Decorating the Christmas Tree

After a fun Friday evening Game of Life with Grampa Neil . . . 

. . . some children were up early to attend the Rorate Mass with their Daddy at St. Ann's. This is a beautiful Christmas tradition of a candle-lit, pre-dawn Mass dedicated to Our Lady.

Joseph (3) holding a candle at the Rorate Mass

Chris wasn't planning to take Joseph (3), but this is how the darling boy weasled his way into Daddy's heart.

Joseph (sitting at the kitchen table, finishing his cereal): "Why can't I go with you, Daddy? I want to go to Mass."

Daddy: "Oh no, honey, it's cold and dark outside. Besides, you'd have to be all dressed already."

Joseph: "I am all dressed!"

Daddy: "Well, you'd have to have eaten some breakfast already."

Joseph: "I have eaten cereal!"

Daddy: "You'd have to wear a warm coat and socks and shoes."

Joseph: "How about you put on my coat, and I'll put on my socks and shoes?"

Daddy (finally smiling): "Well . . . you'd have to be cute!"

Joseph: "I AM CUTE!"

So, Joseph joined his big brother and daddy got the special event.

Our family tradition has been to decorate the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve, but, with our anticipating attending the Midnight Mass this year for the first time, I knew I couldn't manage decorating the tree, putting out all the gifts, and attending a Mass on the same day. Thus, we adapt and decorated the tree a week ahead of time.

Decorating the tree goes extremely fast--one hour--when one lowers one's standards dramatically, accepts with nary a blip of blood pressure some broken ornaments, and lets the children do it all.

I thought Joseph (3) would be too young to help, so Daddy was on standby to take him away for another fun occupation, but Joseph helped beautifully.

Note that this year (in which we have a one-year-old), the bottom half of the tree is more naked and is home to the wooden, metal, and cloth ornaments, with glass higher up.