What the little people do for Christmas:

Here are my chocolate balls, on the table at church. My neighbor, when she saw them, said, "Those are called buckeyes!"  I think that's a Southern term :)  Buckeyes it is!

We had a nice spread of goodies.  My favorite?  They are on the left, 3 plates down -- dill pickle spears, wrapped in cream cheese and then a slice of ham.  I had two.  And no, I'm NOT pregnant. I'm just getting old enough to where sweet things taste a little nasty, and salty things taste great.

We attend a small church.  We don't have a large choir. We don't have a glamorous Christmas program with live animals walking the aisles. We don't have an orchestra.  But we do celebrate the Christmas season thoroughly! Last night, our ladies put on a short play about Mary and Elizabeth, and their husbands.  Here's the temple altar that one of our ladies made for the play -- Zacharias went up to the altar in his temple service, when he saw the angel.

Our friend Mark played the part of the angel Gabriel.  Mark was about as busy dashing from scene to scene, as the real Gabriel apparently was, back in those long ago days. There were a lot of angelic conversations going on!

The cast takes a bow.

I grew up in a large church.  Our annual Lessons and Carols Service was exquisitely done. The program bulletins were beautiful enough to be framed.  I learned so much memorable, classic music while singing in that choir.  Our church choir now has 13 voices, counting the director.  But the same love of God, and worship of the Christ Child, inspires all believers at this time of year. And Christian churches, large and small, present for their congregants' enjoyment and edification, programs designed to imitate heavenly worship, as best we can. If your church has a program in the next week or so, GO! Don't sit at home on the couch.  Participate!  You'll be very glad you did.