Christmas Presents for Kids

If your kids are anything like mine- they have lots of loving family- which means that lots of loving family loves to love on them at Christmas time. I'm not complaining. I love to give gifts too. But sometimes, it can be overwhelming. I love to give gifts to my kids. Its one way I like to show my love too. But I have wondered many times how to approach this at Christmas time- when I don't want a house overflowing with gifts and I want to maintain the focus on Jesus- the birth of our Savior (you know, the whole reason for the season thing!). I want my kids to first think of Christmas as a time to be joyful and thankful that God gave us the best gift ever in Jesus- and secondly to show our love like God did by giving gifts to others. After much debate my husband and I have (hopefully) come up with a 'tradition' that will allow us to maintain that focus, allow me to express my love by giving gifts, and to avoid over gifting.

I don't remember where I heard the idea in the first place, but there is gobs of stories online about this same topic- Giving the Gifts Jesus Got. Jesus got three special gifts to celebrate his birth (Christmas). Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh. The idea is to give each child three gifts based on what Jesus was given.

The Gold Gift- Gold is something valuable and treasured. This is a great way to give a gift of something the child wants, treasures, and desires more than anything else. The item they keep circling in the catalogs or eyeing in the store.

Frankincense- this is an incense that was burned and the smoke would billow up into the heavens. It often represents our prayers going up to God. So this gift should be something that would bring the child closer to God. Maybe a bible, book, dvd, or christian summer camp. Our kids will be getting the fisher price nativity set this year- a way for them to interact and get to know God's story better.

Myrrh- this is a precious oil that was rubbed on the body (often after death, but ewe, leave that part out!). So the Myrrh gift is an item that goes on the body. Ideas include clothing, shoes, coats, lotions.

What I love about this set-up is that there isn't a dollar amount affixed so I can go big or little depending on the year and our ability to give or it leaves room for the really really special 'gold' years of the 'wow' item. It is also meaningful and gives us a chance to reflect the whole experience and holiday right back on Christ. I still get to give, they get to receive, but it is not an overwhelming amount.

And after our sharing of gifts, we're hoping to throw Jesus a birthday party :) Cake and all.

So, if you are struggling with the idea of getting your kids presents this Christmas without overwhelming them- consider giving them the same as Jesus received!

Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. I was so excited for people to open the gifts I bought so long ago (I got all my shopping and wrapping done before december- just in case!). I loved giving my dad this awesome Detroit Tigers mug I had found, a great t-shirt for my brother in law Jason, and a pretend birthday cake set for Izzy (she loves to pretend birthday parties with her dolls and me).

Isabelle got some wonderful gifts, her favorites included:

• a 6 week ballet class
• a diaper bag for her baby doll
• money to buy herself a new baby doll
• a tea party set- real china for a big girl!
• a pretend hair styling kit with blow dryer, curing iron, etc
• matching jammies sewn for her and her baby doll by my mom

Paul and I didn't exchange gifts this year which was kind of a bummer- but we got a few wonderful gifts from other people- including a netflix subscription for 6 months which we are totally geeked about!

What was your favorite gift to give or recieve this year?

For Unto Us...

Isaiah 9:6 (NIV)

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called:

WONDERFUL COUNSELOR,
MIGHTY GOD,
EVERLASTING FATHER,
PRINCE OF PEACE!

Merry Christmas. Happy Birthday Jesus. Thank you God for the most perfect gift ever given- your Son, our Savior JESUS!!!

A different kind of holiday...

Christmas is upon us and I'm still trying to convince myself of it. This year has been so different in many ways- but I think for the better.

I have never been away from 'home' on Christmas. Even after Paul and I were married and had Isabelle, we spent Christmas eve and morning with my parents. This year, we are staying home and they will be visiting us sometime later on Christmas day. While I'll miss some of the 'traditions' of my childhood, we hope to create some new ones as our own little family unit this year.

I will missing seeing and/or participating in the Christmas eve service that my dad always puts on, but this year I'll get to experience our church home- Ada Bible's- Christmas eve service. I will enjoy celebrating Christmas with a community we have grown to love and respect.

I love to decorate for Christmas. I don't have much in the way of decorations, but it makes me feel warm and cozy to put up a few glowing lights and some cute little snowmen. This year, I had to simplify. Due to a slight scrooge of a husband who refuses to take part in any sort of holiday decor, its always up to me to get the job done. Being nearly 9 months pregnant, setting up a 7ft tree seemed a little too overwhelming (as did the thought of taking it down post c-section with a newborn). So, I improvised and set up just the top of the tree and one or two layers underneath it. Its kind of retarded looking- more fat than tall. But it has worked perfectly. I was able to set it up in just an hour or so, it is all at Izzy's height so she enjoys 'redecorating' it everyday. It gives me the feeling I love, without the hassle this year. (I so need to convince my husband to let me get a pre-lit tree one of these days!).

Due to my deep desire to not be fighting crowds while ridiculously pregnant- I finished my shopping about 2 or 3 weeks ago. Its freeing to know its done, and all the presents are wrapped and ready to go- just it case little Lili makes a surprise early appearance. And due to financial issues, Christmas shopping has been simplified significantly. Small budgets=chance to be creative=really taking my time to figure out what I want to give to someone.

I usually love Christmas parties and get-together's. The food. The friends. The fun. Even the families (most of the time!). This year my body is simply not letting me enjoy large groups as I usually do, therefore we are having to say 'no' to more and more things. But, it has been slightly freeing. Sure, I have a great excuse being full term and all, but it is nice to know that the world doesn't end if you say 'no' to something. Sure, some people get disappointed, but it is healthy to just say 'no' sometimes. That doesn't come easily for me.

Simplicity has been good. It has been healthy. I feel calm, collected, and at peace. I feel as though this year more than ever I can focus on the true meaning of Christmas- the gift of a savior. No longer are trips up North, parties, food, decorations, presents taking up my thoughts and activities. I'm focused on simply enjoying the holiday for what it is. A celebration of life. A celebration of a loving God who gave us the best present ever!

It will be a different kind of holiday this year, but I'm looking forward to it.

And, it doesn't hurt that a mere 5 days after we celebrate the birth of a King, we will celebrate the birth of our newest family member :)

Child Like Faith

An interesting thing about this Christmas season has been my increased understanding to what it means to have a child like faith. My 2 year old daughter is the one to thank for that.

We have been talking all season long about how baby Jesus was born in a manger, that He was born to save the world. We had a paper doll nativity scene that she loved playing with. We hoped that somehow these lessons were getting across.

On Christmas Eve we were up at my parent's church to attend their Christmas Eve service. Izzy was playing around on stage as we got everything ready. She loved looking at the big, beautiful tree and all of the sparkling lights- but then she was drawn to the manger they had on stage. She immediately shouted, "Jesus is born!" She ran over to the manger to find, that it was empty. My poor distraught child! Where is Jesus? Where did he go? Is he playing hide and seek? Will someone go find Him? An endless line of questions and concerns followed. I finally said, "Well, baby Jesus grew up to save the world, and now He is in Heaven!". Izzy replies, "I want to go to Heaven too! I'm excited to see baby Jesus!". And then the question of why He wasn't lying in the manger insued again.

I couldn't help but be slightly annoyed with the constant asking of where baby Jesus had gone and why he wasn't in the manger. Some people had begun to arrive at this point, and she began telling them that baby Jesus was gone! One woman in particular felt for her, and even tried to convince her daughter to run home and get a baby doll! Well, come to find out later, my daughter became a little missionary that night.

This woman was so touched by Isabelle's little heart of faith. She told my dad how she learned from my 2 year old, that the absence of Christ invites turmoil. How the absence of Jesus in Christmas, is really not Christmas at all.

I was so proud of my daughter. I began listening more to her questions about Jesus and where He was. She continues to ask every so often, "where did Baby Jesus go? Will someone else find Him?" I continue to remind her that Jesus is in Heaven because He saved the world.

My daughter's longing for this person named Jesus and her excitment to go to this place called heaven touched me deeply. She doesn't fully know who Jesus is and what it meant for Him to save the world. She doesn't really know what Heaven is and how to get there- but she has a longing for it. Shouldn't we?

Christmas Celebrations

We've had a lot of fun over the past week with many Christmas celebrations and get togethers.

Highlights include:

• Morgan family get together- I had a blast with the kiddos, even though preschool isn't my thing. We did arts and crafts and games and it was just fun!


• Mince family get together. Good fellowship- but it was hard as it was the first christmas without Uncle Steve. Also, many family could not make it do to weather and illness. I had fun running the teen auction. They raised over 50 bucks for charity! I ended up with a Kate Spade purse in the adult auction!


• Spica immediate family. We had a great time sharing gifts. Isabelle received many wonderful things. Two favorites are a Miss Patty Cake DVD and a cash register that scans food and teaches numbers, colors, and food groups. My hubby and all the other men surprised us girls with a night in Chicago to go shopping at the outlet mall and a night away from all kids!!! What awesome husbands we have! Mom and Dad also are taking all of us to Great Wolf Lodge sometime this winter.


• Pentwater. We had a blast. Lots of game playing. Andrea and Jason were up there. Grandma Lillie stayed for a couple days. Great christmas eve service at church (which I have a cool story about for a later post). We had a great time opening presents and enjoying lots of great food! Izzy loves her soft and cozy jammies and remote control bumble bee. I got new bath towels!!!!! And Paul bought me a cookware set. I never got pots and pans when we were married, so I was using hand me downs that were not very functional. I also got a new coffee maker to replace my broken one. I enjoyed giving my mom a calendar of Izzy pictures. Dad will be smelling good with three bottles of cologne!

All in all Christmas was a huge success. Lots of family time. A good balance of family times. We also focused on the true meaning of Christmas which is so hard to do! Hope all of your celebrations were joyful and meaningful as well!

Merry Christmas!

We wish everyone a blessed and merry Christmas!