Christmas Preparations

I love everything about Christmas.

I love the music, the shopping, the crafts, the baking, the eating, the family gatherings, the TV specials...crowded malls, Christmas cards...I love it all. Something about this year has made me pause and consider the traditions we are creating as a family. Maybe it's because Addison is at such a formative age...values and traditions are starting to stick. She can remember from one Christmas to the next now and that has made me reflect a bit. I want my kids to have great memories of Christmas...I want them to have fun, I want them to wrap themselves up in the love of their extended family, I want them to experience the anticipation of the season.

But what I really want is for them to get what all the fuss is about. I want them to marvel at the Christmas story...that Jesus left His heavenly home and came to earth to save us. That God chose to have Him be born in a stable...in a seemingly scandalous scenario involving an honorable carpenter and an obedient, unwed woman. That God chose to use lowly shepherds to announce the birth of His Son. And that that was only the beginning...the beginning of a life that was lived serving and loving in a way that offended and awed those around Him.

So my struggle has been how to meld those two worlds...the sparkly, sugar-cookie, Santa Christmas and the Savior of the World Christmas. I read something today that put it well. You can read it here. So, I've landed in much the same place as the writer of the post.

I also know that central to keeping my kids' hearts in the right place, is being sure that my heart is where it should be. I've been reading a book, Come Thou Long Expected Jesus. It's a collection of advent readings from some of the Christian "greats." It has been good a tool to keep my heart focused.

So, now, on to our Christmas preparations. We've been crafting and baking like crazy around here.

We turned our pumpkins into a snowman.

Addison before her preschool Christmas program.

I didn't get any good pictures during the program, but here she is after the performance with her friends.

I found these cute road trip pillows on Pinterest and knew I wanted to make them for my nieces and nephews this year. Here is Sam's...the pocket has some Thomas goodies in it.

Some Christmas craftiness...

We've also had good jammie-cuddle time too.