Let there be Light

The Advent Calendar is a success so far!  Granted, Douglas is more interested in taking things out of the pockets and putting them back in than he is in what the card actually says, but - whatevs.  He'll get it more next year.  The nice thing about the fact that he's so young when we're starting this tradition is that it gives me a year to work out some of the kinks - to see how I like it before he really gets it and is devastated when I forget it for a day or when I change plans on him.

It's sometimes hard for me to commit to what we're doing that day, so I have to choose things that I really know we'll be able to swing.  The point of this is not to stress myself out MORE during the holidays.  The point is to enjoy it, to make an effort to seize the day and soak up all the holiday goodness that we can.  And, I must say, this first year has been a raging success in our household.

I think one of the tricks is to not overdo it with the intense activities.  Throw lots of super fun, easy ones in there like Bubble Baths and reading books by the fire - things that you would do sometimes anyway - and maybe spice them up by throwing in some Christmas music or reindeer antlers or hot cocoa or a fire.  Don't wear yourself out trying to do a brand new, novel thing every day!

We've decorated Christmas trees. 

There have been bubble baths and Angel Tree gifts and carpet picnics with popcorn and The Santa Clause movie and cookie-making parties with cousins and breakfast for dinner while listening to Christmas music. 

My friend, Lauren, had a "Frosty Friday" party where the kids made Snowman crafts and then sat on a big blanket and ate snacks while watching Frosty...pretty sure life doesn't really get better than that.  Dougie and I dressed up for the party.  I may or may not have worn cheesy Christmas socks pulled up to my knees...Dougie (after seeing what a gem of an outfit I was wearing) may or may not have asked to borrow another pair of said cheesy socks to pull up to his knees - over his khaki cargo pants.  He topped it all off with Micah's Harley Davidson beanie.  It was a little hard to take ourselves seriously.

We had a picnic dinner by the Christmas tree.  (Where Timon decided he should try sitting up...just for fun).

A local movie theater plays Christmas movies on Saturday morning for the month of December, so we rushed out the door one morning to see Elf. It was Dougie's first time to the theater, and he LOVED it. We figured he'd last 20 minutes, but he sat there, wide-eyed, trying to take it all in for the ENTIRE time.  He spoke only to say "Ho, ho, ho" to Santa on screen. There were free carriage rides afterward, so we braved the cold to "ride the horseys".

I left the random lady in here because I think it's funny knowing that just as she's randomly front and center in our cute family photo, we are no doubt messing up the background of hers that was taken just moments before.

It's so amazing for me to see the magic of this season through a child's eyes. Every day, Douglas looks out our window to see the neighbor's house across the street lit up with all kinds of Christmas decorations. Every single time he sees it, he says "Great JOB, neighbor!" Every. Single. Time. Multiple times a day, 7 days a week. Now sometimes he throws his name in there to change it up. "Great JOB, Kevin!!!" He loves him some Christmas lights. The first time he saw me whip out my pink reindeer pj pants, he looked at me with eyes all wide and sparkly and full of wonder and said, "Wow! Niiice! Douglas reindeer pants??" I love that boy. I love that he shares our love for the holidays, even when it involves being oober dorky and over the top - as in the case of the pink reindeer pants.

It's fun watching Douglas learn about the various Christmas stories now that he's old enough to semi-understand. We have a sing-along Christmas dvd that has The Little Drummer Boy on it. We listen and I tell him about Jesus being born and how the little boy wanted to give him a gift to tell him that he loved him, but he didn't have any money to get him anything. But he had his drum. So he asked if he could play him a song. Yesterday while we watched it, Douglas whispered, "Douglas drum" and ran to get his little drum. He brought it back and started playing on it. He had his eyes closed (they were all squinty because apparently it's tricky to close your eyes and concentrate at the same time) and the most hilarious expression on his face as he played his drum. I asked him if he was playing a song for Jesus and he said yes. I then looked at the video and realized that the drummer boy had his eyes closed when he was playing for Jesus - so apparently Dougie decided that's how songs for Jesus are meant to be played.

Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones - and to those who have no loved ones to call their own. May we all encounter the Light that conquers all darkness - and may that Light fill us up from the tops of our heads to the tips of our toes.

As I wrote the above paragraph, these words came into my mind. So I guess they're for you.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
- Romans 15:13