So, Christmas is over... I love the Christmas feeling of anticipation, and I love Christmas day itself. On the 26th I was sad that Christmas is done for the year.
Today I am over it. The tree is dropping needles every time we walk by. I have a few days off before the new year, and I want to enjoy them, but I feel like I can't relax until all the Christmas stuff is put away.
We have been deliberate about reading the Christmas story from the Bible a few times (not just reading children's books about the birth of Jesus, though we have plenty of those). Sparkle remembers quite a bit of the passages word for word, which is amazing to me.
Yesterday Sparkle was playing with some Christmas stickers. He put angel stickers on about seven of his fingertips, held his hands up in the air and said, "Look, Mom! Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace!"
I have to tell you, I teared up a little bit right there. I love, LOVE to watch him learn Bible stories, and I love his perspective as a three year old just beginning to understand those stories a little bit.
His favorite part of the Christmas Bible story right now is the part where King Herod wanted to hurt baby Jesus, but an angel warned Joseph, and so the family ran away to Egypt and was safe. A part of me is annoyed that we have to talk about this so much. I wish he was more interested in the parts of the story that are fascinating to me! But I am trying to remember that what is important is what he is interested in. So we emphasize how Joseph took care of his family, how he listened to the angel and obeyed, and how God watched over them. For now, those are the important points for him, though it seems simplistic.
On Christmas morning we ate cinnamon toast and hot chocolate for breakfast. I let the boys add their own marshmallows to their hot chocolate, and they thought that was a great idea! Giant fistfuls of marshmallows! Yum! (I tried to put the picture of Pumpkin here, but it ended up at the top of the post.)
(The other picture above shows the preparation of the Christmas morning cinnamon toast. And I can't believe I just posted a picture of myself wearing pajamas on a blog...)
They didn't get a ton of presents (though they certainly received great plenty). The biggest hits were little wooden trucks and cars that Grandma got at Ikea for $1 each, I think. They also opened a lot of books. (Some of their new books were recommended by cloudscome at a wrung sponge. If you're not already watching her blog for reviews of children's books, you should be!)
Overall, I think we accomplished our goals for the Christmas season this year: lots of family time, some learning of the Bible's Christmas story, an emphasis on giving gifts (both to our immediate family and also to share our blessings with other people whom God loves), and repeating some traditions we hope to build as a family. And good food, and fun, and lots of pictures!
I hope your holiday season, whichever holiday you celebrate (and even if you don't celebrate), was as happy as ours.
Does everyone have this week off? Work today was crazy for me, but the boys only had six or so kids in their classes, and Beloved said almost no one was at work today in his office. We have a few more days of vacation coming up, and I plan to post some pictures in the next few days.
If you're at work, I hope it's an "easy" week for you! If you are home, enjoy your vacation!
Pumpkin likes his hot chocolate just like me. Yum!!
Posted by: Blaine | Thursday, December 28, 2006 at 11:51 AM