It's Not About Santa, It's About Jesus

(Pictured above is Santa kneeling beside baby Jesus, apologizing and asking Jesus for his forgiveness because he didn't mean to "replace" or over power Jesus and the true meaning of Christmas)

Getting ready to clean the house and I look under the tree at the presents and think

"Why?"

We get carried away when shopping for The kids for Christmas. All we think of is how their faces will light up and the squeals that will insue when they open the presents Christmas morning. 

We get excited at the thought and it drives us to go overboard. We don't think about all the time we will spend trying to get the kids to pick up their toys and clean their rooms. We don't think about the pain or the explitives that will come pouring out of our mouths when we step on tiny peices of toys that were forgotten until that very moment. 

And then we ask ourselves if we are teaching our children right. 

Do the presents and Santa over power and mask the true meaning of Christmas? 

Do they realize the importance of this day?

Do they realize that, like the song from the church play Lanie participated in, you can't have Christmas without Jesus and you can't have Christmas without the cross?

I think Lanie is starting to understand but is it enough? Will she ever know truely? What can I do to help? 

We're guilty of not going to church often enough. Of not showing our children the way soon enough. We are guilty of making excuses. 

In the last 6 months to a year, we've (I've) been trying to change that. I've encouraged Lanie to get more involved in church by participating in the kids programs and making friends who also go to church. I find when you have someone whome you share interest with, like God band church, then you get more involved with those activities because you have someone at your side. It's a start to changing and atoning for the lack of God and worship in the past.

We've always believed in God and taught our kids about all God has done for us but it wasn't enough. Not if presents and Santa ovetbear and mask the true meaning of Christmas. 

We can't forget to teach our children the story of when Jesus was born. Or to remind them what He did for us all. 

(Pictured above is Elfie our Elf on the Shelf wrapped in Santa paper with a book he brought the kids from the North Pole and Santa about the Story of Jesus). 

'Just before Jesus went up to Heaven, he appeared to his disciples and told them to travel to faraway places and teach people to obey his words. "And I will be with you always." Promised Jesus, "until the end of the world."'

(From 'The Story Of Jesus' by Jane Werner Watson, written in a way children can understand Jesus's, birth, life, death, rebirth and love for all)

Live Reindeer Feed With Santa and Elves

          Yesterday I volunteered in Lanie's class at the end of the day for their "Christmas Party". Her teacher had a Live feed of Santa's reindeer on the big screen for the kids. We're talking real life reindeer. Not the animated stuff. The kids loved it. Every now and again a computer generated elf would pop up on the screen and the kids would laugh until they were doubled over.
          I made sure to get the website from her so that I could check in on them and show Liam. Last night I logged in so that Liam could see. He thought it was the coolest thing ever. "Santa's reindeer! WOW! Cool!". Yes it was, but that wasn't the coolest part. Not two minutes after we started watching, a real elf came on the screen and started talking to the reindeer over the fence. You can imagine how much these two kids freaked out.
          I'd say that was the coolest thing, but it wasn't. Not 5 minutes after we started watching guess to else made an appearance? Santa!! The kids were thrilled, squiling and yelling in utter delight. We watched as Santa fed the two male reindeer then proceeded to pet them and talk to them. After he checked his mailbox. Now my internet was bogging down so we weren't the best of the feed, but it looked and sounded like Santa read a letter from someone. It was awesome.

          Just when we thought he was done, he got a chair and took a book out of the mailbox and read a Christmas story to everyone. My kids enjoyed listening to Santa's story (even if my internet was slow). After Santa read the story he told everyone to be good, and for all the kids to say their prayers before bedtime. That right there folks, that had me hooked. In this day and age, religion is being taken out of just about everything, but not this Santa. Nope. He's standing up for his beliefs and I love that my kids were able to hear Santa, someone they look up too, say that he too believes in God.
          Santa will be making another appearance tonight at 6pm, and my kids are excited. You can tune in as well and share the magic of Santa and his reindeer with your little ones http://reindeercam.com I won't be taking Liam to the mall to see Santa. I'm still weary of taking into crowded places for fear that he might catch some virus and have another setback. I was sad that I didn't feel comfortable enough to do this and that he was going to miss out. This is the first year he's really seemed interested in Santa. They must have been learning about Santa as school because Liam gets all excited when someone says Santa or he sees something with Santa on it. That made me sadder. However finding Reindeer Cam has allowed us to keep the magic of Santa and his reindeer going for the kids.
 

        I had made magic reindeer food and handed it out to the kids in Lanie's class as well as a few of her friends from other classes. It's just oatmeal and glitter but it brought the kids so much joy thinking that they can leave out a treat for Santa's reindeer. After watching this feed, they were even more excited to see who they were leaving the treat out for. I am thankful that the people behind Reindeer Cam are doing what they are doing to help share the Christmas magic that so many have lost. 

Handmade

These days it's so easy to forget the true meaning of Christmas.

We loose sight of what's important,

and our main focus become gifts.

We have a long list of who we need to buy for,

and for most of us,

a short budget to do so.

We go out searching for the best bang for our buck,

and a lot of people are willing to sacrifice some very important moments with their families.

Thanksgiving has gone to the way side.

People push it aside as if it wasn't an important holiday,

all for the sake of searching out the best deals for Christmas.

It happens every year and is only getting worse with each passing year.

Do we even remember what Thanksgiving is?

Thanksgiving is a time we are supposed to gather with family.

Contemplate and share what we are thankful for,

and how we've been blessed.

We gather,

make great food together,

eat said food,

and create memories to last a lifetime.

No Thanksgiving is ever the same.

Every year the little ones grow,

gracing us with a new years worth of crazy joy and laughter.

We will never get another chance to recreate these memories.

To give up these precious memories all in the name of shopping..

is just plain sad.

This society is now spending their Thanksgiving,

a day to be thankful for what we have,

to face the crowds and fight over material things that just won't matter in a years time.

So I offer you a new idea.

Or a "recycled" idea.

Handmade gifts.

Let's get back to enjoying the holidays,

spending time with our kids,

and reminding them what these holidays are all about.

Family.

God.

Togetherness.

Let's put a little more time into our gifts,

a little (a lot really) less money,

and put some more magic back into our lives.

I'm enjoying spending time with my daughter creating things out of "nothing".

We've been knitting scarfs and hats.

Instead of buying clothes for my daughters "American Girl" dolls,

I've been making them.

Of course I haven't been able to keep them all secrets,

so she has seen a few things.

She thinks they are for someone else,

but her eyes still light up in joy and wonder.

We are making memories together.

Bonding over each new creation.

Even when things don't turn out perfectly.

Try something new this year.

Create something with your kids,

and create memories to last a lifetime.

Christmas Sensory Bin Ideas

Liam still has sensory issues at 3 years 4 months.

We've worked very hard with him to work through these issues,

and hard work is the only reason he's doing as well as he is.

For the majority of his Liam's life,

he hated textures.

If it wasn't super soft he refused to hold it.

He hated the feel of playdoh,

sand,

uncooked rice and noodles.

We worked past this by playing with these things over and over again.

We still have a lot of work to do.

Sensory bins are awesome.

I love how there is so much in such a small area.

It's meant to stretch their ability to be handle the stimulation with each passing use.

With Christmas coming up I thought to do a Christmas themed sensory bin.

In my Google search I found many I like.

This winter themed sensory bin is so simple and cheap.

Everything in it came from the Dollar store and added up to $5!!

I adore it. I found this at Snails and Puppy Dog Tails Blog.

She has several amazing sensory bins that I am looking forward to making for Liam.

This snowy sensory bin looks like so much fun!

We found this gem at Blog Me Mom

I feel like this is a two for one deal.

Not only so the kids get the sensory aspect out of filling the ornaments,

but when they are done,

you get some great ornaments for your tree.

I love that they used beads as well as sand to fill these up.

It gives me a great idea to use other materials as well.

I found this AMAZING idea over at Little Bins For Little Hands.

Love this sensory bin.

It has some of Liam's favorite things.

Found at Four Little Piglets

We are already so excited for Christmas!

Can't wait till closer to Christmas to do some crafts with the kids.

A Little Elf Magic

I saw a post or an ad about Elf on the Shelf Elves,

and it got me thinking.

I could really make it fun for Lanie and Liam this year.

I could seriously create more Christmas magic for the kids.

Sure it's going to be a lot of work,

it already is a lot of work,

but it's so worth it!

So what did I do?

It all started on Facebook.

Our Elf,

Elfie,

created his very own Facebook page called Elfie Selfies.

What happened next?

Well the FB page didn't show enough Chrismas cheer and fun,

so "he" created a blog.

Yes a blog called Elfie Selfies.

Then posted several craft ideas.

Then I showed Lanie the blog.

Wanna guess what happened next?

Well she flipped!

Her eyes got huge as she read the title of the blog.

Then her jaw dropped to the ground.

Then her head slowly turned to look at me.

"OOOOMMMMGGGG Mom that's  my Elf!!"

She Proclaimed.

And yes she said the actual O.M.G. letters and not the what it stands for,

My little girl who will soon be 7 years old,

was extremely thrilled and glued to my side.

Needless to say,

I couldn't do anything else until she walked away.

Yes yes.

I did it.

I already see the excitement.

The thrill.

The magic.

This year is going to be GREAT!!

Lanie is already requesting that Santa send her a girl Elf,

since we have a boy Elf,

That way there are two of them to watch over both the kids,

She said if Santa grants her wish,

she will name it Selfies.

So the blog can be both their Elves posting.

Please check out the blog,

enjoy the crafts with your kids,

and give feedback.

 

Christmas is 9 days away and with each day the excitement builds.

 

Our Elves are working over time making sure everyone is behaving.

 

Christmas pictures have been taken.

 

The tree decorated.

 

The present's all wrapped.

 

The stocking all hung

And the eve lights lite up

 

 

The kids have seen santa

whispered their wish list.

 

Cookies have been baked

Hand delivered to the neighbors

 

Family came to visit

 

Stories have been told

 

Laughter has filled the house

 

Cuddles have been shared

 

And Candy canes have been eaten

 

Every day is a day closer

The wait is a thrill

Cant wait to see their little faces alight

As they open their gift!

 

 

We pray you have a Merry Joyous Christmas.

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Updates:

Liam is doing good. He has had no issues with his mediport and the pain from the surgery has subsided. He is back to being a happy semi-healthy sweet little boy who is growing leaps and bounds. He is learning so quickly. He now crawls all over the house, travels along the furnature, pulls things in and out of tubs and blows kisses. Tuesday he is getting braces for his ankles to help stabalize them. The idea is that his weak ankles are preventing him from walking or standing unassisted. The hope and prayer is that these braces will allow him to start standing and walking. WALKING!! Its such an exciting concept we love it! God has done amazing things with Liam and continues to heal our sweet little lamb. We couldn't be prouder or happier of our sweet boy. Liam still isnt eating by mouth but we've been making awesome breakthroughs. He now can put food in his mouth without retching! Sometimes he likes to eat cool whip, lick on suckers or take a small bite or two of a mini reeses peanut butter cup. Thats HUGE! And today little lamb had his very first candy cane ever and HE LIKED IT!!!  Feeding thereapy was approved and his evaluation is on Jan 7th so that will help to get Liam eating like he is supposed to. One of my Christmas wishes was for Liam to eat and I couldnt ask for more! Lanie has learned to write her name and has become great at drawing. We're encouraging her by framing some of her art. She gets so excited to see her work framed and hanging on the wall. Her imagination knows no bounds. We've been so blessed. Thank you all for your prayers.

S4L Christmas Toy Drive 2012