Tag - gift

Inexpensive Crafts that Make Great Christmas Gifts for Grandparents

November 18, 2016

Ever since Elijah’s second Christmas, when he was old enough to “help” a little, we’ve made it a holiday tradition to have the boys make something special for their grandparents’ Christmas gifts each year. We want our children to take an active part in giving, using their own talents and creativity and thinking about ways to bless someone else during the holidays. (We do give our parents additional gifts. These homemade items are just part of their Christmas.)

Thankfully both our boys enjoy crafty things and drawing, so they are usually pretty excited to help out and work on their “projects.” Of course, since they are children, Mommy has to be ready for lots of supervising, some mess (or a lot), and stepping back to give them room to actually do it themselves (as much as they can). Their vision of the finished product might not always match mine, but if the Christmas gift is to be from THEM, it needs to be THEIRS. (And sometimes, younger kids, like Josiah, are more interested in the process than actually finishing the craft, which can try a parent’s patience.)

Over the last few years, we’ve made a number of different items, so I thought I’d share with you some of our favorite inexpensive, homemade Christmas gift ideas. (The title of each project has the link to more instructions.)

(This post may contain affiliate links, which means that at no additional cost to you, I may receive a small commission if you use the links.)

ORNAMENTS

Our boys love all the decorations at Christmastime, so making keepsake ornaments is one of their favorite things. They love seeing the ones they’ve made in the past on their grandparents’ Christmas trees and ours each year.

Salt Dough Ornaments: These were one of our first DIY gifts from Elijah. It was a relatively easy dough to mix up, if I remember correctly (it HAS been about 5 or 6 years). We rolled it out, then used a portion of it to make a couple prints of Elijah’s hand (because baby handprints are always adorable). We also cut out circle shapes for smaller ornaments and gift tags. Once the ornaments were baked, I had Elijah paint his handprint and draw designs on the circle ornaments, too. Then we added a nice ribbon to hang them with. (Note: The bigger the ornament, the heavier they will be, so roll them out as thinly as possible and keep them small).

Popsicle Stick Snowmen: Elijah has always loved snowmen, especially Frosty, so this was a really fun Christmas gift for him to make, and they turned out so adorable. I had the boys paint the sticks and help me glue them together, as well as adding the googly eyes. Then I painted the rest of the faces, including the noses.

Wooden Ornaments with Photos: This Christmas gift project was a bit more tedious than I expected, so the boys didn’t get to help as much. However, I was really pleased with how they turned out. The idea is to take a picture printed out on a laser printer and after coating a small piece of wood with gel medium, you glue the picture onto the wood, smoothing out all the bubbles. Once it has dried overnight, you use a sponge and water to remove the paper (the TEDIOUS part), leaving behind the print. I had to do the sponge and water step several times to get all the paper off (you can see it as little white specs and lines when the project dries). For our ornaments, we used differently shaped pieces of wood – rectangular, round, and heart-shaped (maybe 2”x 3”). Two of the pictures were ones that I took of the boys playing with the Christmas lights, and then I used a photo editor on my phone to add fun word art. Also, I used some pictures of them in the snow. I did some in color and some in black and white, and they all turned out nicely. (By the way, the link above is only to the Pinterest pin because the site is no longer active.)

: Adding the word art made this a magical picture for the ornament.

: Even the black and white works well.

: Make sure you use a laser jet, not an ink jet to print your pictures.

: Now we get to see this smile each year on Grandma’s tree.

While we didn’t make these for gifts, these homemade drum ornaments are super adorable.

PAINT SOMETHING

If we aren’t making ornaments, our projects tend to involve painting or drawing on something else. 🙂

Oven Gloves: Another “handprint” project was the “Grandma’s Helper” oven gloves that we did. I basically just bought some plain oven gloves, had the boys add their handprints on the front, and then wrote “Grandma’s Little Helper” or “Grandma’s Helping Hands” (something like that – haha.). They were really cute, though, and both grandmas were delighted with them.

Mugs: Since the grandmas got oven gloves, we wanted to do something for just the grandpas, too, so that year I had the boys paint on plain white mugs. There are tons of ways you do this, and I think the most popular seems to be to use Sharpie Markers. However, we didn’t. We did paint with a clear coat. I’m not sure how well they’ve held up through a dishwasher, but from what I’ve seen on other sites, there are ways to make them last a long time. (Note: We made sure to keep the paint and clear coat more toward the bottom half of the mugs. Also, the link above it NOT to the tutorial we used. Again, that tutorial is no longer available.)

Picture Frames: Another thing that the boys have painted as Christmas gifts was picture frames. We bought some plain black 4×6 frames, removed the glass, and let the boys paint designs on them. Then we put a nice family photo in it. Simple.

Blank Canvas: Elijah always wanted to do finger painting when he was little-little, so one Christmas, I simply bought a pack of blank canvases, and let him do his thing. They actually are quite neat. He made paintings for his grandparents and great-grandparents. He even had one left over for us, which is still hanging in our bedroom.

PICTURES

Okay, technically this isn’t a “craft,” but it’s always a good gift idea. I don’t know about your family, but my parents and in-laws always enjoy getting actual printed pictures of their grandchildren. While I try to get prints to them throughout the year, I know that many of the photo-printing sites offer coupons and great deals on not only prints, but other fun Christmas gifts around the holidays.

I always watch Shutterfly for their coupon codes for free 4×6 prints, but my two favorite coupon codes to get are either for free photo books or calendars. In the last couple of years, I’ve gotten at least two calendars each season for just the price of shipping. 🙂 You can personalize the calendars with multiple photo layouts and add important family dates, such as birthdays and anniversaries. This way the grandparents get to spend the whole year adoring their grandbabies.

I like to make the photo books into stories. 🙂

THIS YEAR

As of right now, I don’t know what project our boys will be working on for their grandparents’ Christmas gifts. Of course, even if I did, I couldn’t write about it, yet. 😉 With Baby #3 due mid-December, it will definitely have to be something simple that doesn’t require as much supervision from Mommy. Thankfully, they’ve had several years of practice at being crafty and creative for Christmas, and no matter what they do, as long as it’s from them, I’m pretty sure their grandparents will love it.

DO YOUR KIDS MAKE HOMEMADE CHRISTMAS GIFTS? WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVORITE?

3 Things I Know About Becoming a Mother

September 21, 2016

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Life in Lape Haven: 3 Things I Know about Becoming a Mother. With all the parents-wanting-to-be swooning over my baby belly lately, I find that there are a few things I want them to know about what it means to become a mommy or a daddy.

Counting from when I first became pregnant with Elijah, I’ve been a mother for over seven years. Looking back at the starry-eyed mommy-wanting-to-be that I was when we were first preparing to start our family, I don’t think I realized how much I would change or all that I would learn once I became a mother.

I’ve been reminded of my own eager mommy naiveté lately, as young female friends, family, and even strangers swoon over my baby belly with their own hopes and dreams of becoming mommies someday. I find myself smiling at their innocence with a “you have no idea” knowing that only comes from experience. I remember well that “Oh, babies are so precious,” and “children are so fun” mindset that painted motherhood and parenting as idealistically as a newborn diaper commercial. Not that babies and children aren’t precious and fun, but parenting isn’t all sweet things and blissful days and nights.

So from my seven years of mothering, here are three things I know about what it means to become a mother. (And most of this applies to becoming a daddy, too, but since I’m a mom, that’s where I write from.)

#1. YOU WILL CHANGE FROM HEAD TO TOE, INSIDE AND OUT

From the moment those two little pink lines show up on the pregnancy test (and even before then), you begin changing, and you’ll never be the same again. Everyone realizes that a pregnant woman’s body changes in multiple ways, and despite our current culture’s pressure for moms to just snap right back to their pre-baby selves, it really isn’t realistic (or fair or necessary). Sure you can lose the extra weight, especially when you breastfeed, and you can exercise and tone up, but it will, and should, take some time. Plus there will still be areas of your body that are changed forever, even if others never see the evidence.

And the physical changes are actually the least drastic of them all.

Yes, mommies-wanting-to-be, there are more dramatic adjustments once you have a child than stretchmarks and maybe a belly pooch.

Motherhood changes EVERYTHING – physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, socially, and financially.

Think you’ve loved someone before? It won’t compare to when you hold that baby for the first time (or even feel his first kicks in your belly). Ever been frustrated? Try going up against a strong-willed toddler in the epic parenting face-offs known at “potty training” or “naptime.” Been proud of someone? Just wait until your mini-me digs deep and determinedly learns to tie her shoes or ride a bike or starts to read or shows compassion and generosity toward others.

And before you have children, let’s face it – You pretty much think about yourself and what you need. Yes, marriage is good at teaching you to put someone else first, and hopefully you consider your spouse’s needs and sacrifice for them. However, from your first seconds of parenthood (and on for basically the rest of your life), so many decisions and choices will be run through the filter of “how will this affect my child?” Don’t believe me? Everything you do when you’re pregnant will prove it – what you eat, how you care for yourself, and what you do. Once that little bundle of joy arrives, you’ll plan your days around their naps or feedings or both (maybe not precisely, but at least roughly), you’ll make grocery lists based on what your preschooler will actually eat this week, and you’ll pick where you live with consideration of the schools in the area.

Every major decision you make will also be even more a matter of prayer. Seriously, I don’t know that any area of your life will be as affected by parenting as your spiritual walk. You’ve only THOUGHT you needed wisdom before. Raising children will take you to your knees like nothing else. Patience, discernment, direction, peace – yep, you’ll need everything God can give. And trusting God hits a whole new level when you place your child in His hands.

While most people know that having children will affect you financially – they do have to eat and be clothed, after all – I’m not sure how many nonparents realize how different your social life will become once Junior is in the picture. Even beyond going out often and easily (either you are taking your children – that’s a whole new ballgame – or you’re arranging for a babysitter), unless all your friends have children or really love kids, there are going to be some that just don’t get your new situation in life. You most likely won’t have as much time or even interest in things you used to do often, and they probably won’t have the same excitement you have over your child’s latest milestones or in seeing all 557 pictures you took of your little one that morning at the park. You will be at different places in your life, and that’s okay. God has His own unique plan for each of us and our families. So be prepared to give them some grace, and do your best to keep in touch, even if you don’t spend as much time together as you used to.

#2. YOU WILL NEVER BE ENOUGH

I know. I KNOW. This isn’t what any of us want to hear. We want to think that we can rock this parenting thing if we just try hard enough, get super organized, stop comparing ourselves to other moms, embrace our own strengths, and so on. In fact, it’s kind of a thing among the mother and women’s community at large right now to loudly and repeatedly tell you that “You are enough!” There are blogs, t-shirts, memes, coffee mugs, and who knows what all else to remind you of your wonderful capabilities and awesome mom potential.

However, all of those well-meaning cheerleaders are setting you up for frustration, disappointment, and no end of discouragement because it’s simply not true.

You, in and of yourself, are not, and will never be, enough for your children. No amount of effort on your part is going to change that.

I’m not sure why we would want to fight so hard to prove we can do it by ourselves. Parenting is HARD, like, REALLY HARD.

I know I’m not the only mother who has those days when I can’t wait for my husband to get home- not because I’ve missed him or have something important to tell him, but simply because I NEED HIS HELP. I need a break from our boys, from their demands for my attention, from their fighting, from the constant giving and caring I’ve been doing since I woke up that morning. Tagging out when Brad is ready to take over can be such a relief.

In those moments, if I believed I was supposed to be enough for them, I would feel like such a complete failure.

Thankfully, I KNOW that I’m not. And I know that Brad’s not enough as their dad. Even together, amazing parents that we are :), we aren’t enough for our precious boys.

And we’re glad about that.

Why?

Because we know that God did not design parenting (or much else in life) to be something you could do independent of Him. It’s something you can only do well WHEN you rely on Him.

We are never enough, but He is ALWAYS MORE THAN ENOUGH. We will make mistakes and fail, but He is perfect and always faithful.

2 Corinthians 3:9 reminds us that His “’grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

Yes, I “can do all things,” but it’s only “through Christ who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13)

Being able to seek God’s guidance, strength, PATIENCE, wisdom, and power instead of relying on my own (very weak) human strength, allows me to be the mom that God called me to be to my children.

God planned for me to be their mother, and God has gifted me with talents and abilities that I can use in that calling, but I can’t do it without Him.

And my kids need to know that, too. I’m not my children’s source. It’s not my job to be their source of joy or of peace, of safety or of health, of goodness or of salvation. They need to rely on God as much as I do. But if I’m trying to be “enough” for them on my own, how will they realize their need for Him?

#3. YOU WILL NEVER WANT TO GO BACK

Parenting is hard, and it changes everything for you, but I can promise you that even despite that, you will NEVER want to go back to life before your children.

Not seriously, anyway.

There may be days that you reminisce about how easy and carefree life was when two or three kids weren’t fighting in the background, or how awesome it was to get a full, uninterrupted night’s sleep once upon a time. But honestly, in your heart of hearts, you will never, ever want to go back to not being a parent.

And perhaps this is the part that longing-to-be-mommies and – daddies see in us that makes them swoon and sigh over our sweet new little ones, our precocious preschoolers, or our growing grade-schoolers. They see that overwhelming, straight-from-heaven love that softens the difficult days and cements the really great ones into our memories forever. They hear the pride and joy in our voices (or read it in our social media posts) when our kids do something adorable or impressive. They may not have faced the struggles of parenting yet, but they see the rewards in our relationship with our children, these amazing, inspiring, precious gifts from God.

When those young, naïve parents-wanting-to-be start talking about how awesome it will be to a mom or dad someday, I find myself smiling at their innocence with a “you have no idea” knowing that only comes from very cherished experience. 🙂

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5 Everyday Moments That Make Being a Mom Totally Worth It

May 2, 2016

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5 Everyday Moments That Make Being a Mom Totally Worth It, Life in Lape Haven. Being a parent is hard, and some days are difficult. However, even on the roughest days, there are moments that can remind us of how wonderful it is to be a mom or dad and how precious our children are to us.

As a mom, I know that some days, parenting is just hard. Children can be demanding, cranky, destructive (usually accidentally), disobedient, whiny, messy, and just exhausting. However, I have found that even on those really rough days, there are still moments sprinkled throughout the chaos that remind me that my children are truly gifts from God and being a mom really is worth it.

Here are five of my favorite everyday moments that make being a mother the best calling ever.

1. Cuddles and Snuggles:

My boys are all pretty affectionate little guys, and they love cuddles and snuggles. Whether it’s climbing into bed with Mommy and Daddy on Saturday morning (so much sweeter when they wait until after 8 am!), or just scooting up really close to us on the couch, our boys are cuddlers. They want to be with us.

Josiah likes to sit beside me as I’m typing or editing pictures, laying his little hand on my lower arm and his head against my upper arm, and just watch me. Elijah’s tall enough now that he can almost rest his head on my shoulder. Even the most frustrating days can be softened when they are being sweet and tender like that.

2. Giggles:

No matter how bad a day is, my boys will be laughing at some point, those deep-belly giggles that are impossible to resist. They can be fighting and arguing with each other one minute, then laughing with each other the next. And their joy is contagious. Of course, it’s even better when I get to be the one to bring out the giggles in them with silliness and tickles and fun. Laughter is a beautiful remedy for discouragement and exhaustion (I laugh even easier when I’m tired. Haha!) After all, the Bible tell us, “A merry heart does good, like medicine.” (Proverbs 17:22)

3. Unexpected Hugs & Kisses:

Having mentioned our boys’ affectionate natures, is it any surprise that I get treated to random hugs and kisses throughout my day? Josiah’s thing is to give me “all the hugs in the world,” which is basically a really tight, prolonged clinging sort of hug. Even though he will have moments when he doesn’t want ME to give HIM hugs or kisses, he loves to surprise me with them.

Elijah, however, has never rejected a hug that I can remember. He’ll give me a “good morning hug,” a hug before and after school, and hugs “just because” throughout the day, but his specialty is his bedtime hug, where he basically lets you think you’re just leaning down for one last kiss before he goes to sleep, and he’ll latch on, both arms around your neck, and keep you there. (And giggle.) He’s surprisingly strong for his age. He’s also the most likely to come up and give Mom random kisses on the cheek.

4. “I love you, Mommy”:

I don’t know if there is anything more encouraging or refreshing on a difficult day than when your child looks you in the eyes and sweetly and sincerely tells you, “I love you, Mommy.” Even if they are echoing your words with an “I love you, too,” it has a way of refocusing you to how blessed you are to be the mother of that child (yes, that one, the one who just a few minutes ago flushed his training underwear down the toilet – true story. Or that one, who is so driven to create that he keeps ransacking the kitchen junk drawer and recycle bin, even when he’s been told not to, to “make something,” leaving crazy messes and empty tape dispensers in his wake.)

I also cherish their unique compliments of “You look like a princess, Mommy,” or “I like how your hair feels, Mom.”

5. Watching My Babies Sleep:

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “There was never a child so lovely but his mother was glad to get him to sleep.” And when the child isn’t being so lovely, oooh – naptime and bedtime can’t come soon enough! However, even when my kids have been driving me crazy, it’s amazing how precious it is to rock them to sleep and hold them close to you and study their sweet faces.

Of course, Elijah’s a bit too big to rock anymore, but he still melts my heart when I go in to check on him before I go to bed each night. Both he and Josiah usually require an adjustment of their blankets here or a tucking in there, with Josiah sometimes needing to be completely rearranged so he doesn’t fall off his bed (how he moves so much without being awake is rather puzzling). Those last-minute checks, with a whispered little prayer over them, are the perfect way to end even the hardest days.

There are many other little moments that I could mention (When Josiah takes my hand tightly to walk beside me; when Elijah’s sense of humor shines through, and he makes a really witty comment; the boys’ faces when they accomplish something they didn’t think they could, when they are loving and sweet to each other; listening to my boys when they pray and watching their personal relationship with and faith in God grow). I generally get to experience those each and every day with my children.

When I take the time to notice and appreciate those many special moments, how can any day be all that bad?

WHAT EVERYDAY MOMENTS WITH YOUR CHILDREN ENCOURAGE YOU AS A MOM OR DAD?

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Tried It Tuesday: My Kids’ New Favorite Board Game

April 5, 2016

2 Comments

Life in Lape Haven - Tried It Tuesday: My Kids' New Favorite Board Game. With all the gifts my son received for his birthday, I didn't expect this simple, but cute, board game to be his new favorite game to play. Our whole family enjoys this award-winning game.

This post contains an affiliate link, which means at no additional cost to you, I may receive a small commission when you make a purchase through the link.

With Josiah’s recent birthday, he has had an influx of new toys, clothes, and games to enjoy.

Of all the things he received for his birthday, there is one thing that both he and Elijah have been playing with more than any other: The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel Game.

I could claim all kinds of “awesome parent” points for this since it was from Mommy & Daddy, and I picked out the game… except that with Easter and birthday party prep, I kind of overlooked getting him a present until a couple days before his birthday. (Brad and I have been considering getting the boys a swing set or playset for our yard, but we hadn’t found one yet, so we kept putting off getting Josiah’s birthday gifts, just in case we came across a swing set before his birthday.)

Thankfully, my instincts were good on this one. I knew I had seen comments about how much families liked this award-winning game, so I figured it would be worth a try. Besides, we (read: Mommy) can only play so many games of Candyland.

The boys even played this game in their blanket fort.

From the minute we opened the box, the boys were intrigued (and fighting over the adorable “squirrel squeezer”). With their little tree trunks in front of them, they barely let me read over the very easy directions before they started trying to play.

It’s a really simple game with a spinner, acorns in five different colors, tree trunks for “stashing” your acorns, and the aforementioned cute little squirrel squeezer that you use to pick up the acorns. The object of the game is to collect all 5 colors of acorns before anyone else, but you have to watch out for obstacles on the spinner that slow you down: the Sad Squirrel that causes you to lose your turn and the wind storm that blows all your acorns back to the main tree.

Without a doubt, our boys’ favorite thing to land on is the Sneaky Squirrel because then they get to steal an acorn from someone else. They are positively delighted to get to be so mischievous. Of course, they don’t really enjoy it when someone else steals their acorn, so it’s been a great game for teaching them to be a good sport.

That first day we played several rounds of the game, and we’ve played it nearly every day since. They played it with their grandparents, and Josiah even took it over to his cousins’ house this past week to introduce them to the fun. Watching the four boys play it together was hilarious and precious. They all loved the sense of accomplishment when they managed to collect all their acorns and win a game.

As a parent, I appreciate the simplicity of the game, which makes it easy for my 3-year-old to play without help, while not being too young for my 5-year-old (or Brad and I) to have fun. The game is designed to help encourage color identification, as well as matching, sorting, strategic thinking, hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills and pre-handwriting skills, and I can already see improvement for Josiah in some of those areas.

So even if it was more of a last-minute gift, it has turned out to be a great one, one that our entire family enjoys playing, and one that has easily become our boys’ new favorite board game.

Our Four Gift Christmas

December 29, 2015

4 Comments

Our Four Gift Christmas - Life in Lape Haven. This year our family scaled back to 4 presents per person with the guidelines of something they want, something they need, something to wear, and something to read. Here is how it all worked out and what we think about this new holiday tradition.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about our family’s plan to have a more scaled back Christmas, which meant limiting our gift-giving to a simple four gift checklist:

#1. Something they want

#2. Something they need

#3. Something to wear

#4. Something to read

Well, we tested out this minimalist Christmas thing.

How did it work? Did we stick to our plan? Did our boys miss the excess? Is this new tradition a keeper?

Here are the answers to all those questions, in case your family is feeling the nudge to have a simpler Christmas next year.

HOW DID IT WORK?

It was brilliantly easy, for the most part. Having some guidelines for the gifts made it so simple to know what to buy for our boys and eliminated any impulse buys we faced.

Elijah’s list was the easiest to fill because he only “wanted” one thing, he knew what he wanted to get for his “to wear” item, and the other two slots – need & read – filled themselves.

Josiah’s was trickier because he kept seeing new things on television every day that he “wanted.” He would say, “Can I have that for my birthday?” Elijah, being the older brother, would answer before I had a chance, reminding Josiah that, “It’s not for your birthday. It’s Christmas. And you only get ONE thing.”

However, watching how Josiah has been playing lately, we came up with a “want” that he truly did want, and it wasn’t even something he’d seen on a commercial.

Once we had an item for each spot on their lists, we were done. It was amazingly easy. Hubby couldn’t add “one more thing” for either one, as he likes to do, and we didn’t have to worry about one ending up with more presents to open than the other.

DID WE STICK TO OUR PLAN?

Yes, for the most part. The only deviations we made were to have more than one item in a couple of Elijah’s packages. For his “to read,” since he is reading now, we got him two books instead of just one, but wrapped them together. We also added a couple of shirts to his “to wear” present because all he asked for was a scarf, but he really needed new shirts (he just won’t stop growing out of things!). Since all three of Elijah’s clothing items combined were less than the price of Josiah’s huge pack of socks for his “to wear,” we felt it was fair enough and still within our budget and guidelines.

They each had four gifts to open from us on Christmas morning.

They also had their Christmas Eve pajamas the night before, their stockings, and a gift from each other. We didn’t include their gifts from each other in our four-gift rule, nor did we plan to in the beginning because when you let a child buy a gift for their sibling or parents, you can’t really plan what they are going to pick out to give! 🙂

After our boys shopped for us, it put Brad & me both over four gifts each, which we hadn’t really thought about ahead of time. Usually when our boys shop, they get one gift for Mommy and one for Daddy. This year they went with Grandma and found some good sales. They ended up way under budget, though, and they had a wonderful time watching us open the presents from them.

DID OUR BOYS MISS THE EXCESS?

Honestly, I think they were freer and happier without the extras. They haven’t seemed to miss anything.

While we’ve never been ones to go crazy with presents, this year the boys did have fewer presents to open. However, they truly seemed to enjoy the morning even more. Since they knew what the guidelines were, they knew what to expect, and I think that helped them. They weren’t in a rush to go from one gift to the next, and when we were all done, they were content. I really didn’t see any disappointment.

They have enjoyed the presents they received, from us and from family members, but they haven’t seemed as overwhelmed as they have been in the past. Having fewer new toys means that they are appreciating each one more and really playing with them.

IS THIS NEW TRADITION A KEEPER?

ABSOLUTELY, YES!!! It’s amazing what a difference it made all around to our holiday. There was no stress – like, zero! – in shopping for our boys. It felt so laid-back and easy. Since we purchased fewer items, we probably put more thought into our choices, but there wasn’t any pressure that an item had to be the perfect gift. There seemed to be greater appreciation for each item, too.

I’m sure we saved money, so that’s always helpful.

And wrapping! I can wrap four presents in no time! That was so nice. It takes Brad a little longer to wrap things, but even then, we had them sorted and done quickly. Everything was organized, simple, and peaceful.

Instead of shopping and wrapping and stressing, we were enjoying hot chocolate and old movies with our boys, reading the Christmas story again and again, and making cookies to share with our neighbors and memories to share forever.

I think it was probably one of the best Christmases we’ve had in a long time.

DID YOU START ANY NEW TRADITIONS THIS YEAR? DO YOU HAVE ANY GUIDELINES THAT YOU FOLLOW FOR GIFT GIVING AT CHRISTMAS?

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The Reality of Christmas

December 22, 2015

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She was a simple, small-town girl, a virgin whose obedience meant she was about to give birth to the long-awaited Messiah.

He was a carpenter, visited by an angel and called to a holy mission that would change not only his life, but the entire course of mankind.

It was a town with a royal history, a name that meant “House of Bread,” and with fields feeding the lambs destined for the Temple sacrifices. It would shelter the One Who would one day be called the Prince of Peace, the Bread of Life, and the Lamb of God.

They were rugged, filthy shepherds, yet an angelic army would herald them into the presence of the King of Kings.

They were wise, educated, and affluent men, and still they would humbly follow a sign in the heavens toward something greater than even they could fully comprehend.

He was a tiny newborn, sweet and sleepy, helpless and vulnerable, even though His hands had hung the very stars that glimmered overhead. He would be the fulfillment of a plan set in motion thousands of years before, a plan to bring us back to God, a plan that brought God down to us.

Sometimes we know the story so well that we fail to pause and grasp the reality and the significance of each person, each moment, and each detail that God so carefully crafted and designed from the beginning of time.

Each person is important, each moment memorable, and each detail rich with purpose and meaning because this isn’t just a story, a narrative we recite on Christmas Eve along with A Christmas Carol or A Visit from St. Nicholas.

This happened. It is real history. And it changed history.

Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, the Magi – they were real people who lived and died.

Mary experienced the joys and struggles of pregnancy, then labored and delivered her child far from home, among livestock. She and Joseph had faced the suspicions of friends and family, and Joseph would bear the responsibility of providing for and protecting his wife and the Child from the tremendous evil around them.

The shepherds, who were often considered ritually unclean because of their contact with animal waste and dead things, were suddenly face-to-face with an army of angels, and then face-to-face with Emmanuel, “God With Us.”

The wise men studied years, journeyed months, and brought costly offerings for the Baby. To safeguard His identity, they risked angering a wicked king, returning home a different way than they had come.

They all layered their faith in God and their obedience to His leading, intertwining their lives with each other’s at one of the most crucial points in all of time.

Generations later we celebrate the Baby that they held and worshipped.

And yet, while they celebrated the hope that the Child meant for Israel, we can celebrate with a clearer understanding of what His coming meant for the entire world: forgiveness, freedom, joy, peace, healing, and life.

They celebrated at the beginning. We get to celebrate the complete story – His birth, life, death, resurrection, and the hope of His return.

We were simple, common, filthy, and helpless, yet God sent His Son to us, to die for us, to save us, and to be with us.

This is the reality of Christmas.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

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Feature photo courtesy of Picture Bliss Photography.

Tag - gift

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