What a difference a year makes!

This past Sunday evening was the annual Christmas program at church. Last year, TJ had me totally mortified when he got up front and started moaning into the microphone. I had no one to blame but myself. I told him to stand still (he did), I told him to leave the hay alone (he did), I told him to keep his hands to himself (he did). Did it occur to me to talk about microphone etiquette? Nope, and I paid the price. The congregation was in stitches, but I desperately wanted the pew to swallow me up.

This year, TJ was Mr. Responsible. His class (the four-year-olds) was in charge of setting up the manger scene. TJ and his friend Drew carried the manger up. This involved TJ climbing the stairs backwards while holding the manger (I held my breath the whole time). After he set the manger down, he tripped, and then added another fake fall for effect, but kept moving toward the exit. He and his class all came back up together and sang "Happy Birthday" to Jesus. At the end of the program, TJ was in a special choir that he volunteered for. They sang "All is Well" and "Silent Night". We had been listening to those two songs endlessly, trying to help TJ memorize them. Even Sam walks around the house, singing a few phrases from "All is Well". I hear that song in my sleep!

This was Sam's first year in the program. His class, the two-year-olds were up first. Sam was so excited to get up front that he slipped and smacked his head on the pew (we were in the front row). He started crying loudly. The congregation thought this was cute and laughed. The louder they laughed, the harder he cried. I was a little frustrated that they thought it was cute when he was hurt. He did pull himself together and got up on stage. He was just supposed to do the motions to "Away in a Manger" (he stood there and smiled) and then motions to a song called "Hush" (he puts his finger to his lips, but that's it). Toward the end of that song, he started wandering around the platform, smiling the whole time.

As usual, Cookie did a great job with the Christmas program, and the birthday party for Jesus afterwards. I wish I had half of her energy!