Friday, December 25, 2009

The Real Meaning

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I absolutely love Christmas, but for some reason, I haven't been able to get into it this year.  I've had fun shopping and baking and planning out our holiday, but I've been a little grinchy.  I'm sure part of it is being exhausted by the baby, but it seems like something more.

After we got the tree set up, I decided that was the only decorating I was going to do.  I couldn't find the nativity where it was supposed to be and I didn't really want to search. Besides, that would mean clearing a place for it, so I never got it out.

Until today.  Getting ready for company, Kevin asked what he could do and I told him he could go find the nativity set.  I really was kind of missing it.  He found it right away, and soon the kids were begging to help put it up.

So they carefully unpacked all the pieces. 
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Then they wanted to arrange the characters. So I asked them what should they put out first.  As they started putting the pieces together, they were all telling the nativity story together.

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They put out Mary and Joseph and the donkey who had travelled a long way.  They told us how they came to the inn and there was no room and how they had to go to the stable and stay with the animals. 

They added animals to the scene and told us how it was crowded and noisy and probably smelled quite a bit.

Then they told us that baby Jesus was born, so they added him to the company.
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And then the angel told the shepherd about the birth, so the shepherds came to visit with their sheep.
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Then the wise men saw a star and travelled very far to visit Jesus, so they added the wise men to the figures.  Soon all the people and animals were gathered close around the tiny baby. 
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The kids were so excited about what they were doing I finally realized why I've been feeling so Grinchy lately.  I've been so tired and busy, I haven't been remembering the real reason for Christmas at all.  I'm so glad my kids could remind me that this tiny baby is the reason for our celebrations!
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The presents and the family gatherings and the food are all great.  But we can't let them get in the way of celebrating how much God loves us to send us His Son.  Merry Christmas everybody and don't forget the real reason we celebrate.  God loves us and He is AWESOME!!

Monday, December 14, 2009

It looks like Christmas!

We finally got our Christmas tree up last weekend.  Usually we do it while Kevin is hunting, sometimes first season, but usually second season.  We are fake tree kinda people, sorry to all of you purists out there, but it's just simpler.  However, that thing is HEAVY!  So I tasked my husband with the job of bringing it up from the basement before he went off hunting... 


Then I tasked him to bring it up after he came home from hunting...


Finally, a week after I had first asked for it...        I dragged it up the stairs myself.  And then I ripped the bag in the process. (That's why he's supposed to do it.) 


It's a prelit tree, but when I plugged in the first of the three sections, only one strand lit up.  Those suckers are very complicated to get off.  In the end only 2 or 3 of approximately 8 strands worked. Our basement flooded last spring and even though we set the tree up in the backyard to dry (yes I know, very white trash but you do whatcha gotta do) I think the water shorted out the lights.  So after several hours of unstringing and restringing lights, we got the tree up.  Then we still had to wait for Daddy to decorate with us, because life is just more fun with Daddy around.


The kids do all the ornaments.  Jadon was really into it this year along with Chloe's instruction.
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Most of the ornaments ended up front and center, because that's how my kids roll, but Daddy tried to help distribute them a little more evenly.



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Isaac wasn't really much help, but he sure is cute under there.

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Micah was more interested in his reflection in the ornaments than anything else.

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After we were all finished with our tree, we made our way to Grandma Ellen's to play with Ilese.  And of course Grandma's tree still needed decorations, so they got right to work over there. 
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Ilese and Chloe worked diligently to make that tree look awfully pretty.

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Of course Grandma is a little more into her Christmas decor than I, and she had already done the rest of the house.  And she decided her home could not be complete without her very own Rudolph. 

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This must be where my husband gets his sense of humor.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

I'm thankful for...

Boys...
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Babies...
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Silly faces...
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Brothers...
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Cousins...
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Creative little girls...
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Chess lessons from old guys who don't play chess...
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Crazy games...
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Family...
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We spent a great few days with my parents and brother last week over Thanksgiving.  My brother Hoa also visited from North Carolina and I got to meet his kids for the first time.  I haven't seen him in almost 15 years and my husband had never even met him.  He was actually my foster brother, but he lived with us for 5 or 6 years while I was growing up, so I've always thought of him as a brother.  It was so great to spend time with him and his family (minus his wife who had to work).
Mom to four beautiful blessings including a brand new little guy. Laugh and cry with me as I navigate the joys and perils of motherhood and homeschooling.