Merry Christmas!

Well, I am almost ready for the big day! It is very easy to get caught up with all the gifts and stuff. Trying to keep it all "fair" and equal with the kids. How much to spend on teachers, which teachers to buy for.... The list goes on. I love giving gifts, especially when I know that it is the perfect gift. I do not usually like to do gift cards because it seems too impersonal. But I really like to get gift cards. LOL I am a paradox within myself. I also tend to worry that the true meaning of Christmas is not getting through to my kids. But I think we are on track. I had some proof of that last week when I went into Jake's classroom for his special VIP day and saw the Christmas ornaments the kids had made. They were sheets of paper in a round ornament design with the story starter of "Christmas means to me..." I found Jake's and he had written about Jesus' birthday and then went on to write out the entire plan of salvation. How Jesus was born to die on the cross for everyone's sins. And that Christmas is a time to thank God for the blessing of Jesus. And that by simply accepting this gift we can all have eternal life. It really made me feel good to know that Jake has listened and he wasn't afraid to tell his friends about it. Who says Jesus isn't in our schools? Keep in mind that this ornament is on the wall at Jake's school for everyone to read. I asked him what made him write that when many of the other kids had written about gifts, family, and food. (others also wrote about Jesus' birthday but not the salvation part) He shrugged and said that was the first thing he thought of and wanted to write about the real meaning of Christmas. Way to go, Jake!

I hope Everyone has a wonderful time of celebrating our Savior. It truly is a special time of year. By the way, the picture above was taken Thanksgiving weekend. Allie still fits into her little flower girl dress from Kristen and Josh Slater's wedding. It's about eight inches too short but we can still zip it! I thought she made a lovely Christmas angel. :-)