'Tis the Season

Well, I actually had some great Thanksgiving pictures.  I attached my camera to the computer, transferred the pictues to the computer, and then deleted them from my camera....only to find out they vanished into thin air somewhere on my computer!  Seriously?  I mean really.

So, I'll move on.

What has been heavy on my heart, rolling into this Christmas season, is that my boys truly get what Christmas is about.  Let me tell you (in case you didn't already know!) that a 3 1/2 and 5-year-old can be quite narcissistic.  I'm just saying.

So of course, Christmas all around us has become primarily about Rudolph and "what more, more, more can I get, get, get!?!"  It sickens me a little.  But really, my kids are exactly where we all were at their age....and quite honestly, exactly where they should be...developmentally speaking. 

But how can I at least begin to hide in their hearts that, without Christmas, we wouldn't have a Savior?

So, here's my plan this year:

(1)  Pray.  Pray with them.  Let them hear us thank the Father for the gift of his Son Jesus this Christmas.
Pray for them.  Without ceasing.  That they will understand the beauty of this season...and it's not because of what Santa is bringing down the chimney.

(2)  Speak Truth into their lives.  Talk about Christmas.  Remind them of why we celebrate.  Why we give gifts to one another.  Who we worship during this amazing time of the year.

(3)  Then, lastly, I incorporated a new tradition into our home.  We're on Day 3...and so far, it's a sweet addition to our day, our time together and our time with the Lord.  First of all, I'm really not that creative....but I'm an EXCELLENT copy-cat!  I read about this tradition in another family on someone else's blog last year and thought it was a wonderful idea that we, too, must do.  So, at the after-Christmas sales last year, I went looking for this:

I worked to fill each day with two sheets of paper (because, of course, I have two kids who each must have the same thing as the other!)  The first sheet of paper is an Advent reading.  I got these daily readings from Focus on the Family .  I explained to the boys that we would be reading out of the "grown-up" Bible (they each have their own kid's Bible) and that they would not understand it all right now, but that one day they would. 

I believe God's Word with all my heart...and in it He says His Word will not return void!  And He cannot lie.  So I trust, that every time I read His Word to them, it will plant seeds of Truth in their hearts. 

We read the daily reading...and then we answer a question or two...or have a discussion based on what we just read.  I'm actually amazed that they are engaging in this as well as they are. 

The second sheet of paper is an activity for the day.  This is the fun part (seeing as they are, in fact, 3 and 5).  Some of the activities were copied from the other blog I read last year....but I mostly had to make up my own, since my kids are much younger than the other blogger's.  Here are our days so far:

So, tonight we laughed and enjoyed being together as we played Chutes and Ladders and CandyLand.  I hate to admit it...but I won both games.  OK, so I really like to admit it..... I can be vicious.

I'll keep you in the loop on our holiday festivities around here. Keep it simple...and worship the King.