Our Family: All I Want for Christmas

I had my second kidney stone surgery yesterday. I'm home and the pain is not as bad as last time. I'm now ready to begin tackling the rest of the decorating, baking, wrapping, etc. Only eight days until Christmas, as the girls keep reminding me!

Monday evening Cassie's violin ensemble performed as part of the annual Festival of Lights at the Mormon Temple Visitor's Center outside Washington D.C. There were 25 violinists, ages 5 to 16. They gave two performances, to audiences of 500 enchanted listeners. This was a beautiful experience for Cassie. The grounds of the temple are decorated with over 500,000 Christmas lights. Inside the Visitor's Center, there is a display with dozens of nativity scenes from around the world. Seeing the beauty of these scenes and understanding the worldwide unity that Christmas brings really left us speechless.

On Tuesday, I let the girls take a day off from school. This is a December tradition that Cassie and I established when she first started school. December is so busy that family time can sometimes get overlooked. Every December I deliberately pick a day to take time off from school and work, and focus on being a family. After my stay in the hospital, a day with the girls was especially welcome. We used our day to sleep in and have a leisurely breakfast together. Then, we went to visit Santa. Cassie had helped Lacey write her letter to Santa. Of course, everything and anything that Lacey had seen in toy catalogs was something that she wanted. Cassie tried to help her select some appropriate toys. Cassie also asked Santa if he would use his judgment to pick some things that Lacey will like. Santa chatted with Lacey about the weather in China. He chatted with Cassie about her excellent grades. Cassie told Santa that, for the first time in many years, she didn't have to ask him for a little sister.