"Home is the nicest word there is." ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder
In love with Jesus. Wife to my best friend & man I love more than life. Mama to 4 amazing God given blessings. Proud Homemaker & Homeschooler. Living life with it's ups and downs and blogging about it!

Friday, December 4, 2009

Let's GIVE this Christmas away...




I haven't really been able to blog much this past year. I guess because I really just don't have the desire to blog anymore. Sometimes I blog about something interesting but most of the time, I am just too busy and too preoccupied with life happening to stop and take the time to record or reflect. Make sense?

Anyway, I feel the need to slow down this Christmas season. I know that sounds like a cliche but it's how I really feel this year. I have been pregnant or had a small child every Christmas for the past 5 years..that's a lot of TIRED, people!! lol  Seriously, I am exhausted and not just physically. If anyone tells you that 3 is not a big deal, don't believe them!  Or hey, maybe, they are just better at this parenting thing than I am, maybe they are blessed with an abundance of energy and patience or a much better ability to balance it all well. I don't know. What I do know is that I need to make this Christmas about GIVING and not money wise.I don't feel a HUGE need to buy buy buy this year. I don't have the energy or even an inkling of desire to drag myself from store to store or spend hours shopping on the web. I don't need to make it about spoiling kids with more junk they don't need. Don't get me wrong, we will still have presents, but I see a disturbing tendency (human nature) already in my children to want. want. want. And, we just do not have the ability and probably never will to spend a large amount on Christmas. So, I don't want to raise my kids that Mom and Dad will go into more debt to give them the "perfect" Christmas. I want to show them how to give to others. How to give without buying the latest gadget.

So, in the Spirit of that, we are doing a Jesse tree this year  and we are going to adopt some angels or do a Samaritan's purse shoebox. We are going to talk it over and decide this weekend. Our children will probably receive about 3 gifts a piece and some little things in their stockings (and buy little I mean dollar store items or items from Oriental trading).

Everyone's gifts from us will be homemade and the children's gifts (nieces and nephews) will be inexpensive things such as lip gloss, gloves, journals, books, etc. things of that sort. We are going to write letters to Santa because that's such a fun tradition that my mom always did with us and I want to carry that on with my children. We are also going to be making a lot of fudge, cookies, and yummy treats to give to our families and friends. We are going to do something like this every day this month.Not so much for advent, per say, but because I think it's VERY important and wonderful to learn more of our Savior. See here.

Also, we purchased "Saint Nicholas" (it's cheaper on Amazon)for our kids (Veggie Tales) and they absolutely LOVE it and so do I!! It tells the story of Christmas and Saint Nicholas so perfectly. I would recommend this for anyone! It's great! The music video that's included is awesome, as well.

What are some of your Christmas traditions???

Much love to you and yours this Christmas season!

~Julie

1 comment:

Denise said...

In my opinion, you are going to have the best Christmas ever sweetie. I love you.

If we don't find Him in the small things, how will we ever find Him in the big ones? ~Elisabeth Elliot