Christmas--part 2
THE TREE IS DONE!!!! Last night, we finally finished the tree. Chasity loved it! Except for the ornaments at the tip top, she put them all on. We even held her up to let her put the Angel on the top of the tree. She was so excited.
As soon as Tony came in from work, "Daddy, Daddy, can we do the tree now?!" Of course, his answer was, "Can I please take my shoes off first?" As soon as he got his shoes off, she started again. He finally convinced her to let him sit down for a few minutes. His few minutes turned into an hour and a half nap!! Around 7pm she woke him up yelling "DADDY!! WE HAVE TO DO THE TREE!!! IT'S DARK OUTSIDE!!!" (She bases all her time on dark and light. If it's light, she can play and not sleep. Dark means it's getting late and she should be in the bed!)
So, the tree is up! Yes, there is an eclectic mixture on the tree, but that's what you get with a 5 year old. We have the traditional colored lights. Blue and silver garland. Blue, silver, and white balls. Angels, stars, plastic icicles. Then there are the things that Chasity has made for "Christmas Past"--construction paper things. Foam things! Then there are the DORA THE EXPLORER ornaments. There are two different sets of those.
Of course, Tony and I are fans of opposing NFL teams. So... we have approximately 1/3 of the tree for each of the three teams we support. First there's the Dallas Cowboys (BOO HISS!!!). Then there are the Washington Redskins (YEAH HOORAY!!). Then--the only team we can agree on--the Carolina Panthers! Before we had Chasity and we started letting a "kid" do the ornaments, we would literally split the tree. Redskins on one side, Cowboys on the other, and Panthers down the middle! Now, we can't tell where the Panthers and Cowboys are--the colors match the tree too well! My Redskins really stick out against that blue/silver!
In order to make sure that we remember the true meaning of Christmas, we have our Nativity scene sitting on the stand right as you walk into the living room. You really can't miss it. For Christmas one year, my brother and his wife (and kids) gave this to Tony and me. They gave us the little people, and we found the stable thing after Christmas and thought it would be good with it! So we have been using this ever since then!
The angels in front spell NOEL. These were some of Tony's mom's decorations that we inherited! I love them. They are plain, but they get their message out. Sometimes I think we forget that everything doesn't have to flashy or loud in order for us to hear it. Of course, that's also why we often miss the voice of God because He speaks in a still small voice (the voice of a child sometimes) and we expect neon signs and marching bands! God isn't going to through us a parade just because He wants to get our attention. He'll wait. However, in the meantime, our decisions that we make "waiting" on Him to speak may not be the ones He wants us to make. What if we just turned everything off....including our own thinking for a while? What would happen? Maybe God could get His point across in a still small voice instead of having to hit us over the head with bricks so much!
As soon as Tony came in from work, "Daddy, Daddy, can we do the tree now?!" Of course, his answer was, "Can I please take my shoes off first?" As soon as he got his shoes off, she started again. He finally convinced her to let him sit down for a few minutes. His few minutes turned into an hour and a half nap!! Around 7pm she woke him up yelling "DADDY!! WE HAVE TO DO THE TREE!!! IT'S DARK OUTSIDE!!!" (She bases all her time on dark and light. If it's light, she can play and not sleep. Dark means it's getting late and she should be in the bed!)
So, the tree is up! Yes, there is an eclectic mixture on the tree, but that's what you get with a 5 year old. We have the traditional colored lights. Blue and silver garland. Blue, silver, and white balls. Angels, stars, plastic icicles. Then there are the things that Chasity has made for "Christmas Past"--construction paper things. Foam things! Then there are the DORA THE EXPLORER ornaments. There are two different sets of those. Of course, Tony and I are fans of opposing NFL teams. So... we have approximately 1/3 of the tree for each of the three teams we support. First there's the Dallas Cowboys (BOO HISS!!!). Then there are the Washington Redskins (YEAH HOORAY!!). Then--the only team we can agree on--the Carolina Panthers! Before we had Chasity and we started letting a "kid" do the ornaments, we would literally split the tree. Redskins on one side, Cowboys on the other, and Panthers down the middle! Now, we can't tell where the Panthers and Cowboys are--the colors match the tree too well! My Redskins really stick out against that blue/silver!
In order to make sure that we remember the true meaning of Christmas, we have our Nativity scene sitting on the stand right as you walk into the living room. You really can't miss it. For Christmas one year, my brother and his wife (and kids) gave this to Tony and me. They gave us the little people, and we found the stable thing after Christmas and thought it would be good with it! So we have been using this ever since then!
The angels in front spell NOEL. These were some of Tony's mom's decorations that we inherited! I love them. They are plain, but they get their message out. Sometimes I think we forget that everything doesn't have to flashy or loud in order for us to hear it. Of course, that's also why we often miss the voice of God because He speaks in a still small voice (the voice of a child sometimes) and we expect neon signs and marching bands! God isn't going to through us a parade just because He wants to get our attention. He'll wait. However, in the meantime, our decisions that we make "waiting" on Him to speak may not be the ones He wants us to make. What if we just turned everything off....including our own thinking for a while? What would happen? Maybe God could get His point across in a still small voice instead of having to hit us over the head with bricks so much!Probably the Christmas decoration(s) that we have had the longest is our village. Yes, everyone probably has a village for Christmas (or has had one)...however there is something very special about our village. Other than the fact that we have added to it every year since we got married, the cool thing about THIS village is that every piece in the original village (all the houses) were purchased at the DOLLAR TREE! That's right, I said it. I have a DOLLAR TREE village, but you can't tell it (even close up) when you are looking at it! Some of the little people and trees and stuff have cost more than that as we add to it, but the original village was from the Dollar Tree. (Unfortunately, they don’t carry it anymore so we can’t add the matching pieces from there.) Wal-Mart is the next closest thing…. But they have bigger houses so some of the people are too big! LOL
I am so excited that Christmas is only a couple days away! (OK OK I know…) I get more excited everyday! Sometimes, I am WORSE than a child at Christmas!!!
By the way, did anyone notice the presents under the tree? There are 4 of them—all FROM Chasity! She made them at her Girl Scout thing today and put the first presents under the tree this year.
You know, I never thought I'd really write so much on here. But...since I do, I hope you enjoy it!
Until next time........
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