Gretchen Records Her Life

Natalie made her debut tonight in the church Christmas program (which was delayed 2 weeks due to bad weather). When we first got to the church, she was in a mood, and not to be reckonned with. So I gladly left her with her teachers and visited with friends. I really wasn't sure what she would do. I made bets with the people around me, but as it turns out, I would have lost had anyone taken me up. I thought Natalie would scream, cry, and take off running. (After all, just this morning she made an epic escape from the church nursery in search of cookies. I'm not even making this up). But as Natalie marched in to the sanctuary, at the end of a very long line of 2,3,4, and 5 year olds, and flanked like a prisoner by 2 teachers, her smile was big and wide. I knew we were safe. She suddenly realized that she had everyone's attention and didn't even need to be naughty. So she sweetly smiled, jingled her bells, and every once in a while, sat down on stage. Anyway, it was cute and she surprised me. But if you can't tell in the pictures, she is pouting: head down, angry little face, refusing to acknowledge anyone.