Three Boys and a Boat: Back on Land: Closeing Out 2012--A Great Year

Weekend of December 1st: Mark and Jacob went to a retreat on the island. They had a great time diving into God's word & the waves. I am told that the bonfire and steaks were also GREAT!

December 7th: The ballet classes that I teach performed a shortened version of the Nutcracker with the story being read and few of the dances performed. It was very well attended and a lot of fun to put together. Jacob played the part of the Nutcracker, Caleb was Fritz, and Matthew enjoyed being a very well behaved audience member.

December 9th: Caleb turned 6! We had a Polar Express Party with hot chocolate, mint oreos, chocolate cupcakes, and chocolate ice cream.

The Christmas Season: They really do a great job of Christmas on the ship. The activities, church services, and food were all fantastic. I am so thankful for all the people who worked to make Christmas amazing! Here are a few pictures of some of the things we participated in....

We made Christmas cookies in the dining hall. The dough was prepared all we had to do was cut the cookies out.

It was fun and messy!

After they baked, we iced and decorated them. The decorated ones disappeared before I could snap a picture.

This years Christmas tree. Yes, it is made from toilet paper rolls.

Christmas morning.

An awesome tradition on the ship. Everyone puts a shoe outside their cabin door on Christmas Eve. People fill the shoes with all kinds of treats and presents. the boys really enjoyed this part of Christmas morning.

Thanks to a wonderful supporter we were able to read out Christmas book. We have read this to the boys on Christmas morning for seven years. I didn't think to bring our copy with us. So, it was an amazing blessing to receive a new copy and continue the tradition.