The most wonderful time of the year.

For this week's Friday family night, we ate at Colter's and then began our search for Christmas lights. Our first stop: the Noteboom home. The Notebooms open up their gates so folks can see all the lights on their enormous front lawn, which is especially gorgeous because of the reflecting lakes. We were lucky enough to go there on a "Santa night." The jolly one was there in person, so Ryan and Katie had their picture taken with him and got to rattle off their wish lists. (Photo coming soon!)

After that, we drove around several neighborhoods, oohing and aahing as we cruised. We channel-hopped to catch Christmas music along the way. On our way home, we noticed the line of cars at Northwood Church, so after a pit-stop at McDonalds, we turned the car around and checked out their "Life of Christ" depiction.



The wait was long but worth it. Volunteers gave us a tape that narrated the scenes we would see. The live nativity scene (with the donkeys and a cow) was just one of the sets they presented. We also saw Gabriel and Mary, Jesus in the temple, Jesus with the woman at the well, the last supper, the cross and the resurrection. The elaborate sets and costumes, as well as the sheer number of actors it takes to pull this off, were so impressive. We were blessed for seeing it, and I can't imagine how many will be touched by Northwood's efforts.

Northwood Church's website