St. Lucia, Or, Aren't You Glad I Have a Fancy Camera?

I had forgotten my camera at my sister's house, so I took St. Lucia snapshots on my crummy phone and 8-year old little camera (And you can tell. Wow. What a difference fancy cameras make, huh?!)

We were out for most of the day, and right before bed Susannah came and whispered to me that the next day was St. Lucia. Egads! So it was!  One of these years, we'll have everything ready early.  Next year, Piper gets to play St. Lucia, so maybe then, but who am I kidding? Probably never.

Everyone was asleep when we went out to gather pine branches for the wreath. Everyone was asleep when I ironed her white dress.

Everyone was asleep when this sweetheart made the cinnamon Lucia rolls. Even though we were both exhausted, I enjoyed spending time with my Bird without any interruptions. Midnight's where it's at!

And everyone was asleep the next morning when I woke her up long before dawn to heat up the rolls and make the coffee.

The benefit to nearly forgetting about St. Lucia is that everyone else did, too! It was a successful surprise for even the older girls this year.

Aidan doesn't understand the whole oldest-daughter-as-St. Lucia thing (or, if you're us, taking turns among the girls). He is desperate to wear a flaming crown and asked if he could be St. Lucia next year.

We named him Aidan because it means "Little fire." Maybe we'll have to work something out, buddy.