The Peytons: School Christmas Program

The kids had their school Christmas program the second week of December and it melted my heart. It is so hilarious and ridiculous to me the enormous amount of love and pride I feel towards them when I see them on stage usually doing very little. It cracks me up watching other parents watch their kids because I can tell that they are all giddy with pride and happiness too. It makes no logical sense yet then again, there are so many aspects of parenting that just don't make sense.

But I digress.... in their program this year, Ainsley was the white angel and Bailey sang in the three-year old choir. The kindergartners have the main parts in the actual retelling of the birth of Jesus since they are for the most part the oldest in the school. That said, I think Ainsley had one of the biggest parts in terms of presence on stage. She was the very first one to walk on stage and the very last one to walk off stage - with only a small break in the middle for the younger kids to sing. She was so excited with her part and she did such a great job standing up there and showing self control. The show was 1.5-2 hours which is quite a long time but she seemed to love every second of it. She didn't have any speaking lines but she did have a solo singing the first verse of "Go Tell It On The Mountain". Above is her walking in and below she is singing her solo.

"When I was a seeker, I sought both night and day.

I asked the Lord to help me and He showed me the way."

The night of the show, I asked Ainsley if she was nervous. Her response was "no" with a little laugh. "Why would I be nervous?" Ha! I love this girl!

After her solo, she sat down at the back of the stage and then it was Bailey's turn to sing. Here he is below at the dress rehearsal. He looks a little uneasy walking in and seeing all the parents in the seats. He also looks a little disheveled with his shirt half untucked... not sure what happened in the 10 minutes since I dropped him off. But he is still a cutie!

Bailey and the three-year old choir sang 'Twinkle, Twinkle Christmas Star,' 'Praise Him, Praise Him' and 'Jesus Loves Me.' He was attentive and did most of the hand gestures but only sang about half of the words. But below I caught him singing his little heart out. Sweet boy!

In the middle of the songs, the teacher asked the group the following questions and the kids shouted out the answers with hand gestures.

"Who told the news?

The angels.

Who heard it first?

The shepherds.

Who would be born?

Baby Jesus.

Who did baby Jesus come for?

For me and you and you and you."

During the last question, all the kids point at themselves and then towards their friends and out in the audience. It is sweet and Bailey got really into answering all the questions and especially the pointing.

It was hilarious to watch all of Bailey's facial expressions while he was singing. Even though below isn't the best picture, it is so rare to capture a sincere smile on Bailey. I just love him to pieces!

He also let out some giant loud yawns during their 5 minute performance. And was doing some digging that I caught below. Ha!

Then here is Bailey walking off to take his seat in the audience to watch the rest of the show.

After the 3-year olds sat down, the kindergartners and the few first graders took over the show with the telling of the birth of baby Jesus. Ainsley's job was to stand in this spot for all of the singing of the animals, shepherds, wise men, Christmas star, and Mary and Joseph. Again, I was so impressed with her poise because it was a long time. I just kept thinking how grown up and pretty she looks.

Then after everyone took a bow and walked off, it was Ainsley's turn. She took a dainty curtsy and then walked down the aisle. These pictures are all from the dress rehearsal but in the real performance Bailey was sitting at the end of the row next to the aisle and as Ainsley walked by him she leaned over to say hello and they gave each other a big kiss on the lips. It melted my heart.

As I mentioned before, after the show I feel like I was floating on cloud nine with giddiness and pride. I just love these two so much and I am so thankful for their amazing school and all the opportunities they have. This is Ainsley's last year here and it has been such a gift to watch her grow over the course of the past three years. As sad as I am for her to leave this school and move on, I am equally excited to watch Bailey blossom and see the little man he grows into. I am just so blessed beyond compare.

Below are a few shots from my phone of the actual performance night.

Ainsley begged me to take a picture of her with one of her best buddies Jon, who was a donkey. Jon is a triplet with two girls but him and Ainsley are the sweetest friends. They have been in the same class together since they were about 18 months old.