We are doing our best to have a Christ centered Christmas around here. We've got the nativities up (my kids call them activities). I'm even doing a halfway decent job of not getting upset when the kids decide the breakable ones ought to be relocated.
Although I enjoy writing, I feel like I find Christ in Christmas best through music. We've had a lot of that around here. We've even added an instrument.
We took our kids to see A Christmas Carol, because what preschooler doesn't love a good stage adaptation of a Charles Dickens classic? I know it doesn't mention Christ, but I think it fits with the True Meaning of Christmas. The Texan tried to explain it to them first. We thought that would help them enjoy it a little bit more. As we were taking our seats my oldest little redhead told me we would see three ghosts. "The ghost of Christmas Yesterday, Christmas Today, and Christmas Tomorrow." We forgot to tell them about Jacob Marley. And they can count. Well, the baby can't count yet, but the other two can. They were ready to leave after the ghost of Christmas Present because that was three ghosts. I'm glad they are smart. I'm glad they were paying attention. I'm kind of tired of being corrected by a three year old. In a few short months I'll have the pleasure of being corrected by a four year old.
I don't feel like Christmas is a dichotomy of either Christian or heathen, so we are also having a great time with secular Christmas. We decorated the tree, hung stockings, made Christmas cookies, and are reading lots of books about Santa.
On an unrelated note, everyone around here seems to love a good parenting gone
awry story. Today I was in the mood for a new
facebook status, and I was starting to smell like spit-up. I decided to take a shower even though the
kids were awake and see what kind of entertaining havoc they could wreak in a
few minutes of unsupervised time.
The little rascals didn't do ANYTHING. No climbing to reach forbidden objects, no
adventures in the pantry, no trying to put lotion on the baby. As far as I can tell, they quietly behaved
themselves the entire time. The baby
even fell asleep.
And once again I have been bested by a toddler and a
preschooler.
