Christmas Celebrations Part 1

I thought that we would have so much going on that we would simply not have time for it all.  I was worried about how we would make sure we spent enough time at home.  HA, Well Nathan has been sick and is still sick.  (poor poor baby) So, we have been hiding out at home.  At times I have been sad because there were things I wanted to go and do and I have felt a little stir crazy but it has also been wonderful.

We decorated the house which is one of my most favorite things to do.  I don't like setting up the tree since we use a fake tree that isn't pre-lit so it comes out of the box with every branch needing to be attached.  After the tree is assembled, I am in heaven.  Christmas music plays in the background, while we unwrap each ornament.  I love getting out my Willow Tree Nativity Set and placing each piece in its proper spot.  Then Joshua helped me assemble his Little People Nativity set as we remember the story together.  Next, I swap out my Thanksgiving filling in my apothecary jars for a Christmas theme.  Finally. I bring out all of the Christmas themed dish towels, pot holders, dishes, and cookie cutters.  I am ready to celebrate the birth of our savior by remembering Him and also by showing others my love for them.  This is what Christmas is all about to me.

Two years ago we did Christmas in our home and my family came.  We all spent the week before doing service for each other and placing it in the Christmas present cookie jar and then we read them on Christmas Eve.  This year as a family I knew that Joshua would need something more concrete and specific so I made this paper chain and placed it around the present.  Each morning we come down stairs and go sit at the table and I ask him, "How can we be a present today just like baby Jesus being born was a present to us?"  We then tear off a paper and it tells us what service we are doing that day.  These have been things like say hi to 5 people, sing a Christmas song, take cookies, do something nice for everyone in the family, etc."  Although, he has attached the thought that if we do these things we get presents, I still think he is learning something and it has been a positive experience for all of us.

We also stumbled upon this website called 25daysofchrist.com.  This lady has a quote, scripture, and video for each day leading up to Christmas.  We are loving this activity and next year I plan to do the ornament component but I discovered it too late this time around.

There have been crafts and of course will be more to come.

   

We have spent our weekends watching movies, drinking hot chocolate, and eating popcorn (myself excluded since regular popcorn isn't my thing).  It is fun to share all of these firsts with Joshua.  We started with, How the Grinch Stole Christmas and The Polar Express.

One of my favorite moments was our indoor snowball fight.  I gathered up all of the white socks in the house and we had a South Texas snowball fight.  Joshua laughed so hard and of course Nathan loves being in on the action.  We didn't throw any sock/snowballs at him but he loved watching the back and forth.

We only have a few more days until our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  The big guy is going to see us before Matt leaves to go work in Houston.  He is very accommodating like that.