Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas . . . from our house to yours.  

"Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord."

(What it was REALLY like trying to get a nice picture of the four children together!)

Reclaim Christmas

Our church this Advent season is encouraging us to Reclaim Christmas.  We need to "reclaim" it by stripping away all that doesn't matter.  Focus on the true, real, original meaning of Christmas.  Celebrating Jesus' birth.

 I personally feel like I've never let it get out of control at our house.
We have an emphasis on the Christmas story.
We don't encourage a lot of gifts of just stuff.
We don't do Santa Clause or Elves.  A lady asked the children the other day if Santa Claus was coming and they looked at me with a puzzled look.  I think they thought she was crazy and I just explained to her that we don't do Santa.
We don't emphasize a lot of decorations at home.  The same tree every year with the same ornaments.  A manger scene on the entertainment center that is a permanent fixture.
A few simple white lights outside.
We have always tried to limit our Christmas schedule to one family gathering per day.  That really works!  I don't remember having to miss any gatherings either.  Everyone has been very accommodating.

Here are some of our ways to focus on CHRISTmas:

Watch CHRISTmas movies.  
We have several DVDs that portray the real story of Christmas.  Veggie Tales and What's in the Bible are a great place to start.  We absolutely love THE FIRST NOEL, narrated by Andy Griffith.  Super cute, short animated film.

Don't place an emphasis on the NEED to go shopping.  
Shop local or shop online.  My children don't see me frantically trying to find a day away to go shopping.  Shop early to eliminate stress.  Sure, I'm on the lookout for good deals and I begin planning early.

Eat by candlelight
We've had an Advent candle wreath at our dinner table for a couple years now.  It is one tradition that the children anticipate each year.  Perhaps they just like the idea of having fire on the table.  Either way, they know the story behind the colors of the candles, we light one each Sunday of December.  Occasionally, fire at the table leads into a little science lesson.

CHRISTmas crafts
There are a bazillion ideas on the Internet for Christmas crafts that bring your focus to the Bible story.  Just one of the ways we did that was to make a "gingerbread" nativity scene.  I found a handprint Christmas craft HERE and hope to do it during this season.

Limit your gift giving
Set a budget and stick to it.  For your immediate family and extended family.  Typically we've given our children only 3 gifts and then some stocking stuffers.  This year, it's even less.  Each child gets one gift and then one big family gift for all the children.

Read
We're reading parts of the Christmas Story at lunch and supper.  We read small parts at a time and break it down and talk about it.  We also enjoy Bible-based Christmas books and we have several that we read over and over this time of the year.

Attend Christmas Programs and Christmas services
Just one more important way to center our focus.  Our church also has a specific day of prayer during Advent.  We haven't been able to attend, but for those that do, it is a powerful experience.

 Advent Devotionals
Our church is posting a devotional each day.
Otherwise there are many other favorites on the Internet.  A Holy Experience is a favorite blog, too.
For the children, their Advent devotion this year comes from Truth in the Tinsel.    We love it!  It is age-appropriate, Scripture-based and has an accompanying ornament for each day.  There'll be a separate post on this later.  A list of several Advent devotionals can be found here.

Give to others in need
Instead of giving gifts to Great-Grandparents and Sunday School Teachers and the Mailman, we make a donation to a reputable organization.  This year, we bought a hog through Heifer International.  Give a little extra to your sponsored child, if you have one, through World Vision or Compassion International.  We are still among the richest in the world, so give a little away.  We packed shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child this year and we've been using their Daily Prayer Guide to pray for our boxes.

I'm sure you have your own ways of "Reclaiming Christmas."  These are just some of our ideas that have worked for us!

Christmas Past, Present & Future

Our annual church Christmas program on was Sunday, December 9 at 5pm.  It is always a much-anticipated event.  This year, all 4 children had speaking parts!  They all had them memorized and at practice they didn't appear to have any nervousness.  

We arrived early to take a picture of the children in front of the church Christmas tree.  I posted that photo last week.  We also arrived early to practice our bell solo.  

Ephraim, Emmet and I participated as part of the prelude.  We played the Doxology with bells.  I will post a picture when I get one of that.  

Singing "Away in a Manger."  It just isn't a Christmas program without this song!

"The white on the candy is there to show . . . ."  Eden did perfect with her part of the candy cane story.

"Jesus is why we celebrate each December."  Eliza did super with her lines, too.

Singing "Jesus Loves Me."

Emmet's classes singing.

Ephraim talking about our family tradition of making a Christmas ornament each day of Advent.

Emmet explaining that E is for "Engaged to Joseph who was from David's family tree."

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!"  Remember that Jesus is the greatest gift of all!

Singing a favorite song of the children about the animals in the stable that night.

"Baa, Baa."  "Hee-Haw."  And "Moo, Moo."

Ephraim's class singing "He Made a Way in a Manger."  A very nice song for this age group!

Ephraim's class singing "Love is Making a Way."
After the concert, we all enjoyed an apple and candy bar treat in the basement, part of our church's 100th Anniversary celebration.  Then we went out to eat with the family that joined us for the concert, both sets of grandparents, Uncle Paul and Janell and Aunt Michelle & family.

Attending a Christmas program that is centered on Christ is just one more way to focus on the real reason for Christmas.

Photos of the week, December 9 to December 16, 2012

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Our church Christmas program, previously blogged about and some yet to blog about.

Monday, December 10, 2012

No picture but we had our couple's Bible Study Christmas Party this night by eating out in Pella and exchanging gifts.  We're also planning a marriage conference in Oskaloosa for January 19, so mark your calendars.  

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Eden loves to help with meal preparations whether it's food or setting the table.  I needed some ham chopped so she worked on that. 

Wednesday, December 12, 2012 

We raised our own pork this year and took them to the locker a month ago.  It's always an exciting time to pick up our meat.  I enjoy seeing what we've received.  We've already had a roast, bacon and homemade biscuits with homemade gravy.  Nothing beats having locally grown meat in the freezer and not having to visit the meat counter.  

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Our homeschool fun day, previously blogged about.  

Friday, December 14, 2012

I don't have a picture for this day but really wish I did.  I did have my camera along but never had the opportunity to take a photo.  We awoke at 5:30 am and were on the road by 6am to pick up a bull cow that Seth was going to purchase.  This is an exciting time for us.  A chance to grow our cow herd in the way that we want to.  Seth wanted to get a Hereford bull and breed it with our black cows and you should get a black cow with a white face.  We traveled to Manning for our bull.  It was about a 3 hour trip and we took two vehicles since Seth's dad came along and we all couldn't fit in the pick-up for that long of a trip.  We enjoyed visiting with the father/son & daughter business owners.  They showed us around, treated us to lunch and gave us all the details on their operation.  We didn't leave for home until after 2pm.  

We have thought long and hard on a name for our new bull.  

My only requirement for a name is that it be from the Bible.  Not that that makes us or it any more holy, but still, just kind of nice.

Seth's only requirement for a name is that it be a nice one.  We have a nice, even-tempered, gentle bull. So right there, the name Goliath and Ahab were out.  

In the running were Obediah, Abe or Abraham, Noah and others.  

In the end, we have decided on Balthazar, a name generally attributed to one of the wise men.  Perfect for this Christmas season.    

I do hope to get a picture of Balthazar soon, but didn't want to scare him with a sudden flash and I also didn't want to take pictures on his previous farm. 

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Showcasing our graham cracker and candy Nativity scenes.  What yummy fun!

HS Fun Day

Our homeschool group has a craft/fun day in December and we were able to go this year.  They also asked for families to do a presentation on Christmas in another country.  We chose The Netherlands, the land of our ancestors.  Eden wanted to pick Mongolia (she has an obsession with saying that name) but I didn't think we'd find much info for that country.  

We took a piece of posterboard and printed some pictures of Sinterklaas for the children to color.  

Sinterklaas is Saint Nicholas in Dutch.  Dutch children put out their wooden shoes on December 5 and fill it with straw and carrots for Sinterklaas' white horse.  In the morning they'll have special treats.  They have a spice cookie that is popular at Christmas time.  We learned the sign language for Christmas and The Netherlands but forgot to do that part.  We had a picture of a traditional Advent Star and also "Merry Christmas" in Dutch.  Unfortunately, church attendance is down in The Netherlands and Christmas has become widely secular.  

A gingerbread picture frame was craft time for all!

Then we assembled gift bags for an neighbor or relative.  That was a fun little service project for the children.  A couple days later we gave our gift back to our next door neighbors!

Everyone had a good time!

Back to Thanksgiving . . .

Our church's Thanksgiving service invites us to say to the congregation what we're thankful for.  It is held on the evening prior to Thanksgiving.  In the past, I have encouraged the children to talk into the microphone and tell what they're thankful for.  This year, I wasn't sure we'd get that chance.  There was a constant stream of people using the microphone.  But, after an hour, we got our chance.
Eliza:  said something that was a bit inaudible.  Food, I think.
Eden was feeling bashful and didn't say anything.
Emmet was thankful for our house.
Ephraim was thankful for his dot-to-dots.
I was thankful for the opportunity to read through the Bible with my children at bedtime.  We've been faithful in reading 2 or more chapters a night.  The best part is that I have 4 accountability partners who won't let me forget a night!
Seth:  Seth was thankful for me.  And then proceeded to tell the story about me killing a snake several years ago.  Seth has a huge fear of snakes and I had discovered a long one in the garage.  Well, in order for Seth to come home that night, I was going to have to "take care" of the snake.  I did and he did come home!

We have so much to be thankful for!  I didn't publicly do the 30 Days of Thankfulness but rest assured, we are blessed and we don't forget to thank the One who gave us those blessings!

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.  

Photos of the week, December 2 to December 8, 2012

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Working on our Christmas ornament for the day's devotion.  It is a crown (toilet paper tube cut and painted and then sequins applied.)

Monday, December 3, 2012

Making gingerbread cookie ornaments at Grandma Donna's house.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012  

The girls were playing "princess in our bedroom.  

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

I have adopted out two of my chickens.  My dad has them in his bird sanctuary with his two peacocks and one duck.  I think these two chickens were pecking on my others so I wanted them out.  From what I hear from dad, the peacocks are chasing them around :)

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Retirement party at work, previously blogged about.

Friday, December 7, 2012

The girls have been wanting their hair french braided.   On this day, I did it from ear to ear, sideways.

Saturday, December 8, 2012

In addition to Christmas program practice, and having company for supper, I also finished Eliza's doll apron, on the right.  Eden's doll apron was done a couple weeks ago.  I think they turned out pretty cute!