They Gave Up Their Christmas

Happy December!

Here is my favorite December song, if not Christmas song this year:

I think I'll start posting again, what do you think?

Christmas

Shepherds and wisemen will kneel and adore him.

Seraphim round him their vigil will keep.

Nations proclaim him their Lord and their Savior,

but Mary will hold him and sing him to sleep.

Santa Claus was in town...

We had a very nice family night tonight where Catherine gave the lesson about the real meaning of Christmas. She told the story of Mary & Martha in her own words and we talked about the things that we could become cumbered about with at this time of year and how we need to choose that good part and make time to read and ponder the teachings of the Master. We listened to and sang a few Christmas carols and turned of all the lights and looked at the nativity in the light of the Christmas tree.

In the middle of family night, there was a knock at the door and we heard jingle bells outside. We were thrilled to see this jolly old elf at our door:

He and Sister Claus brought cookies and hugs and Bethany, Gwen, and Catherine each got to remind Santa what they wanted for Christmas. (Incidentally, only one of them asked for what we've already bought them, but oh well.) We thought we saw some deer in our yard the other evening, but after tonight, I'm pretty sure they were reindeer.

After the excitement of our suprise visitor we finished our lesson about the Savior. I thought about the unselfish service that this couple rendered tonight, out in the cold, bringing cheer and warmth to the neighborhood children. I thought about another neighbor, an old, single man, somewhat eccentric, who brought my family Christmas candy today. I thought about a sweet lady I serve with in Young Women who wouldn't take no for an answer and helped me with some housework this week. These are people who are going about doing good as the Savior did. I'm thankful that our lesson on the true meaning of Christmas was interupted by Santa Claus and I hope that this new year I can be like him, and be more like Him.

Christmas Bells

It looks a lot like Christmas!

I kept my Christmas decor pretty simple this year. A tree & nativities & that's pretty much it. I'm into simple lately. Simple as in lazy, procrastinating, messy, forgetful & unorganized. But Christmas will come without ribbons, it will come without tags, it will come without packages, boxes, or bags. One of these years I'm going to really test Mr. Geisel's theory & skip the packages, boxes & bags & see if Christmas comes just the same! Someday maybe. But not this year.

This year, there is something very special under our tree:

Henry is a delightful babe - mellow, sleeps most of the night, cute as a button.

Cuter than a button.

Don't worry, we don't leave him under the tree all the time. But he does like to look at the lights.

Gifts

What can we give to the babe in the manger?

The Real Gift of Christmas

Traditions

Christmas was wonderful of course. It was so fun to see everybody. Let me recap the holiday with a list of family traditions (new and old) that were carried on in 2008.

Christmas Eve Pot-your-luck

Daughters, niece & nephew acting out the Christmas story & Dad reading Luke 2.

Christmas Eve jammies - thanks Mom!

Sausage

Hygiene Kits the day after Christmas

Rappelling

New Year's Eve Pot Luck

New Year's Eve Ball (Save the Last Dance for Me, Michael Buble)

Tea Party with Grandma Barton

Cross-country skiing up north

In Bethlehem

Not far from Mount Moriah
where the Father of the Faithful
built an altar of native stone,
and binding Isaac, laid him
on the fire-ready wood
of sacrifice, before he saw
the thicket-caught ram,

Mary lays her firstborn son,
wrapped in swaddling bands,
on tinder-dry hay
in limestone
manger
of a stable-cave.

Fulfilled again are words
of Abraham—
God will provide Himself a lamb.

Sharon Price Anderson, “In Bethlehem,” Ensign, Feb 2008, 10

Christmas Everywhere

Everywhere, everywhere, Christmas tonight!

Christmas in lands of the fir tree and pine,
Christmas in lands of the palm tree and vine,
Christmas where snow peaks stand solemn and white,
Christmas where corn-fields lie sunny and bright.

Christmas where children are hopeful and gay,
Christmas where old men are patient and gray,
Christmas where peace, like a dove in its flight,
Broods o'er brave men in the thick of the fight;
Everywhere, everywhere, Christmas tonight!

For the Christ Child who comes is the Master of all,
No palace too great and no cottage too small.

Phillips Brooks

from One Hundred & One Famous Poems

Little Baby

Baby Please Come Home

Staring at that cat is making me have guilt. "Great! Now I have guilt!" Name the movie, win a $50 gift card to The Home Depot. Just kidding, but not about the guilt. The cold hard truth is that I only felt real concern for that cat during the last 15 minutes of his life. Rest in peace.

Here's a little Christmas cheer to get our minds off of the dead cat. (Which we haven't buried yet because there's a foot of snow on the frozen ground.) This song makes me happy, even though Bono's a little creepy. He sure can sing.

12 Days of Christmas

Check out the Mo Tab's Christmas Countdown. They are featuring video clips of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" from last year's Christmas concert with The King's Singers. Click where it says Click Here for Day Three (or Four or Five or whenever you read this.)