What a night

All I can say is Peyton BETTER sleep in this morning.  Last night was Christmas Eve, which meant that we had to stay up late (for obvious reasons).  I was still planning to be in bed by 10:30ish though.  But Peyton would NOT go to sleep.  We went to bed at 8:30 like always, but at 9:30 he was still wide awake and I was on the verge of going crazy - so we got up for about 15-20m and then tried again.  He finally went to sleep around 10:30, but by this time Eric and I had fallen asleep too.  So I woke up around 11:15 and woke Eric up to do what we needed to do.  We were not very friendly or happy to be up by that time.  Luckily most of the toys and things were already put together and NOT in packages (since most of the stuff was bought 2nd hand).

Right now, I have the video camera (which we do NOT use enough) set up and ready to go for when Peyton wakes up.

We went to the candlelight service at church last night, it was pretty good.  Something about the whole church being dark and the only light being the candle light - it was so pretty.  We almost missed the service b/c when we got there we didn't realize that they wouldn't have then nursery open, and expecting Peyton to sit for an hour would be an impossible feat...but I called my dad and he came to the church and took Peyton home, and we go to enjoy the service.  We got home just in time for Dad to then leave to get to the church service he was going to go to.

And speaking of church - the preacher called all the children to the front during the service to give them Candy Canes and he told them the story of the candy cane.  I had never heard the story of the candy cane - i thought it was very interesting.  I found this online, and it is very similar to what he talked with the children about last night.

Legend has it that in the 18th Century somewhere in Europe any public display of Christianity was forbidden. No crosses or Bibles were allowed and the Christians were greatly oppressed. One old man, a candy maker by profession, was particularly distressed by this. He loved the Lord with all of his heart and couldn't stand to not share that love with the world. His heart especially went out to the children when Christmas drew near and no one was allowed to have a nativity scene (or crèche`) on display in their homes. He prayed for God to show him some way to make Christmas gifts for the children which would teach them the story of Christ.

The answer was the candy cane. The candy cane was in the shape of a shepherd's staff to show them  Jesus is our Shepherd and we are His flock. A sheep follows his own shepherd, knows his voice, and trusts him and knows that he is totally safe with him. The sheep will follow no other shepherd but their own. This is how we are to be with Jesus if we truly follow Him ( John 10:11; Psalm 23:1; Isaiah 40:11)
Upside down the candy cane was a "J", the first letter of Jesus' name. ( Luke 1:31) It was made of hard candy to remind us that Christ is the rock of our salvation. The wide red stripes on the candy cane were to represent the blood He shed on the cross for each one of us so that we can have eternal life through Him. He redeems us and cleanses us with His shed blood - the only thing that can wash away our sin. ( Luke 22:20) . The white stripes on a candy cane represented the virgin birth, sinless life and purity of our Lord. He is the only human being who ever lived on this earth who never committed a single sin. Even though He was tempted just as we are, He never sinned. ( I Peter: 22) The three narrow red stripes on candy canes symbolized that by His stripes, or wounds, we are healed and the Trinity - the Father, Son (Jesus) and Holy Spirit. Before the crucifixion Jesus was beaten; the crown of thorns was placed on His head; His back was raw from the whip. We are healed by those wounds. He bore our sorrows and by His stripes we are healed. ( Isaiah 53:3)  The flavoring in the candy cane was peppermint, which is similar to hyssop. Hyssop is of the mint family and was used in Old Testament times for purification and sacrifice just as Jesus sacrificed His life for ours. ( John 19:29; Psalm 51:7)

The old candy maker told them that when we break our candy cane it reminds us that Jesus' body was broken for us. When we have communion it is a reminder of what He did for us. ( I Cor. 11:24) If we share our candy cane and give some to someone else in love because we want to, it represents that same love of Jesus because He is to be shared with one another in love. ( I John 4:7,8) God gave Himself to us when He sent Jesus. He loved us so much He wants us to spend eternal life with Him... which we can do if we accept Jesus in our hearts as Savior and Lord. ( John 1:12; John 3:3,16) Some people believe this story of the candy cane is just a legend. Others believe it really happened. We do not know for sure exactly how the candy cane was invented, but there is one thing for certain... it is an excellent picture of Christ and His love for you.