Thursday, December 13, 2012

CHRISTmas

I never knew that CHRISTmas and all of the traditions that it brings could be such a controversial topic...Mommyhood is teaching me alot! At our house...
We celebrate CHRISTmas! 
We have a Birthday party for Jesus!
We are trying to do 3 presents (thats what baby Jesus received!) However, I am guilty of going a little over board with the stocking stuffers and sneeking in 1 big gift to share! Like I
 said, were trying.
We believe Santa gives them the opportunity to be kids, to wonder, hope, imagine, dream, play. this world doesn’t offer too many opportunities like that anymore, for kids to just simply be kids, innocent and playful and imaginative. i’m committed to giving them a childhood, even in this world that makes them grow up way too fast, and i personally believe Santa is one (of many) ways of doing that.We also hold firmly to the fact that Santa is NOT just an old man who you have to please in order to earn his presents. we believe that Santa operates out of grace, because we all mess up and we need to know that we are still loved in spite of our naughtiness! We don’t really subscribe to the whole naughty and nice list thing. we desire for our boys behavior to be a result of knowing that they are DEEPLY loved and cherished by Jesus and by us. so the naughty and nice list just doesn’t fit into our parenting style, because that would put the focus on behavior rather than the heart, and those precious little hearts that live in this house are WAY more important to us then behavior.
We enjoy having our Elf, Breesy, come to visit. He came to us with a special letter from Santa, explaining that Elves are special creatures, kind of like our special stuffed animals. we can play with him, talk to him, imagine with him, but he usually likes to come alive at night. Santa told us that he loves B very much, but that B tends to make naughty choices. Santa thought that maybe we could use those moments to remind B of Jesus’ love and grace. So we are supposed to teach him about grace when he does naughty things….which turns out is pretty often!
We love the TRUE meaning, worshipping Christ, the magic & wonder of the season, making crafts, decorating the tree as a family, going to see the lights, baking lots of yummy goodies, spending time with family & friends. This is simply, how we celebrate at our house