Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, we had Tim's mom and Dave here (who have recently moved to town!). Here's a moment from the evening...

'tis the season

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...


I am having a tonne of fun making Christmas presents for a bunch of folks on my list. I would tell you what I'm making but that might spoil your surprise...

I've been playing the Christmas playlist on my computer so often since late November that I'm going to have to turn to radio soon. Though Sarah MacLachlan's "Wintersong" is likely not an album I'll ever tire of -- lovely!

I'm also getting ready to play at a couple of Christmas events in the next week, and my students are giving a Christmas recital on Monday.

And would you believe that I've already made and sent out over 200 Christmas cards? Yes, those of you who know me well are particularly proud of my 'not-last-minuteness' this year.

It's lovely to be at home these days... I feel Christmas is not creeping up on me this year, but rather I've had a little more time to reflect and prepare for it... both in terms of gifts and plans, and the heart. Thinking about the chosen lowliness and powerlessness of the Creator of the Universe today, coming in the form of a baby. Who of us would have planned it that way??

what only oma can do

My mom came to visit this past weekend, and Maia and her Oma were once again like two peas in a pod.

Oma has a handful of Dutch rhymes and games that only she can do. Any attempt to imitate them just doesn't do them justice. Here is one of my favourites... and clearly, one of Maia's too!

(The quality's not so great but you'll get the idea...)

have a party!

This morning, Maia has been walking around the house singing, "Party! Have a party!..."

Of course, the best friends to party with in the house are those who will do whatever she has in mind: her dolls and the dog.

penguin panic

Strange as it sounds, Maia's last few days have revolved around a penguin.

You see, our neighbours have set up a blow up penguin in front of their house. It's one of these plastic Christmas ornaments that's ongoingly filled with air by a small electric pump. Well, as anyone has the right to do, our neighbours choose not to have the pump on all day. The result? The penguin sinks into a heap of plastic on the lawn.

Maia's been rather obsessed with whether the penguin is "standing up" or "fallen down". It's the first thing she'll tell people when she sees them or talks to them on the phone. "Penguin standing up!" or, tragically, "Penguin fell down!". It doesn't occur to her that people have no idea what she's talking about.

Of course, if the penguin is down, she has to check it often to see if it's standing again.

And if it's up, she has to keep checking to see it has not fallen down.

It will clearly take some time before Maia understands that actually, it's Jesus who is at the centre of Christmas. (What? Not the penguin!?)