Christmas 2008

This year, as with every year, we taught the TRUE meaning of Christmas. It wasn't about the presents, but about the baby. The baby that came to be our Saviour. The one who loves us more than anything.

Our kids this year were really about the presents and what they were going to get and less about Jesus.

So we tried something new--three gifts each (and maybe a few together.)

We asked our parents to do the same.

We also decided to not do Santa this year. We have never done the Easter Bunny and we felt as though we were contradicting ourselves. We also felt that when Ethan found out, he would bust us with the "you lied to me and you tell me NOT to lie" card.

Now, it is not that we think Santa is bad or that anyone who does it is bad, we just felt that we needed to go alone...without Santa

The hard part was convincing Ethan that he wasn't real. See, he was remembering the cookies we had laid out for Santa and the carrots for the reindeer last year. He kept saying, "but he ate the cookies and the carrots were gone."

"We ate those cookies," we said.

We told him it was a game mommies and daddies play with their kids...that there WAS a man named St. Nick who gave boys and girls presents, but that he never flew around in a sleigh with flying reindeer.

He still isn't quite sure he believes us. Funny huh? We are always trying to get them to believe not convince them not to!

We had a great Christmas...minus Santa and all. The kids were blessed beyond measure as were Steve and I. I hope your Christmas was filled with the Hope of Christ.

Sam was so excited about the Nerds ropes she and Ethan got in their stockings.
This summer after his t-ball games, Ethan would always pick a Nerds rope as his treat, so she thought it was so cool to get one too.

Sam got an easel and she loves it!

Ethan was so excited about (and thankful for) everything he got this year.

This is the tree the night before Christmas.