As I work on typing this, my kids are out front driving around Jon's new remote control truck (his very first remote vehicle-thank you Grandpa and Grandma), my front door and entry are covered in nerf darts (Mark and Jay - my son,and my husband for that matter, thank you so much for the nerf gun..it was the hit Christmas morning and I'll get you back later), there are pretend cupcakes and all the things needed to bake them in the middle of the living room on the carpet (Emilee has been pretend baking them all morning, thank you Aunt Annie), there's a tent in my living room blocking the walkway to the dining room (we got our kids a tent for Christmas and they slept in it in the living room last night), there are Financial Peace University Junior books on the sofa (thanks Grandpa and Gram), there are skooters waiting to be put together and the neighbor kids keep asking when they'll be ready to ride so the kids can all ride together (thank you Grandpa Dave and Grandma Marie) and the list goes on and on and on. Our kids get lots of gifts from family and friends who love them so much. And, my husband is out duck hunting for the first time with my dad and my brother. He got up at 4am this morning to go...I slept in and it was glorious!
This was the most relaxing Christmas we've had in a long time. We purposed to do things simpler and the reward was great. It took some planning ahead on some things like gift buying and wrapping done way in advanced but it started with deciding to cut back on spending and busyness. We've wanted to cut back on the amount of gifts for our kids over the years and we've slowly been cutting back each year and this year for some reason was a turning point. Maybe because of Dave Ramsey... the guilt of not doing more has been removed. Thanks, Dave. We've long been building up traditions that keep our focus on Christ but until we removed some of the extra distractions it was hard to stay focused. Our kids received less than ever from us in the way of gifts but seemed more grateful than they ever have been. I really dread Christmas shopping and all the work that goes into deciding what to get but I'm actually looking forward to next Christmas already because of cutting back! We also cut back in busyness around Christmas. I didn't make all the cookies and candy, we didn't have a Christmas open house like I wanted to, I postponed the Christmas tea for my neighbor ladies, and we even turned down some really fun invites so that we could have our kids in bed on time some nights and just less go-go-go time which really helped. It was so nice to be more relaxed and take it all in slower this time!
My birthday is Christmas Eve and like all Christmas Eve's, my husband works. This year was no different and he even had to get some work done during the first half of the day for the evening service at church. He's long wanted to do "something" for my birthday and being the day that it is there isn't a whole lot of variety of things to do for someone who's birthday is Christmas Eve... He can't whisk me away for a surprise weekend or even a simple dinner out.....there's no way to have a party of any sort that people will come to, and most places are closed which rules out just about any creative thing to do.... so as long as I can remember we've had my dinner birthday at my mom and dad's house and mom always makes one of my favorite meals (German Rogies...aka Perogies) and we enjoy a birthday cake and gifts before heading over to our church Christmas Eve candlelight service. I do love the candlelight service in and of itself but it's just that it's on my birthday every year! =0) (oh and minus that this year I spent half of it in the bathroom with Emilee who thought she was going to throw up...she had eaten too much of the things she loves and thankfully it wasn't the stomach flu but in the end we missed the actual candle lighting.) And I love going to mom's and having her yummy rogies but this year, my sweet husband wanted to do "something" for me and even though he can't cook to save his life, he arranged the whole thing. We invited my family over to our house instead of going to mom and dad's house this time and he ordered a full tamale dinner complete with rice and beans. He picked it up and brought it all home and it was so yummy! Now, I know that doesn't sound like a whole lot of variety but I enjoyed it so much! I loved having everyone over to our home and getting to be in our home for part of the Christmas hoopla and I was so blessed knowing that he had taken care of the meal himself and that it was out of his desire to bless me. Thank you my sweet man, I will cherish this memory for a long time!
Christmas morning it snowed and snowed and snowed like it has been for days and we enjoyed our first white Christmas here....our first white Christmas in 8 years of living here. It was worth the wait! We opened gifts slowly, savoring each moment and enjoyed a yummy breakfast of gourmet french toast (thanks Gram!). We had a wonderful dinner at mom and dad's for Christmas day and a great time opening gifts and the stockings (last of course...so is our tradition). We had fun with Aunt Annie, Alex, and Uncle Tom. We missed Aunt Katie and Uncle Elias being with us greatly but look forward to when we can see them again + 1 !!! We are counting down the days now until the birth of their first baby. All is well and we keep the delivery in our prayers each night. Next year, we look forward to Christmas with the other side of our family!
Thank you to EVERYONE for all the wonderful gifts and generosity...we feel the love in your hearts for our family and thank you for all the amazing birthday gifts! I'll be sending out thank you cards soon to let you each know just how much I cherish your gifts and love!
And although Christmas is over, my heart keeps reflecting on all these things and I'm in no hurry to pack up the tree and all the Christmas decor. I want Christmas to linger a little longer....and my heart wants to worship that little baby in the manger.....
pictures to come
