Our second Christmas spent in Florida, and boy was it hot! Highs in the mid-80s each day, lows only down to 70 degrees and muggy all the time. Apparently if we wanted temperatures in the 70s, we should have stayed in Virginia! Here are photos from the week:
Breakfast Christmas morning: homemade cinnamon buns and bacon
Our little Christmas tree
The stockings came with us!
A tiny little piano she got
A little light beach reading on Christmas day
Fun in the sand before getting washed away by the waves
A Christmas greeting we encountered while walking
Might it be time to retire the Obama doll?
Out on a walk
Christmas dinner: ham, mac and cheese, green beans
Ridiculous faces
And more
Looking for manatees, we eventually saw one!
Alligators sunning on the far bank of the canal
Matching sunglasses
Stealing my phone for selfies
Beach walk at sunset
Nothing like a sunset over the gulf
Family beach selfie!
Mmm, cheeseburger at Mel's
His favorite place! (other than Royal Scoop for ice cream)
It's not a vacation without mini golf!
On the golf course (Taken by Charles, not me. I don't golf.)
Sophie said we look alike
But based on this photo, she may not be trustworthy
After church on December 20th, the girls and I settled into Grandma's van for the drive down to Raleigh. Along the way we had a flat tire but eventually got there in the early evening, thanks to the help of some kind strangers. (Papa, notice that they're Harley folks!)
We enjoyed a Christmas meal of ham, mac and cheese, and green beans and then opened gifts that evening. Thanks to Charles, Superman and other super friends were a theme among the gifts for the Keanes. It was also neat to discover that Jon has taken mandolin lessons from Charles Pettee, whose FolkPsalm CD I gave him for Christmas.
As usual, Kelly did a phenomenal job of choosing gifts for the girls. Hannah got a bucket of knitting supplies, and Sophie got a loom for weaving. I see lots of creative projects in their futures!
Monday we spent the day babysitting and playing with Carter and Henry. While Grandma was gone getting new tires on the van, the children had a musical parade. Later Henry did some singing with Grandma. We also built (and knocked over) a Lincoln Log ranch. Fun times in Raleigh for Christmas!
So many productions this month! From middle school plays to school Christmas concerts to church Christmas pageants, there was no shortage of things to do and see in December. Here's the roundup:
First, Hannah played a bit part in the middle school play. They did "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever," and it was fantastic! She was a baby angel and helped the smaller baby angels get where they needed to be.
Next was Sophie's Christmas concert for EMES. The theme this year was peace, and I really liked the song "Peace Child." There are photos and videos below:
Hannah had a school concert too, the middle school instrumental concert. She is playing the flute, and the 6th grade band students played a few songs under the direction of Mr. Buchanan.
And finally, the Christmas program put on by the children at church. It was called "Something's Up Down in Bethlehem," and had the best message about seeing Jesus and caring for the least of these. Hannah was invited to join, and both girls had speaking parts as shepherds in the play. It was very well done and had me tearing up at the end!
Sunday afternoon we all attended our first climate rally. Folks from Harrisonburg gathered to sign a postcard and send a message to the world leaders meeting in Paris this week for the worldwide climate summit.
As you can see on the postcard above, the message was to adopt 100% renewable sources of energy. Several hundred people from the community gathered to sign the postcard and participate in the rally.
As the other big event for the rally, a miniature Eiffel tower was lit to send a message of solidarity with Paris. Earl Martin and his granddaughter lit the tower, him with an oil lamp passing off to her with a solar lamp, representing the change from a world powered by fossil fuels to one powered without the use of carbon.
It was a neat event, and I'm glad that we were able to be part of it as a family and each sign our names to the giant postcard. This is an important issue for the future of our nation, our world, and the human race. I'm proud to be a participant and demonstrate for our daughters what it means to be responsible global and kingdom citizens.
