Feast Days!!!

The moment we've all been waiting for has arrived.  How thrilling!  For those of you who may not be familiar with our feast day tradition...

Quite a few years ago we decided that the season was filled with too much "Give me, Give me!"  So we came up with the Feast Days as a way to encourage the "Serve you, serve you!" that needs to be in all our hearts.  We drew upon the example of Queen Ester and how, by serving meals to her King and also her enemy, she changed the fate of an entire nation.

At the end of each November, the children draw a number from a bowl to determine the order of their feast- we have about two feasts per week leading up to Christmas.  Each child meets with me, individually, and we secretly plan a special meal to serve to the family.  They give special attention in choosing foods they know the other children love. On the day prior to their feast, the two of us go out for lunch together and then shop for their feast ingredients.  They choose simple, inexpensive gifts and decorations- spending no more than $12, usually. Everything is hidden and, on their big day, the kitchen and dining room is curtained off and the cooking and decorating begins.  (The children tend to choose a theme for their feast to simplify the meal planning and the decorating.)  When all is ready, they invite their guests into the feast with great ceremony.  Will reads some scripture and after a prayer, the child goes around serving each person the meal. Clean-up is their responsibility, also.  It's a real treat for all of us. So without more ado...

Eva's feast...

My, how she's grown!  Eva is 12 years old.  I find describing the children, as they get older, more of a challenge.  They get more complex, you know?  Or maybe I just notice more of their complexities. Eva has a simple way about her.  What you see is pretty much who she is.  She's tends to be direct- in the most kind way.  Some people are brutal at this, but it's not in her heart.  Eva is easy to please and flexible. She has a very strong sense of what's right and wrong- much to her younger sister's annoyance. She's extremely friendly and, as with all our children, has an incredible imagination.  You should hear the stories she and Bekah make up!  They spend hours curled up in their bed concocting the most amazing story lines- full of twists and turns and some humor thrown in- "just to break the mood."  Eva is a happy worker and never complains or pouts. Thoughtful of others and their feelings. A real joy to us and we love her to pieces.  

    

rockin' out

 Her feast had a rock theme.  At first, I thought she meant "rock" as mineral, but no, she meant rock as in rock stars and all that.  She wanted to surprise the kids and do something they wouldn't expect her to do.  She accomplished that!  She hung CD's from the ceiling and put laser-shot Mylar on the table- along with tinsel and some blue lights- it looks fantastic, doesn't it?  Isn't she just hamming it up?  (Her oldest brother, Joe, is laughing as he's looking at this picture, I'm sure.  Dan is rolling his eyes, but grinning- we so wish they could be here!)  She had some music jamming nice and loud when she invited her guests in.  She found sunglasses at the dollar store as her gifts and the kids all agreed to pose for a picture- rock star style.  There were grapefruit halves for the appetizer- pre-sectioned. She had buffalo wings, boneless bbq bites, and potato wedges for her main meal. Sparkling grape juice was her beverage and the dessert was chocolate cupcakes with mohawks in multicolored icing. As usual, everyone was smiling as they rolled away from the table. Thank you Eva!