Santa Sightings!

The last 2 weeks we have seen Santa everywhere! I'm so glad he no longer scares my children into tears. We first spotted Santa on his annual firetruck cruise through our neighborhood. This happens every year on the weekend near Trip's birthday. Santa rides through on the truck throwing candy to the kids and collecting Toys for Tots. This was the first year Mady wasn't already napping, so she got to see him too! It is so precious to see the awe on their faces as they wave to him and call out "HI SANTA!" Then, after he rode through on his firetruck, Santa came back to our neighborhood clubhouse that night. This time he drove his pick up truck. :-) When asked where the reindeer were, he had the perfect answer: the reindeer only fly on Christmas eve. At the kids' Christmas party in our 'hood, not only did we have Santa, but there were cookies, hot chocolate, crafts and we brought gifts to give to local foster kids. I'd been searching for a way for the kids to give back at Christmas, so this was the perfect fit. As soon as Santa entered the clubhouse, Mady ran up to him and said, "I Love you Santa!" She is goooood; she melted his heart! They sat on his lap and told him what they wanted. It amazes me how this list changes on a daily basis. I thought for sure that since we wrote down what they wanted on a list and "sent it to Santa" that they would stick with their original list. I was WRONG. I don't know if this means they will be completely disappointed by their Santa gifts or completely happy that it was something that was on their list at some point in time. :-) Trip keeps telling me every day that he doesn't care about the presents; the most important part is Jesus' birthday. Mady hasn't jumped on that bandwagon yet, but it's only a matter of time, once she realizes how much I LOVE that response. Our most recent Santa sighting was at Chick-fil-a. This is the third year we've gone to see the Santa there. For the last two years, he was the only one that didn't make them cry. He is so sweet; he even smells yummy...just like Santa should. So, they sat on his lap again and this time told him a completely different list of things they wanted from when they'd seen him (well, not him, but you know what I mean) at the clubhouse. So, that is 3 Santa sightings in a 4 day span. WOW! And, I'm sure we'll run into him at least a few more times. Santa is such a fun part of Christmas, but I must say my heart swells with pride any time my kids tell me the importance of Jesus at Christmas. If only we focused on Jesus sightings all year long like we do on Santa in December. Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry CHRISTmas!

On a totally different note, I had to include a picture of our angel, Mady, with Trip after her precious Christmas program at preschool. She did so good, singing and dancing. It was such a joy to watch!