Christmas Traditions II

Sunday is the traditional start of Advent. This may be a word that many Protestants are unfamiliar with, but it is simply a word, originating from a Latin word meaning "coming", which describes a season of anticipation or waiting for the celebration of Christmas. It can become a celebration all on its own. Just as the Jews anticipated the coming Messiah, we do things that help us anticipate the coming celebration.

As I stated in a previous post, several years ago, Kelly and I decided to deliberately include things in our family traditions meant to help our children - and us - focus on the real reason we celebrate Christmas. Many children can anticipate Santa and presents, but we wanted to somehow make the significance of an all-powerful God coming to earth as a helpless baby, and coming only to die for us, as real as possible to them. Yes, our kids look forward to presents and to giving gifts, but our goal was to also make this time of year of deeper import to their lives and faith.

One of the tools we use is a set of books suggested by several friends by Arnold Ytreeide. The first is Jotham's Journey, then Bartholomew's Passage, and then Tabitha's Travels. If you clicked on any of these links, you might have noticed how expensive they are. Unfortunately they are out of print (so used copies can be pricey), but maybe you can find one at a used book store or borrow one. Or check in May, they are probably cheaper then.

Each of these books is about a pre-teen child who is swept up in an exciting story set in Israel of bandits, slavery, rescue, Essenes, faith, love, family, and cliff-hanger endings. The story is divided into sections to be read each night, culminating in the climax on Christmas Eve/Christmas Day with the birth of Jesus. It is a great time for the whole family to gather around and listen to as these children - and the adults in the story as well - are faced with their misunderstandings of who the Messiah will be. Because of the exciting way each section ends, the children can't wait until the next night's story. And it keeps the coming Messiah in their minds every evening during this time.

Just a couple of notes: the books are meant to be done over a three year span, one book per year. We have done each of them once, have read Jotham and Bart twice, and will be reading Tabitha this year. Also, there are other books on the market meant for this same purpose. The Ytreeide books are in novel form, with applications after each night's selection, so it makes them particularly enjoyable, but I found several Advent devotion books on CBD that would fulfill the same purpose. I can't personally vouch for any of them, but if you are interested there are resources out there.

One final note: While we love these books, we disagree with some of the conclusions Ytreeide draws in the nightly applications, as they go against some of the things we believe as Reformed Christians. It's not in every one, but there are a few things sprinkled throughout the applications. So this last year, I rewrote the applications that we objected to for the Tabitha and Bartholomew books. I meant to do all three, but haven't made it to Jotham yet.

Wrapping Gifts, Maternity Addition

This really has nothing to do with traditions, but I've spent quite a bit of time wrapping presents today, so it's on my mind.

I had forgotten how much wrapping gifts makes my back hurt, especially with a pregnant belly sticking out in front of me. So today I thought I would get smart. I got my cutting board I use to cut out fabric and spread it on my bed. For those of you who have never seen our bedroom furniture, we have a very tall bed, with a very thick mattress on top. The top of our mattress reaches my waist - or where my waist would be if it weren't for this baby sticking out front of me. This brought the job up to a much more comfortable level. My back still aches, but not as badly. The only disadvantage is that my reach isn't what it used to be because my belly runs into the bed. :-)

I'm also stealing an idea from my friend Cathi. We've already had a snooping incident this year, so when I label the gifts I am using pseudonyms. Cathi gave each of her kids a reindeer name last year, but I am using the names from the 12 Dancing Princesses. And I won't tell them who is who until Christmas Day. Hopefully this will keep them from knowing which packages to snoop. :-)

Christmas Traditions I

One of my favorite things about the holidays is talking about different family traditions. Each family is different and I love reading and talking about different things that make the holidays special. I think this is partly because these are what gives a family an identity, a distinct heritage. Sometimes these are accidental things, sometimes they are intentionally started.

I thought I'd take a few blog posts to outline some of our traditions, things that make us the Smiths, that our children look forward to all year long. Some aren't that different from your family's perhaps, but maybe some are new.

Of course, one of the first things we do is put up the Christmas tree, while listening to Christmas music. We don't have room for colored balls. Each of the girls has gotten 1-3 new ornaments each year, plus Kelly and I have a few, so we stick to the special ornaments. (This isn't a tradition, but two years ago we invested in a very nice artificial, pre-lit tree and it was well worth the money. We've had people in our home surprised to find it isn't a real tree. This is Kelly's favorite, since he was the light person. :-) )
After we put all the ornaments on, Kelly pulls out two that were set aside for the end. You probably can't see from the picture but they are large nails. Kelly starts off by asking the girls why Jesus came to earth to begin with. He talks about how He came to earth to die for us because of our sin and God's love for us.
So when we hang these "Easter ornaments" as Aubrey calls them on our tree, we are purposely reminding our children that behind the gifts and the songs, the baking and the fun, there is a deeper meaning to it all.
We have one more unusual thing we put on our tree. We don't top it with a star or an angel, we have a crown. But this is a crown of thorns. Again as Kelly talks to the girls about it, he reminds them that if Jesus hadn't been the Son of God who came to purposely die a horrible death for us, he would have been just another baby.

This helps us start off this season on a very good note. Yes we are all excited about presents and seeing family. The girls have been practicing Christmas music for their musical next month. We have stockings hanging up and plans to bake. But as a family, we stop and take the time to remember why we celebrate this time of year. And it's not that the baby Jesus was born in a stable. It's that God sent His son, the Messiah - fulfilling a promise made back in Genesis 3 - who would come to pay the price for our sins.
While this is not "traditional" Christmas to many, we have found that this helps keep everything in perspective. I hear many Christians bemoaning the commercialization of Christmas. We decided to do something about it, and this is one tradition we started to keep the focus where it should be.

A double birthday

So last night we celebrated Aubrey and Lauryn's birthday. We had an I love horses cake.

And an I love puppies cake.

And of course there were lots of presents, some from us, some from grandparents. There were Barbies.

There were games and books.

There were dress up clothes.

And you knew there had to be horses. And books about horses.


We even had a house and an airplane.


And a fancy dress for a doll.

There was lots of help with opening everything up - it's nice now that Kelly and I aren't the only ones who can undo all those annoying twist ties that try to make the toys incapable of being separated from the box, even for legitimate buyers.


I think Aubrey summed it up. "I loved everything!" Lauryn hasn't played with anything else but her new toys ever since, so I think she feels the same.

I'm this many!

Happy Birthday, Lauryn! Lauryn is three years old today! Yes, we just had a birthday on Monday as Lauryn was born four days after Aubrey's 6th birthday. So tonight we will have a double birthday celebration, with cake, ice cream (yes in spite of the cold weather!) and lots of presents.

Lauryn has been a special child, forging her own way, making her own mark in our larger-than-normal family. She was our first home birth. She was also our biggest baby by far - 10 lbs. 10 oz., 23 in. long! Yes, her middle name could have been ouch! Of course the fact that she was ten days late (!!!) I'm sure added to the size.

She makes us laugh every day. Every meal right now is "supper." She gets up in the morning asking me, "What's for supper?"

"You mean breakfast?" I ask.

"Yeah, bekfast. Ah we habing (are we having) Mack-a-meal?" (Malt-o-meal, her favorite breakfast)

She also insists that she only be called by her name Lauryn. If you compliment her, telling her what a good girl she is, or a big girl, or that she's cute, she responds like this:

"I not a big girl, I Wauwyn!" (The "L" and "r" in her name both come out sounding like "w's")

"I not coot (cute), I Wauwyn!"

And right now she is constantly asking what time it is. She copies everything anyone says, including Hailey's phonics lesson - hey maybe she'll learn right along with her, and I can get two for one!

Happy Birthday, my sweet Lauryn!

Sisters!

Thankful

I am thankful for so many things this year:

• My husband who provides for us, allowing me to be a full time mommy and home maker. Who loves me and the girls, and is the leader of our home.
• The children that God has given us, which make us laugh, bring us joy, and force us to greater maturity and patience (although that last one I have to remind myself to be thankful for :-) ).
• Our church family with whom we are a community.
• My family, including the grandfather I just lost. Even in the grief I was proud that they are my family. I am proud of the way my mom honored her parents in the last months of his life.
• Kelly's family, especially the amazing recovery from breast cancer that my MIL has had this year. This was truly the grace of God in our lives.
• I am thankful to be feeling so much better. And so far this pregnancy is easier than Lauryn's. I wasn't quite as sick, and I am not having the sciatic nerve problems so far at all.
• I am thankful that we have a plan to address some of Kelly's health problems.
• I am thankful for HOPE, the homeschool group that I have been a part of for so many years, that continues to be a touchstone for me.
• I am thankful to the God that gives us not only all of the above, but every breath.
  

'Twas the day before Thanksgiving...

and all through the house, all the feet and backs were aching, but all the mouths were watering, anticipating the 'morrow.

I know, I know, it doesn't fit the cadence. But it definitely fits the day. Like most of America today was cooking day in preparation for tomorrow. But what a difference this year! Last year we traveled and helped while at Kelly's grandparents' farm, but there were many hands then, and the girls weren't needed.

This year, since my back yells at me already due to the pregnancy, I needed their help. What a difference older girls make! Kora rolled out pie crusts, made the cornbread for the dressing, separated eggs, and chopped up the onion. Aubrey helped me mix up the pie crusts, and she and Brynna did many dishes. Hailey and Lauryn sampled the pie filling to make sure it was edible. :-) The last time I did any serious Thanksgiving preparation, I did not have nearly this much help. It makes me look forward to the day when we can all be in there cooking away.

But it was a fun morning, in spite of tired bodies. We had Christmas music blaring (remember they are practicing for a Christmas musical being performed in just over a month), had cinnamon treats made from left over pie crust, and many tasks accomplished, including one burned finger (mine) which is evidently a necessary part of any holiday cook-a-thon. I have 3 chocolate meringue pies sitting in my refrigerator, the dressing's dry ingredients assembled, ready for a final mix with wet ingredients in the morning, and fruit all ready to cut up for a salad. I love the smells of fall.

It's even supposed to get chilly here by tomorrow, making it really feel like fall! While we are going to miss our family this week, we are going to enjoy the time with members of our church family and each other. I doubt I'll be posting tomorrow, so I'll just wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!