Yes, that is a play on words...Christmas (a holy holiday!) has come and gone and it's another year I wish we would've put more emphasis on Jesus and not so much on the whole commercialism of it all. It's so easy to do that now that we have kids because we see how fun it is for them (well, just for Jack right now). I hope that we can allow them to keep the magic of Christmas and all things Santa, while still teaching them that it's about God sending Jesus to earth, to save his people from their sins and how that brings us so much hope in an otherwise hopeless world. And also that it's not about them receiving things, but about them giving to others. A good friend told me that she doesn't allow her kids to say, "I want such-and-such for Christmas." Instead, they are to say, "What could I get (or make) for so-and-so?" I thought this was actually a great idea and ran it by Matt...he was all for it and I think we're going to try this next year. Jane will be just over a year, so I think it will be fun to have Jack pick out presents for her so he realizes it's about giving...and then he'll be all the more excited to watch her open her gifts!
Of course, it was a great time spent with family and we're so blessed to have them in our lives. We did a lot of things leading up to Christmas that I hope to make a tradition from here on out. We went to a carnival in Surprise called "The Surprise Party" which was so fun and so cheap! We were there for 5 hours and I spent $2 total! Jack got to ride a pony, a train, the carousel, get his picture taken with Santa--he even got to pet a crocodile!
We went to Zoolights with my mom and stepdad, which Jack loved. Although, he was more interested in the carousel at the zoo than he was the thousands of lights. We also watched the annual boat regatta at my in-laws' house...they live on a lake, and a lot of the residents pimp out their boats with lights, music--you name it. Jack loved riding on the boat with his dad and grandpa, while the girls stayed back to watch from afar (too cold for us!) Jack also did some cookie decorating at a friend's house with his buddies...they got sugared up just before nap time and then crashed (at least Jack did...)
Things have been busy as usual, but I'm starting to get into the swing of things with two kids instead of one. I'm still exhausted, but seeing the light at the end of tunnel (in terms getting a decent amount of sleep at night). And I have to say that if it wasn't for Matt's help, I don't know how I would do this. He has been so amazing...he makes Jack's breakfast on the mornings he's home, letting me sleep a couple extra hours. He cleans up, takes Jack to the park and the gym, answers the phone so I don't have to, rubs my back...he truly is the best. I love him so much.
An update on Jane: she was 6 weeks on Monday and is becoming quite the chubb-o! She gave me her first real smile on Christmas morning--the best gift ever! And she's becoming more and more alert when she's awake...really focusing and giving eye contact. Now, when she hears my voice or Matt's, she'll turn her head in that direction to try and find us. It's so amazing how much she's changed in just a matter of weeks.
Anyway, enjoy the random pictures from this last month. I'll post more pics shortly...it only allows me to post 5 at a time.
1 comment:
sounds like youve been busy. And sounds like you had a great holiday!
You know I love the idea of how to turn christmas into what we can do for others.
The way our family usually does it in a different way is we a child from a local store (off the chrismas tree) and buy them what they asked for for christmas and usually some more...we werent able to do it this year because of still trying to get back on our feet but we usually do one kid for each kid we have...last year we did two since I was pregnant. Its a good way to teach our kids about giving and doing for others and a way to help out other people. always makes us feel good.
anyway the pictures are cute and Jane is getting so big already!
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