From St. Nick to Santa Claus

Joshua & Luke with St. Nicholas!

Dear Joshua & Luke,

Our annual tradition in early December has been to attend the St. Nicholas party at non other than our favorite parish - St. Nicholas!  We began the evening with snacks in the cafeteria and chatting with the other families.  The boys loved visiting with friends and families that they knew from the Atrium, nursery, trunk-or-treat, Children's Word, and other activities from church.  Then, the boys listened to a story about St. Nicholas read by St. Nicholas himself!  St. Nicholas is special for so many reasons, but he is also the patron saint of our church which makes him extraordinary in our book!  After the story, the boys played Christmas bingo with other kids.  The Middle School and high school kids led the activities, and the boys loved it!  A few days later, St. Nicholas dropped by our house for a quick stop.  He left the boys candy - Skittles and chocolate for Luke, Skittles and gum for Joshua.  He always knows the right candy to get!

Joshua & friends posing with Barney.

The next day brought us straight to Breakfast with Santa and Santa's friends. It was a alot of fun to share this special day with Joshua's best friend from school and their family. After eating donuts for breakfast, the boys enjoyed coloring and singing Christmas carols. Then, came so many of Santa's friends - Little Bo Peep, the Three Little Pigs, Frosty, Disney princesses, Elmo, Barney, Peter Pan and Tinker Bell just to name a few. They came out and danced around the children.  



Joshua, Santa, & Luke

There were lots of games to play while waiting to see Santa.  Both boys were fairly eager to talk to Santa this year. Luke asked Santa for a puppy.  Santa told him that he could not bring live animals on his sleigh.  So, Luke asked for a Lego Table.  Joshua asked for a Red Ryder BB gun. Santa said he was not sure about that one either.   

After the Breakfast, the boys played with their good friends, Elan and Avery.  Mom and Dad went back to the Santa Breakfast to talk to Santa.  We explained to Santa that the boys have been wanting a dog for so long, and that we thought it was time for them to get a puppy.  Santa asked us to wait a little bit.  About twenty minutes later, one of Santa's helpers brought back a beautiful (but big) labradoodle puppy named Onyx.  We played with her for a little bit, and thought she would be a good fit for our family. So we took her home!  Santa placed a big red bow around her neck, and asked us to explain to you that she was an early Christmas present since he could not bring her on the sleigh or leave her wrapped in a box under the tree. 

 



Meet Onyx

It was so much fun taking her to meet you at Elan's house.  Luke went out to the van and said, "Dad, is that a real puppy?"  Joshua was equally surprised. We took her to a close by lake and let her run around and meet you.  It was so much fun!  As you can imagine, the rest of the day was filled with a long visit to PetsMart to choose a kennel, food and water dishes, collar, name tag, toys, food and treats just to name a few items.  I have to admit that we all enjoyed choosing girlie things for the new little girl in the house.  The beautiful pink dog-shaped name tag with rhinestones around it seemed a bit too girlie for our big Onyx, but she proudly wore it! And wow!  Our life has changed a lot ever since.  Monday night obedience training classes, walks around the neighborhood and on the trails, late night visits to the backyard so that we can train Onyx where to go to the bathroom outside.  It has been super busy which might explain why it has been so  long since I have written. More will come very soon.

One last thing.....My wish right now for Christmas is for Grandma Nichols to adjust better to the chemotherapy medicine, and to feel better in general.  The medicine has been hard on her body.  Please keep her in your prayers for peace and a complete recovery from the cancer. 

I love you both to the moon and back and back again!

Love,

Mama