A Christmas Tradition

The first year we were married, the hubby convinced me that we just had to go see the "Singing Christmas Tree" in Portland. Although I was skeptical that it would be the awesome experience he promised, we went and I was hooked! There's just something about the hundreds of people standing in a huge tree and singing beautiful Christmas carols, the thousands of lights, the adorable children's choir singing Happy Birthday to Jesus, the precious re-enactment of the nativity scene, incredible violin solos, and more.
Thus we made it our family tradition and have gone every year since then, budgeting to make sure we don't miss it! Last year, the Drama Queen got to go with us for the first time and loved it.
This year, we debated for some time whether the Beast was really old enough to go. I envisioned spending the entire time trying to keep him quiet and in his seat, and it really didn't sound like a good time. However, after some consideration and knowing his love for music, we decided to take him too.

This was the first year that we traveled to the Singing Christmas Tree with our church group on one of our church buses. The Drama Queen loved sitting next to her daddy and seeing all the lights of Portland out her window.

The Beast also really enjoyed the bus ride, often exclaiming that we were getting to ride in the "church train." He handled himself pretty well at the show, considering he is only 2 1/2 years old. Of course, some gummy worms and other sweet treats helped! He was starstruck when the violin soloist played "What Child is This?" and "Carol of the Bells", telling me that he wanted to learn to play violin like that. :)

And of course we took a quick opportunity to get a photo of us - these moments are rare indeed. Making Christmas memories is so much fun!
We love this Christmas tradition and hope to continue it for many years to come!