Ok...the last picture is totally random, but I wanted to share it with you. Ari fell and busted his lip in the nursery a couple of months back and his loosened his tooth just a bit. We brought him to the dentist and were told that there was no root damage. The tooth tightened back up, but it turned gray! This lasted for a few weeks, and now his tooth is back to almost it's normal color. Can teeth bruise?
Alright, sorry...now on to my post...I absolutely LOVE this time of year! On top of the fact that we celebrate our Savior's birth, I just love the sounds, the smells, the lights...all of it! However, it is such a chaotic time, and all of the activity seems to make the holiday pass before we can even really enjoy it. I told Austin tonight that I would love to just clear our calendar for the whole month of December. Nice thought, but more than likely not ever gonna happen.
Now that Ari is old enough to really understand what Christmas is about and enjoy the traditions that we celebrate, I want to start some traditions of our own with him. This is where you come in...I need some ideas. One thing for sure I will be doing first thing in the morning is making some kind of a calendar or chain that counts down the days until Christmas day. The poor child wakes up everyday expecting to see the promised drum set sitting under the tree! He's having a hard time understanding the difference between Christmas time and Christmas day. :) Ok, so let me hear it...what are some things we can do?
3 comments:
I like the paper chain link idea. Another might be a calendar in his room with a red crayon so he can mark off each day until Christmas.
You know we go to the Mtns each year and cut down our Christmas tree and it is a tradition that we all look forward to so much! We usually go the Sat after Thanksgiving and it is decorated by Sunday night. It is such a special time for us and we usually get a great shot for our Christmas card too! Not this year though, my kids looked like they had rolled around in the bed before they got there!
We love you guys, we love the people of Hardin and we wish you all many blessings during the celebration of our Savior's birth!
Bee Mintz
This year is Joseph's (my grandson) third Christmas. I wanted to begin to instill in him what Christmas really means, that is all about giving. Christ died to give us eternal life and we are to give of ourselves to others. Emily (my DIL) and I picked an angel from an angel tree and took Joseph to buy toys and clothes for the child the angel represents. He doesn't quite understand yet, he kept saying the gifts were for the angel though we told him they were for a little boy in need. This is a tradition I would like to carry on with each of my grandchildren as they grow to instill in them the importance of meeting the needs of those around us.
He also helped me put up my tree this year with only one ornament broken!
Jane Stevens
I, too, am wanting to start family traditions. I like the calendar idea since my son, Cross, is also having a hard time distinguishing when Christmas actually is. I think I'll work on that one tomorrow.
One thing that stands out in my mind is something one of my customer's told me several years ago. Since the birth of their children (now teenagers), they only bought three gifts for them since Jesus only got three gifts. Their thinking is why should their children get more than what Jesus got. I thought that was a GREAT idea. However, after the birth of my only child in March 2006, I'm having a hard time only buying three things for Cross. At present, I think we're up to 12 gifts this year for him. Ha!
I'm also thinking of doing what Jane said....instill in Cross the importance of giving. When I mentioned last week that we should buy a little boy some toys for Christmas, he ran to his room and gathered up a bunch of his trucks and such and said "we could save the money and give these to a little boy." I thought that was precious.
Of course, we also do the traditional milk and cookies at the fireplace on Christmas Eve. This year, though, instead of the plate being empty Christmas morning, I'm going to place a bell there (he's seen the movie Polar Express). Then the ONE gift that Santa brings will also have a bell on it so he'll know it's from Santa.
Anyway, I'll be interested in hearing other people's traditions as well. By the way, today's rendition of "Hosanna" was beautiful. You are truly gifted, Keri.
Laura Remsburger
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