Monday, December 3, 2012

Mommy Moment Monday: Let the Countdown Begin!

Twenty-two days.
 
That's it.
 
That's all there is, and then it's Christmas!
 
I'm sure many of you are sharing this sentiment, but where did the time go?!  I can't believe Christmas is just around the corner!
 
And I have this countdown chain (however cute it may be) hanging in our living room, relentlessly reminding me of the quickly approaching holiday!
 
We made this from construction paper and this cute printable from Confession of a Homeschooler.
 
It never fails that I spend days, weeks, and even months planning for Christmas, then one day I wake up in a panic that I'm about to run out of time!  You'd think with all that planning I'd be perfectly calm and prepared, but no.  It never works out that way.  Today was that day for me.  Maybe the fact that not only is Christmas quickly approaching, but my daughter's birthday party is in less than 2 weeks, aggravated the matter just a little.
 
But that's okay.  Everything always works out in the end.  And this year I'm trying hard to focus my attention as well as my kids' on Jesus rather than "stuff," so I have to keep reminding myself that all the "stuff" that goes along with preparing for Christmas and the "stuff" that end does and doesn't end up under the Christmas tree isn't really all that important.
 
However, it's really hard to keep the kids' focus on Jesus when we're lighting candles and reading Scripture one minute, and writing an "I want" letter to Santa the next. 
 
(Any tips on having fun with Santa while making sure your preschoolers know the importance of Jesus' birth would be very welcomed!)
 
I will say my husband and I seem to be more "in the spirit" than the last few years.  I think seeing our kids' excitement brings out the kid inside and make us a little more excited!  My husband took the kids out earlier tonight and had them "help" put up our icicle lights.  They had a lot of fun, and it was adorable hearing my 4 year old sing 'Christmas Lights' (his made-up song) to the tune of Jingle Bells.  And we went to a drive-through lights display last week and had so much fun we've decided we want to go every week until Christmas!

 
The most exciting thing about this year so far is that I've seen my son learn a lot about Jesus and his birth.  He's learned from Sunday school as well as our Jesse Tree and the Advent study I'm doing.  Half of the time I feel frustrated because he doesn't seem to be paying any attention, but then I ask him a question and he tells me everything I said.  I am so unbelievably proud of him!  Last year we made sure he knew Christmas was Jesus' birthday, but this year he's actually learning the details of the story.
 
So really, among all the hustle and bustle, I think we're counting down to what's going to be our best Christmas yet.  My hope is that each year gets better and better.  I pray that as my kids get older they can appreciate what Christmas is really about - that they can fully grasp what Jesus' birth meant so long ago, what it means for them now, and what it means for their future.
 
I know my kids are young and it'll still be a while before they reach that point, but until then, I hope we can make it a fun-filled, Jesus-centered holiday for them!

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