The Most Precious Conversation I Have Ever Had

On the way home from daycare tonight...

I color-coded the names for ease of reading.

Anna: "Jesus' birthday is coming!"
Me: "Yes it is, Anna!"
Anna: "I've been trying to figure out what to get Jesus for His birthday."
Me: "Uh...yeah?  What do you think He wants?"
Anna: "I don't know!  I've been thinking about it."
Me: "Huh."
Anna: "Maybe I'll wrap up this candy cane from my sleigh!*"
Me: "Ok!  How are you going to wrap it?"
Anna: "I'll put it in a box and wrap it up!"
Me: "Ok...then what are you going to do?"
Anna: "I'll keep it till I get to heaven and give it to Him!"
Me: "Well ok then!  Where should we keep it in the meantime?"
Anna: "Up on the white shelf."
Me: "Are you going to make one every year?  There's going to be a lot of boxes."
Joshua (the know-it-all): "You know, He can hear you right now!"
Anna (still on the arrangements): "Maybe we can set it out and maybe Jesus will open it."
Me: "Will you be there when He does?"
Anna: "Well, maybe He will open it at night!  And I'll set one out every year!"
Joshua (louder this time): "HE CAN HEAR YOU HE IS EVERYWHERE!"
Matthew: "Jesus is not here!"
Me: "Sure He is, Matthew!"
Joshua: "Jesus is EVERYWHERE!"
Matthew: "He's EVERYWHERE?!"
Joshua: "So how is it going to be a surprise?  He knows what you're saying right now!"
Anna (distressed): "Oh no!  I want it to be a surprise!  How can I make it a surprise?"
Me (perhaps playing with theology a bit, but what can one do?): "Umm, maybe we can ask him not to look?"
Anna: "Yeah, we can do that!"
Joshua: "But He HAS to look!"
Anna: "No, that's what we'll do!  We'll ask Him not to look while I wrap up His present."  

I. Love. My. Children. 

*They received candy sleighs from their daycare today.  They included candy canes glued to a big candy bar.

Christmas 2012

Things Overheard at Our House...Christmas-Style

"IT'S A CHRISTMAS TREE!!" - Matthew

"Every Christmas tree needs a penguin!" - Anna

Mommy: "Did we find all the pieces to the Nativity set?"
Joshua: "We have some shepherds, a piece of Wise Man, and no Baby Jesus."

"PICKLE TIME!  PICKLE TIME!  PICKLE TIME!" - Matthew

Daddy: "Matthew, do you know why you had a time-out?"
Matthew: "You and Mommy told me to stop saying pickle time."

"You know what would be a good topper?  Joshua, go get your Mets hat!" - Daddy

"Hey!  Maybe there's gonna be a PINATA for Christmas!" - Joshua

"I think maybe Baby Jesus needs a haircut." - Anna

Storytime

The kids wanted to tell stories at dinner tonight...

Anna: 
One time there was a prince and a princess.  She was so lost that her mom couldn’t find her.  And then, a fairy princess came.  And then a fairy godmother came.  The fairy godmother waved her wand and and sent her to Dinosaurville.  One day, in Dinosaurville, there was mean dinosaurs, and then there was a nice little dinosaur named Timmy and he gave her ride through the corn and there was a scarecrow.  And that little girl was named Anna.  And they came back to her mom.  And then they lived happily ever after.  The end.  That’s the whole story.  

Joshua:
One day there was a dinosaur named Joshua.  The dinosaur went to a giant chicken, and it was named Daddy.  And then the water buffalo Anna went to the dinosaur named Joshua and then Joshua stomped on the big giant chicken Daddy.  And the water buffalo named Anna went to meet the dinosaur Joshua.  And then the dinosaur said “where’s the giant chicken Daddy?  Uh, he’s under me,” the dinosaur said.  And the giant chicken Daddy went under the dinosaur foot and got the water buffalo out.  And they all lived happily ever after.  The End.

Matthew:
There was a snowman named Dad. Then there was a big peanut butter throwing snow. The snowman named Dad smashed the big peanut butter.  The end.