Crazy Christmas Weekend

The blog is a bit neglected lately, but that's because the Christmas season is upon us in full force. Things started on Thursday when our church small group met for dinner and a Christmas movie. I'd promised my homemade macaroni and cheese to my friend Aubrey, who has been bugging me for it for quite some time. So, in addition to bringing a dish to share with the group, I made a special pan just for Aubrey. You can see his reaction:



He was funny because he just sat and hovered over his pan for the longest time. It's always nice to make someone's day!

Friday night we attended the local high school's performance of Scrooge. Three of the kids in our youth group were in it. After the play we walked over to the basketball game, as one of our boys was playing in that. We caught the last minute-and-a-half to see them win!

Saturday we had Christmas with Steven's family. I met his stepbrother for the first time ever. It was a fun time with family.

Then came Sunday. The youth group has been working hard for several months on a dessert-theater production called Christmas Is... Through skits, monologues, music, dance, and puppetry, they presented what Christmas is to some people, and what it really means for Christians. They did an amazing job with their performances.

I was in charge of the dessert portion of the evening. I had volunteers bring desserts, and the kids helped me set up tables, put together trays, pour drinks, etc. Then they served everything. I was so proud of them. Their attitudes were fantastic, they were looking for ways to help, and I received many compliments tonight on how well everything went. This program was a lot of work, but we pulled it off beautifully. And at the end of the show, my sweet students gave me a gift card to The Cheesecake Factory and a framed and matted photo of the group. They all signed the mat. I nearly cried when they presented it to me. I have the best kids! I forgot to take any pictures until nearly the end of the program, but here are some shots of the packed room and some of the stuff on stage:





As this event was also a fundraiser for youth camp next summer, we were pleased that when the money was counted at the end of the night, the kids had earned nearly $900!