Saturday, December 09, 2006
Friday, December 08, 2006
Noah's 7th Grade ConcertI can't tell you how awesome it was to hear my son perform on stage for the first time! He is so handsome in his tux, YES he is.
His group played five songs it was cool to hear all the instruments together after just hearing his Bass part for so long.
The kids have all been sick of late, one by one catching the stomach flu. So I have been upto my elbows in cleaning clothes, sheets, bathrooms etc. Enough said. Everyone is now back on the mend so I hope to catch up on some of the BLOG prompts I missed over the weekend.
Friday, December 01, 2006
No Christmas Gifts? ~
Ah, the question we've been asking for years, would Christmas be Christmas without the gifts?
In my family the true meaning of CHRISTmas has always been the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. We work hard to make sure He is central to all our celebration during the holiday. We always do for others during the season getting our kids involved in gift giving for those in need. (Samaritan's Purse, Angel Tree, Habitat for Humanity & Heifer International our favorite charities) We also work hard to not overindulge in the gift giving to one another. Just as Jesus received three gifts from the Wise Men at his birth, our kids receive three gifts from Santa.
Ten or so years ago my family (who at the time consisted of my Mom, Dad, Me, Hubby, Our son, My Sister & Her Hubby, and My Brother) decided instead of giving each other gifts for Christmas to spend that money going away on a family vacation together. We chose skiing in Taos, New Mexico. So the deal was no cheating absolutely no gift giving at all, no tree at the condo or other trappings of the commercial part of Christmas. We would instead concentrate on the true meaning of Christmas by attended church and celebrating Christ's birthday. We found a wonderful historic church in Taos. The Christmas Eve service was very moving and I remember feeling so full of the Holy Spirit as we walked out with just candlelight illuminating the church. Christmas day there was singing, dancing, games galore, great food and conversation and of course skiing. We had a blast and going home agreed it was an awesome experience and we didn't miss all the extra Christmas HubBub.
However, a funny thing happened days, weeks later. One by one we all started admitting feeling sad even depressed that we cut out all the craziness of the holiday. Yes, Christmas comes every year without presents, papers, ribbons and bows and all the HubBub. But we discovered that somewhere deep inside us how we celebrate Christmas is deeply ingrained. As much fun as the trip to New Mexico was we decided that some part of us really needed the decorations and the tree, the traditional handed down for generations food, the look on each others faces when we open that very special gift that was purchased with such joy and love.
In the end my family found that we could blend celebrating the joy of Jesus' Birthday as well as feed our inner child and hold onto the traditions passed down in our family. We draw names each year for gift giving and rotate the hosting of the holiday feast. We are not together in person every year, so the year's we are are very special. Much of the HubBub of the holiday has been removed and we hold on to the parts that really mean something to our family. This has worked for us, because truth be told Christmas will always be Christmas no matter if there are no gifts at all. But the Spirit of CHRISTmas is spread in all we do to celebrate throughout the season. How we spend our time and money during this time speaks more then anything about who we are and what we hold dear to our hearts.
Ah, the question we've been asking for years, would Christmas be Christmas without the gifts?
In my family the true meaning of CHRISTmas has always been the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. We work hard to make sure He is central to all our celebration during the holiday. We always do for others during the season getting our kids involved in gift giving for those in need. (Samaritan's Purse, Angel Tree, Habitat for Humanity & Heifer International our favorite charities) We also work hard to not overindulge in the gift giving to one another. Just as Jesus received three gifts from the Wise Men at his birth, our kids receive three gifts from Santa.
Ten or so years ago my family (who at the time consisted of my Mom, Dad, Me, Hubby, Our son, My Sister & Her Hubby, and My Brother) decided instead of giving each other gifts for Christmas to spend that money going away on a family vacation together. We chose skiing in Taos, New Mexico. So the deal was no cheating absolutely no gift giving at all, no tree at the condo or other trappings of the commercial part of Christmas. We would instead concentrate on the true meaning of Christmas by attended church and celebrating Christ's birthday. We found a wonderful historic church in Taos. The Christmas Eve service was very moving and I remember feeling so full of the Holy Spirit as we walked out with just candlelight illuminating the church. Christmas day there was singing, dancing, games galore, great food and conversation and of course skiing. We had a blast and going home agreed it was an awesome experience and we didn't miss all the extra Christmas HubBub.
However, a funny thing happened days, weeks later. One by one we all started admitting feeling sad even depressed that we cut out all the craziness of the holiday. Yes, Christmas comes every year without presents, papers, ribbons and bows and all the HubBub. But we discovered that somewhere deep inside us how we celebrate Christmas is deeply ingrained. As much fun as the trip to New Mexico was we decided that some part of us really needed the decorations and the tree, the traditional handed down for generations food, the look on each others faces when we open that very special gift that was purchased with such joy and love.
In the end my family found that we could blend celebrating the joy of Jesus' Birthday as well as feed our inner child and hold onto the traditions passed down in our family. We draw names each year for gift giving and rotate the hosting of the holiday feast. We are not together in person every year, so the year's we are are very special. Much of the HubBub of the holiday has been removed and we hold on to the parts that really mean something to our family. This has worked for us, because truth be told Christmas will always be Christmas no matter if there are no gifts at all. But the Spirit of CHRISTmas is spread in all we do to celebrate throughout the season. How we spend our time and money during this time speaks more then anything about who we are and what we hold dear to our hearts.
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