December is finally here! It is the most awaited month of the year in our family besides our birthday months. Mandi asked me to not put up the Christmas decorations without her. I have done this before without thinking of how it effects the children and could greatly disappointed them. They love Christmas! Not just the day itself but what it takes in preparing for the celebration of Jesus' birth.
This month I want to focus on the different celebrations of Christmas. Today it will be the Celebration of Family. When I of think of this Holiday I think of family. Memories are made, traditions old and new are carried out, and sharing takes place. Every year I refuse to let the business of the season take away from the family time that I so long for.
Last night was a special time of putting up the Nativity set that I have such a hard time taking down after Christmas. One year, I kept it up all year because I couldn't make myself take it down. That was the year that I went through chemo and my end of chemo present from my mom and husband was the beautiful Willow Tree Nativity set pictured on this site. Each piece is lovingly put in place to remind us daily of God's precious gift to mankind, Jesus.
My favorite family tradition is trimming the tree. Last night we also put the ornaments on the tree which came to us by surprise from a special family in our church. What a beautiful tree it turned out to be. This family cut it down in the woods so it is as fresh as it gets!I can't remember a Christmas when we got to put our tree up so early in the month. We usually get it 2 weeks before Christmas. There have been several years when money was so tight we got one free or next to nothing the day before. Now that the kids are older they won't let us do that.
The kids never tire of unwrapping each ornament and hanging them carefully on the tree. Oh the memories I have of this crazy, but so much fun occasion. Just getting the tree straight in the stand can drive us all to madness. It definitely takes everyone working together to get it right. Each year I mean to buy that really nice stand that you can move to make the tree straight but I am always way to cheap to invest in it. I think it is a character building exercise for each of us.
One year the tree fell over 5 times. This was the year I was pregnant with Joshua. His due date was the day after Christmas and he was born on the 27th. Ornaments were broken and tears were flowing, especially by me. Oh yeah, it happened to be the year that we had the tallest tree ever because of our vaulted ceiling. I wasn't too happy at the time, but oh the memory I have of it now. I remember my mother in law calming me down and helping me pick up all the pieces just before all the family arrived for dinner. Family, it definitely is to be celebrated.
We also try to do family devotions each night to help prepare our minds and hearts for the true meaning of Christmas. We are doing a devotion by Joni Tada Earekson and Bobbie Wolgemuth, called, "Christmas Carols For A Kid's Heart" This is a simple book that focuses on the hymns of Christmas. It gives the background and a short devotion to go with each hymn. We have done this particular devotion for several years and the kids never tire of it. At the end of the devotion we sing the Christmas hymn that we learned about together as a family.
I know it all sounds so calm and relaxing. Really, it is a crazy, mad house. The first couple nights of doing these devotions the kids are adjusting to us doing them all together and not individually in their beds as we tuck them in. Josh tries hard to sit and listen but is prone to singing or talking about whatever is not the devotion. Mandi was trying to correct the version of the Bible I was reading because she learned the Christmas story in another version. Emma was trying to finish up last minute math homework that she didn't get done in time and Jeff is usually in some funny position and bugging his siblings.
I must say that I felt like I was competing for their attention. Then when it was time to sing,their goofy voices came out and bodies started to dance. All you can do is smile and roll with the punches. I kept thinking....RESPECT, you must have respect for mommy and for God. I know though that as we do this more they will fall in line and behave more appropriately. I am just happy to have all six of us together in one room laughing,learning and praising God.
As I tuck them into bed, Michael and I do high point and low point of their day with each child. Their high point is always family devotions. This brings me a lot of joy as I know we are truly making family memories that will stick with them for a lifetime.
My favorite family tradition is trimming the tree. Last night we also put the ornaments on the tree which came to us by surprise from a special family in our church. What a beautiful tree it turned out to be. This family cut it down in the woods so it is as fresh as it gets!I can't remember a Christmas when we got to put our tree up so early in the month. We usually get it 2 weeks before Christmas. There have been several years when money was so tight we got one free or next to nothing the day before. Now that the kids are older they won't let us do that.
The kids never tire of unwrapping each ornament and hanging them carefully on the tree. Oh the memories I have of this crazy, but so much fun occasion. Just getting the tree straight in the stand can drive us all to madness. It definitely takes everyone working together to get it right. Each year I mean to buy that really nice stand that you can move to make the tree straight but I am always way to cheap to invest in it. I think it is a character building exercise for each of us.
One year the tree fell over 5 times. This was the year I was pregnant with Joshua. His due date was the day after Christmas and he was born on the 27th. Ornaments were broken and tears were flowing, especially by me. Oh yeah, it happened to be the year that we had the tallest tree ever because of our vaulted ceiling. I wasn't too happy at the time, but oh the memory I have of it now. I remember my mother in law calming me down and helping me pick up all the pieces just before all the family arrived for dinner. Family, it definitely is to be celebrated.
We also try to do family devotions each night to help prepare our minds and hearts for the true meaning of Christmas. We are doing a devotion by Joni Tada Earekson and Bobbie Wolgemuth, called, "Christmas Carols For A Kid's Heart" This is a simple book that focuses on the hymns of Christmas. It gives the background and a short devotion to go with each hymn. We have done this particular devotion for several years and the kids never tire of it. At the end of the devotion we sing the Christmas hymn that we learned about together as a family.
I know it all sounds so calm and relaxing. Really, it is a crazy, mad house. The first couple nights of doing these devotions the kids are adjusting to us doing them all together and not individually in their beds as we tuck them in. Josh tries hard to sit and listen but is prone to singing or talking about whatever is not the devotion. Mandi was trying to correct the version of the Bible I was reading because she learned the Christmas story in another version. Emma was trying to finish up last minute math homework that she didn't get done in time and Jeff is usually in some funny position and bugging his siblings.
I must say that I felt like I was competing for their attention. Then when it was time to sing,their goofy voices came out and bodies started to dance. All you can do is smile and roll with the punches. I kept thinking....RESPECT, you must have respect for mommy and for God. I know though that as we do this more they will fall in line and behave more appropriately. I am just happy to have all six of us together in one room laughing,learning and praising God.
As I tuck them into bed, Michael and I do high point and low point of their day with each child. Their high point is always family devotions. This brings me a lot of joy as I know we are truly making family memories that will stick with them for a lifetime.
4 comments:
Oh, I love it all...
I miss you!
heya, i really enjoyed getting to know you also. i have been thinking about you the past couple of days and praying that you are finding peace and your pain is leaving. =) talk to ya later.
I like hearing your stories. It's fun to get to know you from before we met.
Kristin - you have a new email from me!! Go read your email! I have never gotten an email from you so I know it's not your thing, which I love about yoU! It forces me to call you!
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