So this is Christmas....

What a wonderful Christmas this year.... Dare I say..... relaxing?
We had all our Christmas gatherings far enough apart that we didn't have to rush around or be stressed out for any of them!!! Each day we had something we had almost the whole morning and afternoon to hang in our jammies and then get ready that night.
It was so very wonderful.

I love some of the traditions that we have made through our families and here are some of my most favorite ones.....

• I started this year making our own little advent by wrapping 25 of Asher's Christmas books ( actually we have over 25 so next year I may start sooner than Dec 1st to get them all in) and letting him unwrap 1 each night.  Once I wrapped them, I didn't know what was what and Asher got to pick which ones he wanted each night. The cool part was that the very last book on Christmas Eve was the REAL story about Jesus and his birth. In of all the "Christmasy" books that we have we only have a couple about the birth of Jesus... so I'm gonna make sure and get a few more this next year.  Loved that God saved that one for last

• And because I am pregnant and my mind revolves around  food... another of my favorite traditions is my Mom's Fresh Cherry Pudding. It is this chocolate sponge cake that has cherries in it and then you drizzle this maple vanilla sauce on top! It is to die for!!! My Grandmother made it at Christmas when she was little and since Mom has started making it for us it has been a MUST, especially for Rich!  There's no doubt that it will be a tradition for my kids and grandkids too!
• my Dad, for the pat 4-5 years has been sharing a recitation called " The Christmas Guest" at our Christmas Eve service. It is such a touching story and my Dad does such a wonderful job at it. He has memorized it and for a 74 year old, that's pretty good.  Here's a link to hear it... The Christmas Guest, by Hoot Gibson
• Rich's family dynamic is definitely changing.... When we first started dating we had the most reverent and relaxing Christmas times. Now that we have 5 kids and 2 on the way, it's turned into quite the circus! So fun... but not what we are used to.  One tradition that we skipped out on this year, but will definitely want to make sure happens next year is Grandma Anita playing the piano while we all sing. All of Rich's family is so musical and we don't take the time to use it much.  We did sing, but acapella. I really missed that piano. She is so very talented and we all love to hear her play. She does it with such intent that it is always worshipful to those who hear. 

• We had lots of fun making goodies this year. Asher was our official "sprinkler" and would sprinkle a few and then lick a few. :) We probably made 5 dozen sugar cookies and 7 dozen dipped pretzels this year! He had lots of practice!!! 

This year with Asher becoming more aware of Christmas and the meaning behind it, made me really step back and think what I want our family's focus to be on. While we tried to make him think of others with our gifts to World Vision and to other family members, he still had a really hard time grasping that Christmas was not all about him when it came to giving gifts.  I know he's only 3 and that will come with age... but it definitely made me think that we should keep it simple next year. I think that instead of the stress of going to a store for things.. we may try having Asher make something for the ones he wants to give to. That way we don't have to look at all the things for sale that will make him think about what he wants. He will be able to think about what that person likes, their favorite colors... etc.

All in all, it was a wonderful time. I will miss the glimmer of the tree and lights on the fireplace... and the overall "home" feeling our house has when it's the season.
However, the leftover cookies will not be!!!