We had two sailors at the house that afternoon: Kezia Young and Madison Cronin. And what an awesome day we had together! Kezia has been here once and Madison was new. but she sure fit in quickly!
We tried getting hold of Madison for several months, but discovered that somehow two of the numbers we had for her phone number had been switched, so none of our texts inviting her to the house had been getting to her. But finally, here she was for Christmas. Yvonne and I are so glad that her mother never quit trying to hook us up!
After Yvonne put the finishing touches on dinner we all sat down to eat. Of course we HAD to take pictures first! I'm glad Madison is good at taking selfies! That way we all got in the picture.
First course? Butternut Squash Soup served in a brand new soup tureen that Lynn Hayes from church gave us for Christmas.
Then it was on to the main course: Ham (served on the new platter that came with the soup tureen), green beans, scalloped potatoes, home made cranberry relish, and homemade crescent rolls.
The reason the lid is closed is to show off the beautiful color and ornate design on the lid of the Tureen. If you want to know what the soup looks like, look in the bowls in front of Madison and me.
Then both of the girls got up and helped Yvonne do the dishes! Now how sweet was that!?
While they washed I took pictures of them. I also took some pictures of the manger scene on our kitchen counter.
When the girls got done with the dishes and saw me taking pictures of the manger I asked them if they noticed anything missing from it. After looking for a while they noticed there were no "wise men". Of course they asked "Why?" So I explained that the shepherds came to the manger. The wise men came to the house where the little child was. That was in Nazareth, two years later.
They were interested, so I suggested, "How 'bout we have a little mini Bible study and I'll show you what the Scriptures say about the whole thing. They were interested so we went into the living room and read the story of the birth of Jesus from Luke 2 and Matthew chapter 2.
I highlighted the fact that Joseph and Mary went from Nazareth to Bethlehem (about 60 - 90 miles) to register for a census. While there Jesus was born. Angels came and told the shepherds around Bethlehem that the Christ had been born and that they would find him in a manger. They were so overwhelmed by the angels that they went to see what was going on. Eight days (Luke 2:21- 22) later Mary and Joseph took the baby to Jerusalem (about 6 miles away from Bethlehem) to present him in the temple to the Lord, according to the Law of Moses. When they completed everything they were required by the law to do in the temple, according to Luke 2:39-40 they took the child and went back home to Nazareth (again 60-90 miles) where the child grew.
In Matthew Chapter 2 the story is recorded that the Magi or "Wise Men", came to Jerusalem and asked where the one who was born king of the Jews was to be born. They had seen His star in the east and followed it. When Herod and the wise men inquired of the teachers of the Law they were told in Bethlehem. The Magi left Herod and continued following the star until it stopped over the place where the "child" was. Remember now, the child was not in Bethlehem, it was in Nazareth. That is why Matthew says they came to the house where the child and his mother were. It does not say they came to where the baby was. By the time the wise men had arrived at the house they had most likely been traveling for two years. So Jesus was probably two years old when the magi got to him.
Wanting to kill Jesus, Herod calculated the length of time the magi traveled from the east at two years. That is why he killed all of the boys in Bethlehem and the vicinity that were two years old and under.
But it was the magi and not the shepherds that saw the star. The shepherds saw the baby, while the magi saw the child. The magi went to Nazareth where the child was, while the shepherds came to the manger in Bethlehem. All of that is why we don't have wise men at our nativity scene.
After our little impromptu Bible study we had a birthday cake for Jesus. After all, it is HIS birthday!
And while we ate the cake we lit the candles on the Christmas tree and listened to Evie Turnquist sing Christmas carols.
And of course, we had to take some more pictures!
At dinner we had talked about different things including movies we like. Madison said she liked old classic movies, including black and white ones. So I asked if they were up for a movie. Both Kezia and Madison said "Yes." So we watched "It's A Wonderful Life" with Jimmy Stewart.
By the time the movie ended it was seven thirty. I thought the girls might be hungry so I asked them if they wanted something to eat. Madison said, "We still need to do the ugly sweater cookies!" She had brought a box of cookies her mom sent her with the decorations to make ugly sweater cookies.
The cookies were already made, so all we had to do was decorate them!
Talk about some heavy duty concentration - huh??
After our decorating it was time to show off our creations!
And after you decorate cookies, you all now what comes next right?? EATING THEM!! What a fun day!!
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