Talk about radiant beams!

Saturday was a pretty awesome day. How many of YOU can say you got to see Santa, Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus and the gigantic Christmas light display at the zoo all in 12 hours :)

Ella and I met Santa and The Holy Fam at our church. All the kids had a wonderful time. And I wasn't surprised to see Ella wait until all the other children clear out for storytime to have her turn with Santa. With Panda pressed firmly against her nose she squeaked out, "I want a Thomas the Train, Santa". She needed my company to sit with him.

Ella was not really supposed to be in this photo. I was taking photos the other direction and turned to see she had left my side. It's her church, you know? I smirked at her comfort level...and then photographed it, of course.

Before bundling up to hit the zoo, we ate at our new favorite Chinese restaurant. It is heavenly.

See what I mean?

We knew this tree was awesome. It was no surprise when we learned it was #8 in the Top Ten Trees in the U.S.

It really is that huge.

 

The glow was intense.

 

Anything with branches is wrapped like this. Through the entire zoo. When we visited back in July and August they were working on them. It is almost more than your eyes can handle.

The excitement buzzing around Ella is palpable. She gets that Christmas is only a few days away. Naps are hit or miss. The last two afternoons, she has spent over 90 minutes in bed singing Christmas carols...over and over and over again. "Deck the Halls" is a new favorite. She is fa-la-la-la'ing everywhere.

She walked into the kitchen tonight and made this grand announcement: "this is the corporation for public broadcasting" and then left the room. Guilty as charged - NPR is where the radio is dialed in and PBS is a frequent channel on the TV. Funny girl.

More catch up coming at you later as Ella's BFF Roz turned FOUR years old and we had a super special Wednesday with Roz, too.

~H