Don't Miss The Manger

The Kingdom Kid's Choir Christmas musical this year was called, Camel Lot, Don't Miss The Manger! and it was as cute as ever! Growing too old for kid's choir at church is one of the saddest things that has ever happened to Alyssa, but Miss Gina told her she can help behind the scenes from now on ~ so that made Alyssa very happy! Kid's Choir is one our girls' most favorite things ever and it's always so wonderful to get that cd of Christmas music in September and get an early start singing Christmas songs as we shuffle back and forth from school.

There's quite a few photos from the musical here, but they are all my favorites and I couldn't decided which ones to include, so I included just about all of them. You can click the collages for a better view.

Rebekah was a lot less reserved than I thought she would be. I had to talk her into staying for the first few rehearsals, she wanted nothing to do with singing with all the big kids. But she seemed pretty comfortable on stage by the time the performance came around. It definitely helped that Emma was right near her. Some of Rebekah's expressions {yawns included} were funny. She only pulled up/adjusted her skirt about 327 times, so that's something we'll have to work on for next year.






Emma during her solo...she was her typical, consistent, laid back self. Her complete calm under pressure astounds me sometimes.

Rebekah had a small solo too, again, something she would not have even wanted to try a year ago. Their teacher asked me if it would make Rebekah a nervous wreck if she gave her a solo and went on to explain how Rebekah was very timid to volunteer during solo try outs, but as soon as the music went on, her voice filled up the room. I'm so thankful she is coming out of her shell a little. I love how the bottom pic shows that she is barely tall enough to reach the microphone, she's on her tippiest toes in the top picture.

Their similar expressions in this photo cracked me up, two peas in a pod they are.

I love how it looks like Rebekah is checking on Emma in this picture, just making sure her big sister is there, doing what she's supposed to be doing :-)


Do you think Rebekah knows where we are in the audience and that I am taking pictures of her?

Yeah, I think she knows exactly where we are!!

And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. And the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. "And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths, and lying in a manger. -Luke 2:9-12

A Little Shepherd Girl

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. -Luke 2:15-20

Last Saturday was Rebekah's German Dance Christmas party. At the practice before the party as they were handing out costumes for the nativity scene, they didn't have enough costumes for all the little girls in the dance group to be angels. The group is larger than it has ever been and the teacher makes all the costumes, so they were limited in how they could cast the little ones. Rebekah was handed a shepherd costume and she brought it to me with a tiny smile, only half happy about the situation and said, "Can you find me a staff? I'll be a shepherd if you can get me a staff."

I told her how important the shepherds were, how they were the very first to find out about Jesus' birth. I also reminded her how in the Bible Jesus is referred to as "The Good Shepherd." I wanted her to be excited about her role, and I am not sure that she understood everything I was telling her, but she definitely perked up as we talked about it. And the fact that I found her a candy cane yard ornament to use as a staff helped her not to feel sad as she watched many of the other little girls putting on their cute angel outfits.

Such a precious sight ~ all the kids re-enacting the nativity scene and singing.

Her staff doubled as a crutch nearly all night, more than one person asked Rebekah how she hurt herself. I tell you, the child does nothing half way, she was very convincing.

Our sweet shepherd girl.

Getting ready to sing Christmas Carols.

This is something that I am so, so proud of...Rebekah read a German Christmas poem to the audience during the party. Her voice was as tiny as a mouse and we could hardly hear her, but no matter!! During the song that preceeded her poem, as she realized it was almost time for her to go on, she started to tear up, and I could tell she was suddenly feeling remorseful for having volunteered her poetry services. But she mustered up the courage and did it, I was so happy for her especially beacuse I know she could not have managed a similar feat at this same time last year. She's growing up!

On to the dancing portion of the program...this picture is so blurry but I thought it showed how happy and active all the kids are once the music plays.

Having a very serious conversation with her friend Brittany in between dances. I love how kids have absolutely no filter about when it is appropriate to break from a performance and do your own thing.

Such a happy little German dancer.

A Field Trip to the Museum of Wisconsin Art

One day last week I went with Emma's class on a field trip to the Museum of Wisconsin Art in West Bend. I had never heard of the museum before our trip and it was a really neat place.

The artist needs to be from Wisconsin, or a current resident of the state in order to have their artwork on display. Much of the artwork was incredible, some of it was a little odd. The museum is in the process of moving to a new location, we were the 2nd to last school group that got a tour before their closure until April. I hope to go back after they re-open when we can spend more time going through the museum at our pace. There was at least one gallery that caught my interest but we didn't have time to see it.

Getting a good look at Robo-girl. She was quite interesting, made of pipes, aluminum scraps, and other various materials. Her heart was a lightbulb, she held a baby doll head in one hand and was smiling as a tear trickled down her cheek.

The museum had a really cool activity planned for the kids that I am not sure if it is available to all visitors, or just school groups, but it sure kept the kids engaged in all the artwork they saw. The kids started at this treasure box where they received a smaller box that revealed some clues about a piece of work they needed to find.

Once they found the artwork described in their box, they had to open their booklet and learn more about the piece and artist.

There was information in their booklets that they were asked to record, along with filling in missing pieces of the portion of the artwork they were given a snapshot of in their book.

Each of the students I worked with that day, which ended up being about half of Emma's class, seemed super excited about their scavenger hunt around the museum. I thought it was a great way to get the kids to explore the art!

This is an artist's portrait of Byron Kilbourn alongside Emma's portrait of him. She came pretty close, right? Along with a man named Soloman Juneau, Kilbourn was instrumental in the founding of Milwaukee. I wish I knew more historically accurate facts about the story, but from what I understand Kilbourn and Juneau's business relationship soured and the two men argued about almost everything during the development of the city. There is a Juneau Ave. and Kilbourn Ave. downtown with some bridges that make very awkward crossings of the Milwaukee River as a result of their fued and each man's individual attempt to stake his claim of the development there. Again, I'm not sure how well informed I am on the subject as I am trying to recall what I learned on a Jingle Bus tour, but I heard Kilbourn was the nicer of the two men.

Our tour ended with the kids getting to spend some time creating their own artwork using this huge pile of recyclables. The tour guide gave the kids some great news when she told them that since we were one of the last school groups to come through for the year, she was packing up half of the materials you see on the floor so they could take it back to their classroom for future art projects. The expression on Emma's teacher's face was priceless, just what they need, two large garbage bags full of...well, garbage. It was one of my favorite field trips!

Trim the Tree

Every December, the Rep hosts a Christmas Tree Trimming Party and the girls looked forward to it for days. It's a Rep tradition to invite all the families of the cast members for tons of food and fun ~ and at least a little decorating.

However, the day before the party Rebekah came down with an ear infection and later had an allergic reaction to her antibiotic. I felt so sorry for her. She itched everywhere, had two unexpected doctor appointments {which are always stressful for her, even when she feels well} and the red hives just spread all over her entire body. After a few doses of benedryl, a new antibiotic, and missing a day of school to sleep, she is completely fine. And there was no way she wanted to miss the party, even though she was still getting over the reaction.

They started with this bare, white lighted tree and tons of boxes and bins of decorations later, it was anything but plain!

Emma jumped right in with the kid's cast to decorate.

Alyssa and Rebekah worked very carefully on this side table. They decorated with a gold theme and it turned out so cute.

This is as close to a final product photo that I got, with the food there it became way too crowded to get a good picture. They added a mini Christmas tree and all the gold accessories they could find.

Busy, busy tree trimmers.

When it was time to eat, Rebekah ate like a champ...I was relieved that she was feeling better!

The older girls enjoyed a great meal by the tree too.

A quick photo of many of the tree trimmers and cast mates. I have been so thankful for the many ways that the Rep has invited the families of the cast into the whole process and season of A Christmas Carol. Alyssa continues to enjoy the experience and performances each and every day!

“For it is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child Himself.” ― Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

Der Nikolaus Kommt

Every 6th of December St. Nick comes and leaves goodies for the girls.

An early morning investigation of the treats left in their boots.

Does St. Nick visit your house, and if so, what does he bring? At home he left the girls clementines, ice cream cone shaped marshmallows, chocolates and advent calendars {yes, we were late getting started on our chocolate filled ones this year}. At school he brings games to each class and other things their teachers would like for them to have in the classroom. He also reads a special poem to each classroom telling them what good children and students they have been this year.

Rebekah taking a big stretch after their Nikolaus assembly. It must have been exhausting watching all those presents being handed out :-)

Emma and her friend Willow on the other hand, were fascinated by it, or at least by something on the ceiling...with these two who knows what it was that caught their eye.

I know I recommend this book about St. Nicholas just about every year around this same time, but it's still one our family's favorite books. It's feeling a little more like Christmas everyday and I love it!

A Day Off

The girls had a much needed day off from school on Monday. So Sunday night, they set up a fort in the living room and prepared for a relaxing movie night.


They are wearing their Cuddl Duds, which they absolutely love. They aren't actually pjs, but rather microfiber long underwear for wearing when they play outside on a cold day. I had never heard of them before the day I was trying to spend my Kohls Cash and couldn't find black skirts in the sizes the girls need. I saw these and thought they looked pretty cool and comfy. As soon as I bought them, we started seeing billboards on the highway advertising them, and the girls think they are the coolest things ever! I have practically had to wrestle Emma the last couple of mornings to takes her off and put on school clothes.

This is how I found them sleeping on Monday morning. I was surprised that all three of them lasted all night in the fort.

Breakfast in bed...well not quite in bed, but I didn't make them sit at the table, so they were pretty happy.

After breakfast, it was time for homework. I never imagined that a day at home spent doing homework would seem like taking a break, but it was a break, and exactly what Alyssa needed to get done. Rebekah's homework was really quick, so she got to play with play dough.

Emma had to get started on a research project on the invention of her choice. She chose the airplane, and we fortunately had enough mterial in the house for her to get a good start. It's not the first time one of the girls' junior ranger booklets from a National Park has come in handy with schoolwork ~ thank you National Park Service!

Alyssa had to finish a large project in which she had to design a week's worth of lesson plans to teach her class about Canada. She had lots of fun with it, maybe she'll be a teacher someday? I took the true/false quiz she made up for her classmates and scored a 10/15. I must need to brush up on my knowledge of Canada.

For dinner we used a groupon that was about to expire and went to Tazino's {a pizza buffet}. This portion of the post could alternatively be titled Please Don't Take These Girls to a Buffet and Expect to Get Your Money's Worth. I should also note here that these are just play glasses that Alyssa is wearing.

One piece of pizza, a pile of croutons and some oyster crackers? Don't stuff yourself, Rebekah!

Oh, Alyssa, you were hungry for entire plate of canned fruit? Good. Good.

It's sad when Emma is the best eater of the day. Pizza is one of her love languages.

We may not have gotten our money's worth, but they sure had a lot to laugh about. It was a sweet day!

Kamele Says

Rebekah says funny stuff all the time. All the girls do actually, and I know the fact that they are my girls and I see glimpses of myself and Dave in some of their day to day observations and general life commentary is why I find it so amusing. I think it is Rebekah's seemingly so sweet and innocent delivery of interesting remarks that tickles my funny bone and this past week she has been in prime form.

Emma and Rebekah spent a couple days at my parents house after Thanksgiving. When I picked them up from my parents, we had no sooner gotten home than Rebekah was already lovingly tattling on my dad. She told me, "You know what? Grandpa gave me 6 scoops of sherbet! Why don't you give me 6 scoops?" No wonder G & G's house is the place to be!

G & G got Rebekah a treasure box full of Lemonheads candy at the Cracker Barrel. She had never heard of Lemonheads before this treat, and to tell the truth, it wasn't the candy in the treasure box that she was after ~ what she really wanted was the treasure box itself. This morning, Rebekah was trying to get Emma to give her something that they both wanted and she made a sweet but cunning proposal to Emma: "I'll give you a Lemonface!"

Rebekah didn't want to go to with me to drop Alyssa off and she asked if she could stay home with Emma "in charge". I explained that Emma was not going to be staying home either and that she was not old enough to babysit. So she asked, "How about me? I could be the charger. I'm a great charger!" Sure you are, baby. It was a little bit of a Rain Man-like moment...I'm a good driver, I'm an excellent driver. Dad lets me practice in the driveway.

The other morning, she didn't want to finish her breakfast so she looked at her french toast, then looked across the table to me and asked, "Mom, why don't you make smaller pieces of bread?" I didn't immediately answer, because I was wanting to see if she was going to admit to being full, or make up some excuse why she couldn't eat any more. Sensing that I was waiting for her to say something, she added, "This is very big bread for such a tiny girl."

During the same breakfast she asked for milk in very dramatic fashion. I asked if she could wait two minutes and then I would get it. She used one hand to fan her face as if she had just marched miles through the desert to get to the breakfast table, and used the other hand to pat her throat, emphasizing that she could.not.wait. I poured her just a tiny amount of milk, because I'm aware of her propensity to waste. I very handily had put her milk into a measured cup (the kind you get in a kids meal at a restaurant), and she drank not even a full ounce before she was over her parched desert state.

Last Thursday night, after German Dance when it was just me and Rebekah in the car, we were talking about what she wanted for Christmas. There is one specific item that she is really hoping for and I told her that she should put it on her list. She responded with, "Well, Santa's not really real." I know that Santa has nothing to do with why we celebrate Christmas, and he's never been hugely popular at our house, but it still felt sad to hear the baby say she didn't believe. I quickly tried to muster up some disbelief and asked her who told her that. She said, "Nobody, I just thinked about it, and he's not real."

Then we proceeded to have what I thought was a really good conversation about how the legend of Santa Claus began with St. Nicholas who was a very generous man who in the true spirit of Christmas had a heart for giving to those in need, when she broke in and asked, "What about that tiny guy who comes to see us in April? What about him, is he real?"

Huh?!

She was mistaken about the month, but she went on to clearly explain how there was a day at school when there were little green footprints all over the classroom and each child had some gold chocolate coins hidden in their desk. So, just so that we are following the same line of reasoning here; she "thinked" about it and decided that a chubby bearded man in a red suit globe trotting to give every child in the world presents in one night is implausible, but the little green guy who hops off the end of a rainbow to leave treats in her classroom ~ well, she's still on the fence about that one.

This funny face pizza:

All Rebekah...and a tiny bit of Emma. She wanted to use the mushrooms I set out to give our pizza ears, but declared that it would ruin the whole pizza to have mushrooms.

And then just a little earlier this evening she had fallen asleep way too early in the evening so I asked Alyssa to wake her up as I was carrying items in from the car. I came into the living room to hear Rebekah shout loudly, "A-ly-SUH!! Don't kiss me when my eyes are closed!"

You are such a funny muffin, Rebekah. We hope you never change!!