JustJessie

Happiness in a box

One of the most exciting things that can happen for my boys is to receive a letter in the mail.  It's so thrilling for them to walk to the mailbox with me and find a something with their name on it.  They grab the letter and dance all the way up the driveway singing, "I got a letter, I got a letter!"  Imagine the pandemonium, then when we received a package from across the ocean that was just for them! 

A couple of days before Christmas, the postman rang our doorbell with a delivery from our blogging friend Chris all the way over in Oxford.  (I've put off posting about it, because he was out of town, and I wanted to make sure he saw it!).  It was so cool of him to think of the boys, and the gifts were great.  He sent a domino game with pictures as well as numbers, which the boys have greatly enjoyed playing with.  The best thing, though was a puzzle of a map of the British Isles.  Grayson's favorite thing in the world right now is "big boy puzzles."  When we finished putting it together, we were able to show him from where the gift was sent.  We also got to show him the places which produced our ancestors.  He has heard the names lots of times in the stories we tell, but now he can identify it with a real place.  This was a very cool and thoughtful gift.  The greatest thing though, as with most gifts, is the warm fuzzy you get just knowing someone thought of you.  So, thanks Chris and Sinead - for the warm fuzzy and the thoughtful gifts!

 

The Candle of Loving and Giving

This one was the calm before the storm.  We gathered our little family around the coffee table the night before Christmas Eve, and took a few minutes to talk about the wise men.  The next morning is when all the craziness would begin for our family, so this was sort of the last chance to have a calm moment and refocus them on the baby Jesus. 

The Candle of Loving and Giving is meant to represent the wise men in the Christmas story.  As Jeff read the passage from Matthew 2, and then I read from our advent book, I realized how little we know about these men.  Nowhere does the Bible say they were kings; it never says there were three of them; it tells us virtually nothing.  Yet history/legend/imagination would tell us of three kings from all over the East who followed the star to Bethlehem.  On camel's backs they trudged across the desert, all in search of the king foretold in the heavens.  In my favorite Christmas legend, they stop at the door of Babushka and invite her to join them, and add her gift to theirs.  So much mystery, so much left untold, and yet such a vital part of the nativity story.

After we read, Jeff lead us in prayer together.  I know I'm a terrible example, but I couldn't resist snapping these shots as we prayed.

 

The Candle of Adoration

This was the best so far.  As we lit this candle, we discussed my very favorite part of the Christmas story.  The angels in the heavens, singing to the poor shepherds below.  Since I was a little girl, memorizing Luke 2 for Sunday School programs, this is the part of the story that has thrilled me.  After we sang "O Little Town of Bethlehem" and talked a moment about the candles from the weeks before, I had Grayson close his eyes.  I know this kid well, and I know his imagination is much like mine.  He closed his eyes, and scrunched up his forehead as I began...

"Grayson, imagine you are in the middle of a field, in the blackest of nights. You're huddled close to the fire in your shepherd's robe.  All your sheep lie around you, and you know them all by name.  Your dogs are pacing around the outskirts of your camp, watching and protecting you and the sheep.  Your brother sits near you, playing on a small harp while you both sing a song to pass the time. (at this point he was smiling a dreamy sort of smile).

All of a sudden, out of nowhere, a huge, shining man in armor is filling the sky with light, and speaking directly to YOU!  He says, 'FEAR NOT! (here Grayson's mouth dropped open) I bring you the most wonderful news ever heard!  Tonight in the tiny town of Bethlehem, a Savior is born!  It's Christ, the Lord!  And YOU may go to Him.  You will find Him in a barn, lying in the manger where the cattle feed.'

Then, before you can ask a question, or even think, the WHOLE SKY IS FULL OF ANGELS!  They are singing a song like you've never heard.  You hear the words, 'Glory to God in the highest!  And on earth, peace and good will toward men!' "

At this point, he just couldn't stand it anymore.  He jumped up and described to me in full detail how he ran through the streets, searching for the stable.  And when he found the baby Jesus, he sang him a song, because he just loved Him so much.  "That's just what adoration means." I told him, and we prayed and thanked our Father for sending the baby that night.

Don't you wish you lived with me?

The Candle of Joy

Sunday night, we lit the second candle of Advent, the candle of joy.  We spent time remembering what the candle of waiting represented.  We talked again of how long Mary and Joseph waited for the baby to be born.  Then we talked about how Grayson and Grant brought joy to all our family and friends when they were born.  Before I could make the next point, Grayson blurted out, "Yeah, but Jesus brought Joy to the WHOLE WORLD!"  And there it was.  He already understood the significance of the second candle.

We read part of the Christmas story from Luke 2, then imagined the joy of Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds the night the angels filled the sky.  Then we prayed together, and thanked God for sending His son to bring the joy of salvation into our lives. 

Here is our nativity so far.  The creche came from a rummage sale, but the figures were painted by my mom when I was a little girl.

The Candle of Waiting

I posted about  a week ago about trying to keep Christmas simple this year.  It is almost inevitable that the kids will be lured by the deluge of commercials aimed at their tender little minds, but we've begun a new tradition in our home to readjust our focus each night.  Kind of resetting our Christmas compass. 

I never celebrated Advent growing up.  In fact, I never heard of such a thing until I read about it in a novel as an adult.  The more I learned about it, the more I wanted to celebrate it with my family.  What a wonderful way to keep our focus on Jesus this Christmas!

   

So, on Sunday we celebrated the first Sunday of Advent, and lit the "Candle of Waiting."  We talked about how long Mary had to wait to see Jesus after Gabriel gave her the good news.  We closed our eyes and tried to imagine how afraid she must have been and how excited.  We play acted the passage from the Bible, with Grayson being Gabriel, and me being Mary.  It was perfect (though a little long for Grant!).

Grayson loves singing Christmas carols together, Grant loves the candles and the fire, Jeff and I love sitting in peace with our family and knowing that this year, above all else, our boys will remember Jesus and his perfect gift of love.