Homemade Christmas

I was pretty crafty this Christmas. I say that because it's rare I have the time or energy to do a whole lot of DIY projects. It probably has something to do with the fact that Tim is off school for a month. In any case, I got a lot accomplished in the way of making things myself instead of purchasing them. I made two strings of garland: one with paper doves + one with dried oranges. I was too lazy to take a picture of my own, hence the link.

I also did a handful of drawings for people who requested them for others
+ a couple people in my family.

For my sister - I still owe her other drawings! But I thought she might like this too.

For a friend's gift to her sister & brother in law.

For my brother in law's girlfriend. They live in San Francisco and this is a shot from their balcony. I (obviously) super imposed the image of the boy holding balloons (original source unknown) and added the text myself.

Celebrating Advent

As promised, the advent post. 

Up until this year I don't think I even really understood what advent was except in the general sense that it was the Christian term for the weeks leading up to Christmas Day (the birth of Christ). I definitely felt clueless as to how to fully recognize it. Easter always felt easier to invest myself in emotionally.  The power of the Cross is always so tangible for me - it is by His blood that I am healed. The power of the manger seemed less so. I loved thinking about holding a tiny baby Jesus in my arms and what that might be like, but beyond that it just didn't hit me in the same way as imagining Jesus on the cross, dying for my sins.  So I always left it at "The birth is nothing without the cross" or something like that. Maybe it was because, as I mentioned, I just didn't really know what to do with the advent season. After all, nowhere in Scripture are we called to recognize this holiday (or Easter) in a certain way - it's based on human tradition but is truly a matter of personal conviction.

Nevertheless, I didn't like that Christmas felt void of the fullness experienced at Easter. I felt like I was missing out on a wonderful opportunity to marvel at the humble beginnings of the Word made flesh (John 1:14). So this year, I decided to stop letting my lack of "powerful feelings" keep me from experiencing the true joy that can be found in intentionally taking part in the advent season. One of those ways is by following along in the Desiring God: Good News of Great Joy daily devotional. The reflections are brief but packed with good stuff. I really appreciated the preface which gave a short synopsis on what Advent is and why it's celebrated (helpful!):

Advent is an annual season of patient waiting, hopeful expectation, soul-searching, and calendar-watching marked by many churches, Christian families, and individual followers of Jesus. There’s no biblical mandate to observe Advent. It’s an optional thing—a tradition that developed over the course of the church’s history as a time of preparation for Christmas Day. Many of us find observing Advent to be personally enjoyable and spiritually profitable. The English word “Advent” is from the Latin adventus, which means “coming.” The advent primarily in view each December is the first coming of Jesus two millennia ago. But Jesus’s second coming gets drawn in as well, as the popular Christmas carol “Joy to the World” makes plain: 

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found.

I never knew that advent meant "coming." Knowing that helps direct my heart towards fostering a sense of anticipation. This may be obvious to others but for me, as I mentioned, this year is the first time I am approaching Christmas with new eyes and my whole heart. That said, I highlighted the part about there being no biblical mandate to observe Advent because I think it's common within Christians circles to promote the opposite - that you have to keep it strictly about Jesus and nothing more. Which is why I also appreciate this part:

Christians throughout the world have their different ways of celebrating Advent. Some light candles. Some sing songs. Some eat candies. Some give gifts. Some hang wreaths. Many of us do all of the above. Christians have developed many good ways of extending the celebration of Jesus’s coming beyond merely the short 24 hours of December 25. The incarnation of the Son of God, “for us and for our salvation,” as the old creed says it, is too big a thing to appreciate in just one day. Indeed, it’s something the Christian will celebrate for all eternity. Our prayer is that this little devotional ebook might help you keep Jesus as the center and greatest treasure of your Advent season. The candles and candies have their place, but we want to make sure that in all the December rush and hubbub we adore Jesus above all.

Yes. Good. Amen. Indeed all the trimmings of Christmas can be a serious distraction but are not all bad so long as they're kept in the background while Jesus stands at the forefront. We love putting up Christmas decorations, watching Christmas movies, and taking part in the usual Christmas festivities.

But the commercialism does bother us and now that we have kids, we are more conscious of how the other side of Christmas (Santa et al.) effects their (and our) focus of the season. For those of you wondering, we aren't doing Santa. But he won't be banned from our home - he'll simply stand in the same line up as any other fictional character - not real but fun to think about. Speaking of our kids, another way we are celebrating Advent is to do a 12 Days till Christmas countdown with the focus being again on anticipating the birth of Jesus. Jack is already solid on this knowledge, and I'm thankful that he really does show excitement that "Jesus was born on Christmas day!" But we'll also do something like this as a tangible way of experiencing the anticipation of his coming (thanks to Jami Nato for the inspiration):

In the future, I'd love to do a Jesse tree and make ornaments like this (thanks again, Jami Nato) - but it was a little ambitious for this year and a little advanced for Jack.

I've always loved the lighting of the advent wreath growing up.  My mom always bought the colored candles: three purple for the wise men, one pink for Mary and one white for Jesus. I guess you're supposed to use evergreens as well as a symbol of life but I adopted this design from the author over at Simple Notebook a few years ago. I didn't find a bundt cake pan until a few months ago (there not as easy to come by as you'd think) so this is the first year we're actually lighting candles. I found the filler + place mat at Target for $8 - total steal!

We also invested in a Nativity scene this year.  I love Fontanini sets the best, because they're more realistic and they remind me of the one my mom has. But they're seriously expensive, and this one was on sale (Tim went out at midnight on Black Friday to get it - a first). I felt it important to have the visual reminder a nativity set offers, especially for Jack. Right now it's kept on top of the book case in our dining room but as the boys get older and more responsible, I hope to keep it in a more accessible location where it can be interacted with.

Of course, these are all just visual cues and material ways of recognizing Advent. I could read a piece of Scripture a day, or light a candle every Sunday or glance up at my manger scene throughout the day but if my heart isn't right, none of it matters. The key for me, as I mentioned earlier, is to put my heart into this. Which is why I want to commit the next 14 days (and in future years, the whole advent season) to taking time each day to be in prayer and in the Word in hopeful expectation that I will wake up Christmas morning filled with a new revelation of God's presence in my life. My desire for this came when I began to think about what it would have been like two thousand years ago to live without the knowledge of the Gospel because it hadn't yet been fulfilled. Imagine being a Jew knowing that the Messiah, your Messiah, was going to be born in a few short weeks. Or, to bring it closer to home, imagine if you knew for certain that Jesus was coming back in the flesh this December 25, 2012. Imagine if on that day you knew you'd see him, touch him, hold him. I know I'd be giddy with anticipation. I'd be preparing. I'd be telling everyone. I'd be freaking.out. So I want to anticipate Jesus coming into my life in a new way on December 25. I don't know exactly what that will look like, but I do know that if I'm earnestly seeking more of him this Advent than something is going to be changed within me by Christmas morning. 

So that's me.

What are some ways you and your family recognize Advent 

or simply celebrate the Christmas season? 

We Already Decorated.

First of all....

source

I know that proper etiquette says that one must wait until after Thanksgiving to break out the Christmas decor. Our celebration of Christmas seems to get earlier and earlier each year (November 17 to be exact). Since I'm Canadian and their Thanksgiving was celebrated last month, I'm actually right on time. Boom.

I love everything Christmas (except for the consumerism, of course) and that definitely includes the decorations + Christmas cheer. It does make me sad to think there are people out there who find this holiday depressing, whether it be because they are alone or missing someone or because it reminds them of what they don't have. And it'd probably be a good idea for me to start thinking of ways to reach out to those people and try and make their Christmas spirit bright. But I'm also really thankful that the Lord has blessed me with a family and friends to celebrate with, and a home that has a spot for our (fake) Christmas tree, and for Marc's discount store where I got a 9ft string of garland for $4 to make my kitchen pretty.

I love the lights, I love the movies, I love the excitement that surrounds the season.

I also love Christmas music and the fact that this time of year is the only time in our culture where we hear the Gospel proclaimed wherever we go in the form of Christmas carols. Carols are some of the most powerful hymns ever written and my favorite, by far, is O Holy Night. I'm moved every time I stop and really listen to the words. So. profound.

Thank you Lord, especially on this day of thanks, for giving my soul worth and hope and life. You are so good, all the time no matter the season.

Christmas 2011

This Christmas was spent with Tim's side of the family as my family was all up in Canada. Typically, since our parents live in the same city, we'll split the day in half between the two so it was kind of nice to be in one place all day. We aren't one for taking many pictures (funny, you'd think with my love of photography I'd take tons, but I tend to forget or be too lazy!) but the few I captured were of Jack in all his present-opening excitement. We also caught a video of him playing with his favorite gift of all: a drum pad thingy that Tim had picked up months ago (much to my chagrin). I swore Jack would play with it once or twice and then get bored and I kept trying to get Tim to return it. Good thing we didn't because Jack plays with it every chance he gets! Here's a video of him trying it out Christmas morning:

This year, I was inspired to create a couple "custom" gifts. This doesn't happen often, because hand made gifts make me nervous: if the person doesn't love it, I'm more likely to take it to heart. So it was a risk. My sister-in-law has a love for the Disney princesses. So, after finding out her "top 5" I created the following illustration and framed it for her.

My brother-in-law's girlfriend was unexpectedly in town and so I wanted to give her a little something too. This is a sketch of her dog and my brother-in-law's dog; I think I did better with the likeness of her pug (on the left) than I did with his puggle (on the right). She was thrilled with it though and that's all that matters.

Next year I want to try even harder to keep gifts more personal or home made. I also want to be better at sending out Christmas cards - which I failed miserably at! Perhaps I'll add it to my list of goals for the new year :)

done and done.

Without really thinking about it, I ticked another thing off my to do list: sorting and donating Jack's toys. It was spurred on by having to move them out of the way to make room for the Christmas tree. I purposely keep them in a small-ish wicker basket so as to cut down on the amount we keep out, but it had reached max capacity and it was time to purge. I didn't take any pictures (there really wasn't much of a before and after effect) but my method was basically to donate anything he'd never taken interest in or rarely played with. I hung on to some of the infant toys for baby #2, but was pretty happy with how much I was able to get rid of. I'm also anticipating the need to make room for some new play things after Christmas, so it was timely that I got it done.

Speaking of new toys for Jack, and as a tag-along to my "thankful" post, I have to thank my friend and co-worker Helen for getting him a beautiful set of wooden blocks (just like I'd wished for!) She surprised me with them at work the other day and... well, Helen - I am just so grateful for all your thoughtful gifts over the years, but I'm thankful for your friendship most of all. You have been such a blessing to me!

I also managed to accomplish one of the four Christmas decor ideas I had wanted to tackle this year. The epsom salt mason jars were really cheap and easy to put together and add a nice touch to the mantle. I was under the assumption epsom was just a special brand of cooking salt, so I had some trouble locating it at the store. A lady overheard me asking the clerk where to find it and said it would be kept with the medicinal products since you used it to soak your feet. Later that night I happened to read the back label and saw that the first instructions were "for use as a laxative." Good to know (?)

stumped.

We heard an ad on the radio the other day that started with the line "You know what's better than getting exactly what you wished for this season? Getting more than you wished for." Gosh I hope that's never my attitude. Christmas can bring out the greediness in all of us, if we're not careful. Especially children. I don't want my sons to grow up expecting to receive a long list of stuff they'll have gotten bored with or forgotten about by the following year.  I also don't want the true meaning of Christmas - celebrating the birth of Christ - to get lost in the fog of what's under the tree.

BUT -  I still love the excitement and joy of giving and receiving thoughtful gifts. I'm always more excited about the stockings than I am the bigger presents - perhaps because they hold so much mystery - and I still fall asleep with giddy anticipation on Christmas Eve night. That's why I'm particularly excited for this year, because it truly marks the beginning of making the holiday special for a little someone named Jack. This includes picking out a couple fun gifts. The problem is, I'm still stumped on what to get him. So far, I found one of my favorite Christmas books on sale and that's as far as I've gotten. I'd also like to get him something to play with. My two main concerns are (i) the price (ii) the probability that he'll actually play with it more than twice. Of course, the little brother I'm about to give birth to pretty much equals COVERS.ALL.BASES... but since he won't be arriving till after Christmas, here are some of my other ideas:

Melissa & Doug Wooden Blocks

I've had my eye on these for months and they received great reviews on Amazon 

but they're also $45.04 which is double what I'm wanting to spend.

Educo Kitchen Playset

I know there's tons of ways to build your own DIY kids kitchens but I'm just not that handy. This is another gift I can't afford even though its on sale for $83.03. But I love it, especially since it's so compact and because it's made out of wood, not plastic. I'm hoping that maybe, just maybe, it'll go down in price on Black Friday.

Melissa & Doug Cutting Food Box

This is the most affordable idea so far at $15.91. There's a ton of different varieties of play food sets to choose from, but I especially like the ones where you can "slice" the food. I like the Melissa and Doug brand (again, because most of their toys are made from wood) and this was one of the highest rated sets. The only thing I don't like is that it comes in a crate rather than a basket, since that'll be harder for him to carry around. 

Jack will be 18 months in December, an age that is still sort of "in between" when it comes to enjoying toys but not quite being able to pretend play or spend more than 10-15 mins at a time focusing on an activity. So, it's really inconsequential what I choose. Whatever it is, I hope my boys grow up with the same excitement each year for the Christmas season, whether we're "well fed or poor," and that they learn the importance of treasuring all that we have to give thanks for.

Especially the birth of Jesus.