Luminaria

After a day literally spent in the kitchen doing some annual Christmas baking, I got to enjoy a evening with my family at Luminaria. This is the 3rd year Thanksgiving Point has hosted this event in Ashton Gardens, and it's the 3rd year we've gone. Each year is just as magical as the year before. This year, we invited Jeff's parents, Grandma Thompson, Katie and Greg to join us. We started the evening with dinner at the Harvest Restaurant. This is one of Jeff and my favorite restaurants. The food is always delicious and fresh. It is a farm to table dining establishment. After our bellies were full, I handed out even more delicious goodness! As a part of my holiday baking in preparation for our next Christmas kindness activity, I also made 3 pounds of cinnamon sugared pecans. We did this last year and decided that it needs to be include in our Luminaria tradition. Now we were ready to explore the whimsical magic of the lights! We started by admiring the detailed gingerbread creations before moving into the illuminated gardens. (However, Jonas was more interested in the little train than the gingerbread houses.) We wandered through Candy Cane Lane down to the Reindeer Forest passing all the sights, scents, and sounds of the season. Jonas was so excited! He kept running from light display to light display. He was in awe of all the different colors and themes. He especially loved seeing Santa's reindeer! We kept Gma Thompson snuggled in a wheelchair as Jeff pushed her through the gardens. Her excitement wasn't like Jonas's but it was there nonetheless. I love sharing something so special with those I love...and there is nothing more special than the Light of the World gardens with its hundreds of lanterns illuminating the breathtaking statues of Christ. This is always my favorite part of the gardens. He is why we celebrate this season. He is the ultimate gift giver. He is the prime example of kindness and service. On the whimsical side of things, I think my favorite garden was the new Childhood Noel garden with the carousel. In addition to the festive carousel, it had a wishing tree. There was a cute poem in this book displayed at the base of the tree to explain that if you placed your hand on the book, it would send your wish to Santa. When you touched the book, the tree lights would sparkle and bells would ring signifying that your wish went to Santa. Secretly, my wish was more of a prayer sent to Heaven rather than a wish to Santa. I just pray for peace and love. I pray that my family will be healthy and my kids will be wise. I pray that I can be an example of Christ in my life so that when others see me, they will see Him. I pray that I can be the type of person to inspire kindness and love in others. Perhaps my prayer was a little too much for this tree, but I think the message was sent. It was a perfect evening (even with the frustration of herding all the kids through the lights and trying to keep us together...see we're not perfect...just perfectly happy to be together to experience a little Christmas magic).