Last night was our church's Christmas program, and that meant that Eli had his first ever stage performance. He tends to be a little bashful, so I was concerned that he might bail out at the last minute. My fears were increased the night before when he told me at bedtime that he wanted to be "Jofiss" in the play.
I tried to explain that his role as a star was special because God put a special star in the sky the night Jesus was born so that every would be able to find him in the manger. To that Eli says, "That's not how it happened. After Jesus was born him went to the nursery to play with all his friends."
Yeah, that conversation didn't ease my mind any. I basically spent the day giving him mini pep talks. It must have worked because when it was time for the preschoolers to perform, he marched up to the stage, held his star high above his head, and sang, "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star."
I was as proud as a peacock. He did great. Actually, all the kids did wonderfully. We had angels, shepherds, wise men, Mary and "Jofiss," and the narrators. The all worked so hard, and it showed. The worship team and play director should be so, so proud too.
This kids got to go sit down while the praise band sang, so I wasn't sure if Eli would be willing to go back on the stage for the grand finale. Once again, he surprised me and jumped right up there to conclude the performance with "We Wish You A Merry Christmas."
I want to document this for my sake, Eli does not have a dirty face in these pictures. It's part of the rash/cold sores he had from the virus. I may be scatterbrained, but I do wash my kid's face. Ha!
After all the hard work performing and the even bigger task of sitting still while the praise team sang, the kids were rewarded with games, cookies, and hot chocolate. It was a hit. Maybe too big of one because it was almost eleven before I got Eli in the bed. Oh well, it was a small price to pay for all the fun we had.
Ellie didn't make it through the whole performance, but Miss Beth watched her so that we could take pictures of Eli on stage. I was so, so grateful because she's been a bit of a handful this week. I think the scowl on her face explains it all.
Let's talk about this picture a minute. As you know, I love dressing my kids up. The problem is, I never do. That's why when we actually leave the house, I go through trouble of trying to match them. I know the window of opportunity to do this is so, so narrow. And when I dress them up I want a picture. Is that too much to ask? I think not!!
Before we left for church, I tried to get a picture of them in front of the Christmas tree. Eli wouldn't have it, so I threatened to punish him. Well, that wasn't exactly the greatest inspiration, but it was motivation. The problem is, when I sat Ellie down she started throwing the mother of all fits. Hot, frustrated, and running late, I threw my hands up and rushed us out the door. It wasn't pretty.
We tried again following the play. This time I wouldn't allow cookies until he smiled. Again, it wasn't the best idea. This picture is what I got out of the ordeal. Ha! Oh well, memories!!
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