably some vegetables somewhere on the table, but who counts those anyway?   Part of the day's festivities included the kids helping Chris bake and decorate a birthday cake for Jesus.  That's always a fun thing to watch.  After we got the candles lit – several times because someone kept blowing them out – it was time to sing.  And Zakary never missed a beat.  He led out in the singing and everyone joined in a rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday, Dear Jesus."   That night we capped off the Christmas theme with a trip to the Moody Gardens Festival of Lights.  Cailyn was a lot of fun to watch as she recognized the different characters and animals outlined with lights.  Josiah stayed pretty snug in his stroller, although he did manage to find his way into someone's arms every now and then.  Caleb surprised me (and his Daddy) with his grasp of the language.  I was carrying him at one point, and he pointed out and said "Lion."  He also called the fox a kitty cat, but that was probably because that's what Mom thought it was.   They all loved the pirate ship, and I don't remember seeing Jachin hamming it up for photo ops like he did.  Micah was startled at first when walked through an array of animals and a recording of assorted jungle sounds began.  He told Zakary that he thought there really were animals out there.  A quick cup of hot chocolate when we got home and everyone was ready to hit the sack.   Wow.  It feels like I just finished an essay for school on "How I spent my Christmas Break."    1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 says, "May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it."   Father, days like this are so full and tiring and frantic and … worth it.  Amen.