Santa came to the circle...

...early last week. Here he presents a gift to Janine. John and Sarah got ones too.

Santa's visit to the circle dates back to when the houses were first built over 30 years ago. In fact some of the moms and dads were among the first to participate in this event when it first started. A family one street over started the event. Another family took it over a few years ago to keep the tradition running.

This year we had a new Santa. As you can see from the lower photo, Santa comes in a firetruck. The volunteer fireman who has been Santa for many years is now retired. I was told that he really wanted to be Santa again this year, but the cold has slowed him down. So now we have a younger and more robust Santa.

It was a good call because it was only 10 degrees when he arrived and thankfully no snow falling this year.

Christmas Meditation

The message of Good News...

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. (Luke 2:9-14)

...Later

Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." (Luke 24:45-49)

The purpose of Christmas doesn't end the next day. You can only understand Christmas in the context of Easter. Jesus' death for our sins and his resurrection on the third day is victory over sin and death. When we accept Him we share in that victory.

We have posted the above on Christmas Eve for the past three years. For an even longer view click here to go to a Wall Street Journal editorial that has run every Christmas Eve since 1949. Still none can compare to the longevity and significance of the story behind it.

Christmas Ballet

Here's Janine at last week's parent's observation day at the ballet studio. She was very proud to wear a real tutu. Being a head taller thant the rest of her class, she was not able to wear the same costume as the other girls. So I guess this was part of the source of her pride.

(My goodness! Pardon me for a moment. My youngest is growing up and I am so pleased and proud of her.)

O Tannenbaum? "That'll be 27 bucks pal."

On an appropriately snowy late afternoon this past Friday we bought our Christmas tree at our favorite stand. As you can see from the photo, you need not ask the price because they are all $27, even the brown ones without any needles.

But ours is better than that. In fact we bought the first one the guy showed us. He brought it over from the far end of the small lot, assured us that it was a prestigious Fraser Fir and that was that. In less than two minutes he bailed it in plastic netting and placed in the back of our van. It was a much better experience than last year when they were burning some scraps, got impatient and careless with the kerosene and nearly immolated the entire lot.

After a night in a bucket of water, I put up the tree on Saturday. We allowed it to settle overnight then decorated it yesterday. It is still a work in progress and probably will be until it is on the curb waiting for the township to grind it up for mulch.

Two years ago we bought our tree at a nearby garden center. It was probably the nicest tree we have ever had, but it also was $70. For that amount of money I expect them to not only deliver it, but to check in every night to make sure it has enough water! After that, we like our $27 trees very much thank you.

Light Up Night

This past Friday evening we went down to downtown Sewickley for light up night. The main intersection of Broad and Beaver Streets was closed to cars and all the stores were open late.

As you can see from the look on Sarah's face, it was cold. About 20 degrees to be exact. The Starbucks across the street from this photo was packed! I later realized that the kids have not yet learned how to deal with the cold. Sarah though she would be warm enough with a pea coat on top of a cotton scoop neck shirt. John had the right idea with a hoodie, but he also did not have enough underneath. Janine was in good shape except for the fact that she has out grown her favorite shirt which is now too short. Bobbie was wise with a heavy coat and scarf over a sweater.

I liked it a lot because it reminded me of Minnesota. Crisp, cold, full of the attitude that we won't let the cold keep us down. Heck, we used to walk to the Nordeast White Castle from the U of M campus in January! Of course there was the promise of sliders... On second thought, Sewickley this past Friday was perhaps a bit classier.

Wizard Rock!

Here's John with some new friends at a Wizard Rock concert last week.

For the uninitiated, Wizard Rock is a new music genre devoted to fans of Harry Potter. Some clever and creative musicians have written songs about the characters and stories in the Harry Potter book series. While most of the melodies are original, they are also familiar. Some remind me of Elvis Costello and others of Buddy Holly; not bad company to be in.

Most concerts are in libraries or bookstores. This one was an exception because it was at a coffee house. There was even a cover charge. John got his hand stamped for the first time! (See bottom photo.)

I took both John and Sarah to the concert, but sat with only John. I knew that Sarah wanted to network with the other fans and didn't need Dad to help her. But she was great to check in with me every so often, and be ready to go after the concert.

John sat with me at the beginning, but then got up to dance with the kids pictured above. They were the youngest in the crowd, so they stuck together. These kids were there with their mother, with whom I spoke for a few minutes. We both agreed that the great thing was to see them trying their independence but also to be there in the same room as an anchor.