I love how he says, "Daddy's favorite one," as our 1996 Olympic
ornament plays the Olympic theme song. There are times throughout the
day where he will stand with his arms behind his back just gazing at the
lights and ornaments. One of his favorite ones to look at is a church
that lights up. He takes great responsibility in making sure Sophie
isn't getting any of the ornaments, and he is quick to let me know if
she is heading towards the tree. I have to praise the Lord that we
haven't had any big issues with her attacking the tree. Honestly, I
thought it was going to be a lot worse than it has been--she wasn't
given the nickname "The Beast" for nothing!!! 
This year, we have been doing advent on a more consistent basis. The last four Sundays, we lit four small candles. The first one was the Candle of Hope, the second was the Candle of Love, the third was the Candle of Joy and the last one was the Candle of Peace. The last week or so, Josiah has really had a desire to light the tall white candle--The Christ Candle. Each day, we tell him, we don't light it until CHRISTmas Eve. The next day, he is ready to light it again. His excitement to light the Christ Candle is challenging to me because the excitment he has as he anticipates the lighting of this candle should be the same excitment I have as I anticipate CHRISTmas morning. Josiah has challenged me to slow down and remember the real reason for CHRISTmas--the coming of our Savior.
I have also enjoyed his sensitive spirit. He is so willing to go and do things for others. This year, we have donated money in honor of our family to help four kids get adopted. We gave Josiah three options--to buy shoes for boys & girls, to buy diapers for babies or to help some boys & girls get a Mommy and Daddy. His immediate response was, "Help get Mommy and Daddy." I pray that this spirit to take care of others continues to grow within him.
In just a few days, CHRISTmas will come and go, but I look forward to the tradition of The Twelve Days of Christmas we started last year. I took the box out tonight to look at it, and I can't wait to go over each of the symbols with Josiah and Sophie. Last year, Josiah really enjoyed having our Twelve Days of Christmas devotional, but this year I look forward to him being able to communicate what each item symbolizes about the Christian faith. This year I will try to take pictures from each night and post in the album, so you can get a glimpse of how we live our life.
