Posts Tagged → christmas

Christmas thoughts

Our tree is so pretty. It was also so very much fun to decorate it this year, which makes its beauty all the more enjoyable. The kids pause on their way through the room to admire it from afar, or perhaps run over just to make sure their favorite ornament is still in that special spot. Our tree night was filled with dancing and laughing and Christmas music in the background — and free from frustration or dashed hopes or any of the other things that can so often accompany traditions.


tree night photos here.

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Christmas isn’t about getting presents. We all want our kids to know it’s so much more than that. No one’s happy when suddenly their children turn into greedy monsters the day after Thanksgiving. But this year, I’ve been challenged by the idea that Christmas isn’t about giving, either. At least, not presents. I needed that little reminder from the Holy Spirit because I love this excuse to give gifts to my kids, my family, my friends—so much fun! But I can get uptight, too, about choosing the perfect gift. So maybe my kids need to lift their eyes from the getting, but I need to lift my eyes from the giving sometimes. I need to remember that Jesus is all that matters. (And if I’m going to get caught up in giving, give love.)

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We are dancing loosely through these days of December. We fit in chores here and there, quickly pull out a page of math, surreptitiously fit in a reading lesson while doing Christmas crafts. But we also linger in PJs a little longer. Bake cookies. Visit friends.

Saturday, after being out late at the CFA Christmas concert, I declared a Christmas holiday. We ate rice pudding (a rare treat these days), wore our pajamas, and watched The Nutcracker from under afghans. Nana (my mom) came to join us. It was the slow family day you dream of. What a blessing.


boys getting ready to decorate the first rum logs of the season!

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As I add greenery here and a candle there, and in general just go all out with making the house pretty and cozy, I am more aware than ever of my ability to quickly slip into Sounding Gong and Clanging Cymbal mode: warm, cozy home without a warm, cozy Mama. Good works without love behind them is always a rather ludicrous idea, but it becomes only more so when my efforts at “warmth” are so concerted. If I have cookies baked for the neighbors but have snapped at my husband, what have I gained? If every window is lit and the garlands carefully hung but I banished my kids in frustration, what have I gained? I remind myself of this as I plan each day and carefully weigh each moment’s decisions. Better to have a little less “cozy” and little more love, I’d say. A wise woman builds her home—and her home is people.


favorite Christmas decor from Germany

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We have a surprise guest this Christmas. In case you didn’t get the message via FaceBook, here it is:

(Guess that last post will come in handy!)

December!

On the 1st, we bundled up to brave the bitter cold in pursuit of a tree. While we waited for Daddy, I took photos of the kids in our field. They love being outside! …at least, so far. I’ll let you know how we’re doing in February!

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We had hopes of getting our tree DONE! that same evening, but nope. We had an issue with not enough lights, and NO local stores selling the type we’re looking for. Amazon to the rescue! So, tomorrow evening will be Tree Night.

In spite of our tree disappointment, we all enjoyed candles and cupcakes and the start of Advent celebrations.

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christmas 2010

My two little boys are still playing their way through the stash of new gifts. Jameson successfully followed the directions to build his first Lego set, and William has won every round of alphabet bingo we’ve played. World maps have been assembled, Toy Story figures flown through the house, and lots of books read by the fire. Have two boys ever been so thoroughly indulged?

We celebrated our first Christmas Eve in our own home this year, and enjoyed having my grandparents here to share it with us. We woke up to stuffed stockings at our own fireplace, and then scurried to pile presents and breakfast and ourselves into the van so we could join the festivities at my parent’s house. It was a wonderful, relaxing day of just being together. And, of course, of yummy food and lovely tables.

The highlight of this Christmas season, though, was finding out that Baby #3 is due this summer! Jameson, especially, has been asking and asking about another baby (“Mom, don’t you want more boys? Like, ten? Wouldn’t that be fun, Mom?”). Boy or girl, we definitely think this will be fun.

tree time

We have a tree. It’s lit, strung, and ornamented. Of course, it’s currently on it’s second lighting/stringing/ornamenting, thanks to the tumble it took last evening. Not much is as disheartening as a Christmas tree laying flat on your living room floor, surrounded by glass casualties. *sigh*

But it’s standing again, huge and wild and beautiful. Monday morning, this tree was growing in our backyard, part of a quartet of pines, but my daddy’s saw turned the quartet into a duo, and we got ourselves free Christmas trees.

Yesterday, there was the organized chaos of a nana, two mamas, three aunties, an uncle, and countless cousins (I don’t dare say a number; I’ll most definitely leave one out!) in our family room, beautifying the tree. Ornaments that had been given the last few years, but had never had a tree on which to hang, were unwrapped and rediscovered and put in their rightful place. Memories of honeymoons, first Christmases, road trips with the family, grade school teachers, and many more were shared. Glass, felt, porcelain, cross-stitch, all in between rows of red and white beads. Sparkling birds are clipped to the ends of wild branches — branches which invited live birds only weeks ago.

And, of course, the almost-invisible wire that Ryan used to tie the tree last night at 10:30.

This morning, I got to watch my very own little boy run from his bedroom to see our very own tree for the very first time.

Our first Christmas here, in this wonderful home, sitting right in the midst of a beautiful winter wonderland.

november

November. Almost gone.

: A delivery of wide-plank antique heart pine flooring. Right now it’s occupying half our living space and means that our home is a bit topsy-turvy, but come January, it will mean a beautiful floor in our kitchen and family room.

: Lots of sewing for a homeschool musical. Dresses, tunics, leggings, wimples, and gobs of gold trim.

: A house renovation at my sister Brietta’s has meant a family of 6 here with us for a couple of weeks. It has been so. much. fun.

: Baking for Thanksgiving, and days at my parents’ house. Games, food, being together. And, of course, wanting to be more thankful.

: Watching a landscape turn gold and silver, and excitedly welcoming the first flurry of flakes (none of which bothered to stay long. Sad.)

: Replacing beautiful pumpkins with garlands and snowmen, special books and an Advent calendar. I kept it simple and focused on our hearth and mantel (see #1), but those red berries and pine cones are effectively ushering in a season of warmth, beauty, and Expectation.