Cookies With Santa

Last Sunday, we took the girls to visit Santa at Sunny Ridge (our adoption agency). What a wonderful experience they (and we) had! Far better than any mall! There were no long lines to wait in, and they got lots of individual attention from Santa, with plenty of opportunity for photos. He gave them each a small gift (with a little assistance from Mom and Dad), and the girls ate lots of cookies. At one point, there was a lull in the activity, and the girls went back up to have a little personal chat with Santa, asking him questions. He told them about the elves and about Mrs. Claus. It's sweet to see that all three girls believe with their whole hearts in this wonderful man who loves both Jesus and children so much, that he honors our Savior's birthday by giving gifts to children. It really brought tears to my eyes to see their innocence and joy (OK, I had to leave the room before I started blubbering!)!

By the way, I got this great idea from a friend a couple of years ago... The little ones can leave food for Santa's reindeer to get a little extra energy for their trip. You put the contents of a couple of packets of instant oatmeal in a zip lock bag, add a bunch of glitter (that's the magic ingredient to help them fly), and they can take turns shaking the bag to mix it all up. Then scatter it outside, on the deck, porch, whatever. Ever since we started doing this, the girls race downstairs and run to the sliding glass door to see if the reindeer ate their food before they even look for their gifts!