how much time we’d be taking off, etc.
I said, “well you know, guys, if we would do school thru the holiday,
we’d get off a week earlier in the spring”….
But their wide eyes and pleading looks had me thinking of changing my mind.
As did the weeks of school that followed.
We all needed a break!
And break we’ve had!
I think it has been the Best Christmas ever!!
We spent 4 wonderful days at the cottage, just our family.....
With lots of games....
here Amber is pleased to be taking her Daddy's King in checkers.
It was delightful
to sleep late,
and play around,
just enjoying
every minute of it...
We made lots of
caramel popcorn,
peanut brittle
and coated Ritz Crackers,
stuffed with peanut butter.
And of course,
enjoyed ample helpings
of all!
We made 20 qt of popcorn..
You Moms will 'hear' this..
We had made a double batch,
and I put it into bags to give as gifts.
When I realized I was giving it all away,
I quickly decided to make 2 more
batches, and was glad I did.
You should have heard the panic
in their voices when they thought I
was giving it all away...
So with the 20 qt,
there was and still is,
plenty for us to crunch on..
This year all season long,
we have been stressing to the children
the real Christmas spirit.
That of blessing others,
of sharing the love of Jesus with them,
of sharing the love of Jesus with them,
of counting the gifts they already have, etc.
On Christmas Eve, we gave them each an
allotted amount of money and let them look thru the Christmas gift catalogs-the ones we got from different ministries. They were able to choose gifts for poor families, and you should have seen their happy faces...
So judging by the happy faces, I rejoiced with the realization
that they had experienced the true spirit of Christmas...until....
Amber said, "you know, I'm just thinking that if other parents are teaching their children to give
instead of get for Christmas, we might get some more stuff yet!"
And then the Father chose to delight us in answering a prayer that our
family had prayed all month of December...
"can you please send us snow while we are at the cottage?"
It was a special surprise, and made the cottage feel even cozier.
We chose to leave that coziness for an hour or so Christmas Eve
and sang some carols for three neighboring families.
The days that followed were broken up with family get togethers, relatives coming from afar, even more snow and other specialness that Christmas brings....and tonight as I muse, I think about what has made this the best Christmas ever, and I say that I know what it is. It is the awareness that had Jesus not been made flesh and dwelt among us, there would be no Christmas. And without that, I cannot begin to count the ways my life would be different...and so I praise God for this past year and altho I can scarcely believe that 2012 is all but over....I am looking forward to living in His Presence in 2013!
