Sweet Abode

Life got a bit crazy right about the middle of December when Allen's work loaded shifted quickly. First, due to a coworker moving on to another job, leaving his workload on Allen's desk. Second, some of the equipment needed to be repaired and that meant longer and unpredictable hours. I took Ben, Maddie, and Jon to my parents for a couple days so that I could still attend a few meetings I had planned (I just took Will with me.) Because the little ones weren't home, I was able to go on a dinner date with Will and also go to his class Christmas party on the last day of school before the holidays.

Will's second grade class had pancakes and pigs-in-blankets for breakfast, did a gift exchange, performed a readers' theater, then they made gingerbread houses (actually graham cracker-and-icing houses in gingerbread-style). It was mostly fun to stay and watch Will work on his project, but, I must admit, the 17 kids and dozen parents and tons of sticky icing and lots and lots of sugared-up loud chaos did put me a little on-edge.

Will didn't finish all the touches he wanted to put on his house, but he got to work on it some more when we got home. Here is his sweet creation!

Making Room for Him

This morning, as I was drinking my coffee, Will was studying the Christmas tree. Just before he left for school, he commented, "Mama, you keep praying that we will all remember that Christmas is about Jesus. I know it is when we celebrate His birthday, but I don't understand why we don't have Jesus ornaments for our tree." I got up and looked over the tree. Though I knew I could explain that we choose an evergreen tree to symbolize that He is ever-living, and that the red ribbons (that didn't get put on this year because the kids hung ornaments before I got the ribbon out) symbolize the blood He shed for us, and that the lights symbolize that He is the light of our world, I saw it through the kids' eyes, and sure enough, we didn't have any Jesus ornaments.

About an hour later, I had rewarmed my coffee and sat down to read my Advent book, and the author pointed out that we often are like the inn-keeper telling Jesus and His family we have no room. No room in our hearts. No room in our lives. No room on our tree for HIM. Rather than beating myself up over this, I bundled up the little kids and we headed to Hobby Lobby on a mission to get materials to make Jesus ornaments. I wanted my kids to know Jesus is the reason we have Christmas and hope and joy, and if making kid-safe ornaments was a good way to do it, I was going to get it done.

I spent the day arranging and melting little beads. At the end of the day, I had almost enough ornaments to make them the little gifts and lessons in the Advent calendar for next year. I am anxious to write down all the reasons these ornaments are about Jesus, match them with scriptures, and teach the kids about them each year.

I've only ever seen the Chrismon shapes done in white with gold and silver accents. I was limited in how many white beads came in the set, and I figured that the bright colors would capture the kids' attention a bit more. If you aren't familiar with some of the shapes, I've included a cross (which symbolizes the Crucifixion), a chalice/cup (symbolizing Communion and forgiveness), a crown (royal power and authority for King of Kings), an alpha and omega (He has come and will come again, He is the beginning and the end), a peace dove (peace), a Jerusalem cross (Christ and the four gospels), a butterfly (transformation), a five-pointed star (five wounds of Christ), a Star of David (points represent six aspects of God: love, mercy, wisdom, majesty, power and justice, and two triangles represent the Trinity). Some of the shapes were easier for the kids to understand (without a lesson) such as the baby Jesus, Shepherd Jesus, lamb of God, lamp and heart. A couple will take a quick Greek lesson to understand: the pink and purple chi and rho (the first two letters of Christ in Greek), the PAX (Latin for peace), and ixthus/fish (a Greek acrostic for Jesus Christ, God's son, Savior).

A few didn't work out quite like I planned and I'll need to re-do them. Since I took the picture, I've added a few more, too. Once we got them on the tree I realized that this was the perfect project to get my heart ready for Christmas, too!

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

We thought about putting up the tree the first weekend in December... but we really needed a day to rest. This weekend, we decided to do it. Allen got the tree box and ornament boxes out of the attic. The kids helped assemble our tree, then they IMpatiently waited for me to get the ornaments unwrapped so they could hang them. I took pictures as we put it together, but before we got the ornaments hung, I zoomed in the camera and forgot to zoom out. Here is a quick show of the fun we had (and the kids had a LOT of fun playing with the camera remote.) So far, I haven't put any of our other decorations up, yet, because we've been busy, and that just adds to the stress. Before Christmas Day, I plan to get the nativity set, stockings, and wreath out, but the rest may or may not get done.... and I'm working on being OK with that. :)

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Professional Pretending

Our kids are normal kids... they pretend...a LOT!! They play cops and robbers, superheros and villains, pirates and Star Wars, mom and dad (we used to call that "playing house,") teacher and students, army, chef and restaurateur, scientists, and so much more. I didn't realize I paid all that much attention to it, but today, Maddie, Jon, and Ben were using the Christmas tree box as a desk or counter or stove, and what I overheard stopped me in my tracks and sent me after my camera.

Usually, when Maddie is playing, she is a teacher or a mom; sometimes a zookeeper, doctor or nurse; often a chef or waitress. Today, as she played with her brothers, she introduced herself to her coworkers: "You can call me Maddie, and I am an engineer at the science center." I had not ever heard her say she was an engineer or scientist, and we talked about it later. I reminded her that she could choose any profession she wants, and that girls CAN be engineers and scientists. I was definitely excited for her new visions of possibilities... but maybe that's just because I am an engineer. Well, I was. Now, I am a mom-chef-waitress-teacher-zookeeper-nurse, and those are just as cool!

The most wonderful time of the year

This year, I decided in early November that I was not going to add to my calendar. I would say no to baking the extra cookies for the classroom, I would say no to any Christmas parties that were not already on the calendar, I would say no to anything I wanted to that didn't make our December jolly. Now before you go thinking I'm a Scrooge, you should know I keep humming to myself "It's the most wonderful time of the year!" and it's funny how many years I've had when December was just too stressful. I really AM ready to kick my heels as I smile and wish everyone "Merry Christmas!"

I got the majority of our shopping done in August and September because I like to spread the birthday and Christmas gift expenses out. I did a lot of online shopping because being in crowded stores stresses me out. Though I try to keep it simple, my favorite part about Christmas shopping is choosing the perfect gifts. I'm not saying I always DO choose the perfect ones, but I put a lot of thought into trying to choose gifts I think the receiver will enjoy. I am nearly dancing in my seat I am so anxious for our kids to open the gifts Allen and I have chosen for them!!

Sunday, all six of us chose names again like we did last year. We want to teach our kids about giving to others and choosing gifts with love, but we don't want our home full of cheap junk just because we have four kids "buying" gifts for each of the other three. Instead, the six of us draw names so that each of them can choose one nice gift for another. Each one gets a chance to shop, stick to a budget, think of what another would like, keep a secret, wrap a gift, and give it joyfully. Will has a good grasp of how money works, but we have to help him understand the sales tax. The little kids understand numbers, but they don't quite understand the decimals on price tags, so we guide them there. Now the final shopping begins! Will is choosing a gift for Allen, and Allen get to pick one for Will. Ben is giving to Maddie, Maddie to Jon, Jon to me, and I'm getting Ben's again this year (luck of the draw!). I think the single gift is my favorite to pick out. For ONCE, I can choose a gift for one child without having to worry about how I will choose an equally fair gift for the other three kids.

This weekend will be festive. We are going to the city Christmas parade with friends, and, if we have the energy (after a lock-in) we will put up the Christmas tree. Until then, it still feels like Christmas because it is cold and the kids keep singing "Jingle Bells" and telling every stranger "Merry Christmas!" Now I'm heading out to the cold to pick up the kids, do some homework, and whistle to myself, "It's the most wonderful time of the year!"

Choosing the Ornaments

The last few years, the kids have gotten an ornament each Christmas. This year, in an effort to cut back on some of our needless expenses and to have a bit of fun, we went to a pottery place and let the kids choose and paint ornaments. Maddie painted a gingerbread girl, Will chose an angel, Jon painted a flag, Ben colored a penguin, and Nana made a wreath. The kids had fun painting, it gave us something different to do on a Friday morning, and now we have ornaments to put on the tree for this year. When we get around to putting up the tree, I'll get a picture of each of the kiddos with their fired ornament.

Our Jedi is Eight!

Thursday night, a friend brought a cake to us not even realizing it was almost Will's birthday. She left it on our porch so that she didn't wake the kids with the doorbell. Will was already in bed, but he saw her leave something and get back in her car. He came downstairs and told us about it, so I opened the door and brought the cake inside. When he asked what it was, I told him it was cake and he was amazed that his birthday cake was delivered like that. Friday morning, since it was his birthday, we let him have a bit of the tasty chocolate cake with his oatmeal.

Our plan was to go out to dinner as a family Friday night, but the three little kids didn't nap and they were really acting awful. Allen and Will went to IHOP (Will's choice) while I stayed home with the trio, fed them leftovers, and got them in bed early. When Will came home, he got to open one of his birthday gifts -- Star Wars Legos -- so that he could help decorate his birthday cake with them (yes, HE decorated the middle.) He and Allen played Wii till almost ten o'clock, then we tucked him in.

Saturday was the party day, with a Lego Star Wars theme. Originally, the plan was for Will to have three friends over so they could all play Wii, but in the end they never did turn it on. When the boys got to our house, they all ran outside and played with light sabres. When they got tired of that, they wrestled and played with Legos. Other than his cub scout buddies, Nana and Papa, Uncle Jason, Cousin Beckham, Gramma and Granddad got to come. Meanwhile, the little kids and I were at another party for a friend of theirs. We got home in time for Will to blow out the candles on his cookie-cake and watch him open presents. All in all, everyone had a good time, and there was only one bloody nose (from wrestling). Some of the gifts Will got for his eighth birthday include a Lego Heroica game, Star Wars Legos, more Legos, a magic set, the game Mastermind, Guinness book of world records, a how to draw Star Wars characters book, some action figures and and canteen. The menu was pizza (Jabba the Pizza Hut), veggies and dip, Light sabres (pretzel rods dipped in blue or green chocolate, and Yoda Soda (lime punch).Here are some of the (very few) photos we got.