"Jesus birthday is coming up, mommy"

or "Jesus' birthday today, mommy" are two very common phrases spoken by our 3 year old right now. Kateli is SO excited for the birth of Jesus. Her face lights up as she speaks these words, and even sings happy birthday Jesus at the top of her lungs. What a blessing. How it makes my heart smile to see and to hear her. She is amazing. She shines just like the North Star guiding the magi to the manger where Jesus was born. She is fixated on Jesus' birthday, and has had no curiousity whatsoever to open any of the gifts under the tree. Instead, she says that we are giving Jesus a bike for his birthday!! Okay, let me back up a few days...a week or so ago, we all piled in the van to go to Academy to look at the 10" bikes on the floor. While we were there, Kateli got so excited and said "I want this one mommy" when she saw a cute pink princess bike. Well, in order to get her mind off of it and to redirect her just a bit, I said "not today, but for Jesus' birthday, maybe"...now, to you and I this is a simple statement meaning, "maybe for Christmas"...BUT not to Kateli, after that she said that "Jesus was getting a bike for his birthday" and it has stuck that way. So, this year Jesus is getting a 10" bike with training wheels from us!! :)

Our talks lately have been about Christmas and centered around around baby Jesus, and baby Jesus mommy and daddy. Which by the way, if you ask Kateli who baby Jesus' mommy and daddy are, she tells you "Mary and Jofes" She walks around the house with her pink blankie draped over her head saying, "look mommy, like Mary" I love Christmas, and this year I love it just a bit more, because I see how much Kateli is enjoying the season.

Joshua on the other hand, is yet too small to understand any of it. But he too, has not been real curious about any of the gifts under the tree--except for once or twice when I've had to pick him up off a gift, because he thought it would be fun to walk on top of the box. He's left the Christmas ornaments on the tree, for the most part. Every once in a while, I'll find him next to the tree with the intent of pulling off one of the ornaments. He's been successful in removing them from the tree a couple of times, but I get them out of his hands immediately. Only once has he succeeded in taking an ornament without me noticing until I hear it shatter in the next room--at which time, I panic, drop what I'm doing and run over to get him out of the way before he cuts himself with a chard. I'm sure that as he gets a little older, we'll see him enjoy Christmas as much as his sister.