Festival of Nativities, Lantern Walk and more Holiday festivities.

After cutting down our Christmas tree on friday night we ordered pizzas and then went to the festival of Nativities hosted by the Federal Way Stake.  

It had been a busy day but the kids were good and we all had fun.  

We first toured the nativities on display.  So many great ones.

Then we took family pictures (my favorite).  This year's pictures will give you a good laugh.

And then we spend a good 30 minutes making crafts and doing puzzles in the activity room.

It was a peaceful evening that had a subtle touch of the spirit.  

I like those moments the best. 

Someday I hope to travel to Alaska and buy my own Eskimo Nativity.   I saw one a few years back that I fell in love with and every year I go back hoping to see it again.  This isn't it but it made me miss the one I long to have someday.  

This Nativity is made from a coconut.  It reminds me of James' mission and our time in Hawaii.  

This one is hand made and I love the light that shines inside.  Not the best picture but you get the idea

This was the kid's favorite one this year.

Grace looking at nativities.  I can see her love for our Savior in her eyes.  So glad I could share this moment with her

Our family Nativity pictures turned out awesome.  They show that our family is one of a kind.  And we will probably never have perfect pictures from here on out.  But that's what makes them perfect.

Once we finished taking pictures we went to the activity room

Everett playing hard with a veggie tale nativity 

It take serious concentration to play

Gwenevere and I working on a craft

Grace doing a nativity puzzle for the 3rd time in a row

I love how these two play together so well.  

Sunday we decorated the tree (pictures already posted). 

Then on Monday we had several friends come over for dinner and lantern making.  

We ate chili, corn bread, and veggies.  

Then we pulled out our frozen tin cans, our hammers and some nails and made a lot of noise.

I didn't take any pictures of the lanterns lit.  But the where BEAUTIFUL.  After the lanterns were ready, we drove to Dash Point State park and headed into the woods.  I wish I could have captured the beauty of the walk.  It was awesome.  We had 15 or more lanterns glowing in the dark with silhouettes of tall trees and persons of every size walking in a row.  The wind whispered sweet comforts while rain danced on our faces.  Not a single child cried ( I was a bit surprised by this) instead we heard laughter echoing through the trees and now and again bits and pieces of songs sung by tiny voices.  This activity has been a highlight for me over the past three years.  Thank you Day family for introducing us to this wonderful tradition.  Maybe next year I'll be brave and try to capture pictures of our hike.

Other holiday festivities we've done this week:

The kids opened up new Christmas Nativity book.

We read bedtime story by candle light and the light of the tree
The kids helped me assemble Christmas Cards and they were actually really helpful.

Gwenevere was in charge of printing out letters, and signing cards.  Grace was in charge of coloring the stars and helping put pictures into the cards.

We made pumpkin cookies
And we found a used fisher price nativity for sale on facebook that we were lucky enough to get.

Each kid has taken a turn arranging the nativity and playing with it.  Grace just couldn't wait to see what Gwenevere had done with the nativity.  I wish I had pictures of them all but this one represents all their love for the season and the reason

We have lots more planned for the rest of the week so I'm sure I'll be posting again soon.