We wish you a merry Christmas...

Let me start off by saying that I'm really sorry I've been so quiet lately. I have so many photos that I had intended to share here, but that are now outdated. Work has been like a nut house, especially this week and most of the time, I'm not quite sure whether I'm coming or going. Not to mention that the silly season is in full swing already and between Jake and I we have something on every Saturday and Sunday between now and Christmas. Except for the 12th and the 20th. I enjoy being busy and I love catching up with friends, so life's good.

Jake had his Christmas concert on at school on Wednesday evening and what an amazing production it turned out to be! We laughed and we cried and we clapped and cheered. And somehow it left me feel rather nostalgic over the fact that these kids are all growing up way, way too quickly. The kids were fabulous and I love that they're just so spontaneous. They just do what they want while they're up front, it doesn't matter who's watching and taking photos. Most of them take their roles very seriously, but some prefer to play the fool while they have a real audience. Anyway, there are lots of photos to follow, enjoy the show..

The little girl on your right is Jenna. She's Jake's girlfriend; the one he asked to marry him and said no. She's off to grade 1 next year...Here's the whole group...Most of Jake's little group were the animals for 'If I were a butterfly'. Jake was a kangaroo. With skew ears, because he couldn't leave his hat alone. The two little girls to Jake's left played the cat and the mouse for another song... Santa (played by a girl!) and Rudolph...Jake pulled this bored look for the first part of the show. He was really so excited, but I guess didn't quite know what to do with his hands. Further on into the show, he used his tail to bash himself in the face. Unfortunately, I didn't catch it on camera...Starting to get into it now...Mary and Joseph asking the inn keeper if he can accommodate them for the night. The inn keeper's shaking his head 'no'. He shook his head, very seriously I might add, for the entire duration of the song. When we were in pre-school, 26 years ago, I was Mary and Jacques was a Sheppard. There are photos of us both in the same act together...

The angels...Mary and Joseph, sitting as far away from each other as they possibly could...I can't remember which song the kids are singing here, I just like the fact that they all had their own variations to the actions...Same here. See, some chose to over dramatise, others opt to do nothing. Did you notice the elephant in the back row, by the way? His brother was the inn keeper. They're Jake's favourite friends. Their parents (Margaret & Steven) were at school with Jacques and I...Here's my little kangaroo doing his jumps during their song...The butterfly, the robin, the fish, the elephant, the kangaroo and the octopus. Jake's going home with Luke the Octopus today to play, so I've got some time to do some shopping...Some crocs. The guy on the left is Mandy and Darren Scharfenorth's (spelling?) little boy, Cole... Singing about poor old Jerry Giraffe and his funny horns...Even though they look like rhino's, these guys were really dinosaurs. The kid on the left was really funny, running around (in the bathroom where they were all changing) in his underpants after the show. He really enjoyed being on the stage...More singing...Check the ears now... For the final act, all the kids got up and came to stand on the grass in front of the stage, making it quite difficult to get any decent photos, since we were actually sitting right in their space. This is Jake with Rene. Rene's mom was Jake's first playgroup teacher...They sung Michael Jackson's 'Heal the World'. It made us cry...The little girls sat down, the track changed to 'Bad' and the boys showed off their muscles. It was HYSTERICAL. Please also note that my child doesn't like being barefooted. I have no idea why, he was a barefooted baby and I live without shoes on. Even now, at work, my shoes are off...More muscles... This is supposed to be some kind of macho crossing of arms stunt, but they just don't have it yet...The track changed again (another MJ song, I can't remember what) and the girls joined in... The boys sat and the girls did a stint on their own. They're fanning themselves down here...The kangaroo with the skew ears waiting for his next role in 'Heal the World'... 'Heal the World, make it a better place'...

'For you'...

'And for me'...

'And the entire human race'...

What a night, thanks to each and every kid there for making it such a special evening for their families. And thanks to the teachers for all their hard work and planning!!