Christmas with the Whitmans

Over the years, we've evolved to a certain Christmas tradition. Papa, Da and Aunt Tammy spend the night with us on Christmas Eve and then the Whitmans come Christmas Day afternoon. 2010 brought us a pleasant little surprise....snow.

So, an excitement level that was already incredibly high moved a bit more into overdrive. Once they get to town we have a HUGE meal and we open presents, not always in that order. This year, well, this year was a little different.

It started out fairly normal. We took turns opening gifts and admiring each one.

As usual, there quite a few "Alabama-themed" gifts. Of course. We wouldn't have it any other way.

The Alabama gifts come in all kinds of shapes and sizes.

That said, we don't forget Aunt Joanna, who doesn't appreciate Alabama gifts as much as we do (nor does Bear).

It's not uncommon for a cookbook to show up amongst the gifts. I think there's a gene in our family that creates the need to collect cookbooks - even if you don't really cook that often.

Aunt Tammy usually racks up with both Alabama gifts and others.

But my favorite part of Christmas this year was absolutely Aunt Joanna. She was in rare form. I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe any more. Here I think she is pretending to be a woman on oxygen who refuses to stop smoking. (Ok, I know that is not a funny topic, but you just had to be there.)

And then as a show of absolute Christmas spirit, she treated us to a reading of the Night Before Christmas Tide style. That was huge for someone who is a dyed in the wool Auburn fan, but she did it and she did it with gusto and enthusiasm.

We just have a blast when we're together and we just love to laugh.

It may be chaos, but we enjoy spending time together.

Merry Christmas

This is our Jesse Tree. We have readings in the Bible and an amplification of that Scripture each day starting November 27th. It starts all the way back at the beginning with Adam and Eve showing the redemptive story throughout God's love letter to us. Each reading has a corresponding felt piece of the story that hangs on Jesse's Tree. (I am always so appreciative that Aunt Jo and my mom made me one just before Christopher was born.)

We don't always get to a reading every day, but I realized this year the importance of the tradition to my boys. I like that because this is the true meaning of Christmas...God's great love for us even from the foundations of the earth.

I hope you all have a Merry and very blessed Christmas.

Twas the Night Before Christmas

We're all ready for our Christmas Eve service. It's so much fun, especially the 4 or 6 pm service, because there are soooo many kids who get soooo ansy. I confess looking at them a bit smugly knowing that I am beyond trying to keep a 3-year-old quiet for an hour while looking like I'm listening and have it totally under control.

James has decided we're starting a new Christmas tradition. We're staying up until midnight to open our gifts. I'm not sure how he convinced me and his dad that this was a good idea...maybe it was the chance we might be able to sleep late in the morning. We'll see how it goes. It'll be the first Christmas ever where I have on makeup for the pictures. I guess that should go in the pro column.

From our house to yours - Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday, Jesus. Thank you for your gift to us.

2 Days to Go

I love nativity scenes. My house is filled with them at Christmas. Elaborate ones and very basic ones. I'm not sure why other than nothing says Christmas to me more than a nativity and I do love Christmas. Today I was pondering one of my oldest sets. We either got it the year we were married or the next, I can't really remember. It's been through a lot. Mary's arm has been broken off, the paint is starting to rub off of them. The paint was helped when an upstairs bathroom flooded the basement this year and there was 4 inches of water standing in the bin that had this nativity. (The shepherd boy especially lost some color after that.) I still love looking at it. The solemnity of the wise men as they look at the baby Jesus.

I know - they weren't really there when he was a baby. But I am sure they looked on him with the same reverence when they did find him. I also imagine that they were captivated by him. Probably some laughter - you know the laugh when a toddler says something profound and unexpected. I imagine Jesus did that often to his mother Mary.

I then think about the baby. I am positive he didn't have strawberry blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. Did he cry? Was he a pleasant baby? What was he like to parent...especially when he was 13? A nice moment of meditation and then it was interrupted.

I was a bit irritated. I was meditating. I was taking pictures. I was thinking of nice thoughts to blog and Linus showed up. Then Linus quotes the line from the cartoon. Behold I bring you great tidings. Who am I to say that my nativities are the only or best way to celebrate? Christopher has picked Linus up several times today and has played this line. A pretty good reminder, I think. Great tidings indeed. Thanks, Christopher for the interruption.

Countdown to Christmas - 3 Days

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse, from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

Isaiah 11:1

I guess I have to explain about the Countdown. I always countdown to Christmas Eve...not sure why that is. Maybe it's because we were always able to open one gift on Christmas Eve night, maybe because we always go to a Christmas Eve service, maybe because I always have just a few quiet moments before I go to bed to reflect.

I love to sit by our Christmas tree and remember all the stories behind our ornaments. So many of them have a nativity scene on them. I like to remember the stories around the ornaments and the story behind the ornament.

I hope you all are having a wonderful and blessed Christmas season.

Christmas Countdown Continued - 4 Days Left

And it came about that while they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth.

Luke 2:6

Just a sentence. A fairly brief one at that. For anyone who has given birth or watched someone giving birth, it is packed with meaning. Along my theme of wanting to be amazed at what Christmas is, this really hit me in a way that it hasn't before. This was the God of all gods; the Lord of all lords. He choose a unlikely mother and definitely an unlikely location to be born. No planning. How in the world did Mary do it without pre-natal classes, no hospital to rush to and no one to help? (Ok, ladies, dwell on that one. Your first pregnancy and the only person you have to help you is your brand new husband. Seriously? Did God know what He was doing?)

I think about how different that is from the stories of a royal during his coronation or announcement to the world that he is king. Such grandeur and glamour. Yes, God knew exactly what He was doing. Such contrast with the world's view - such a picture of humility.

I hope you are soaking in this greatest gift and that you are amazed.

The Christmas Countdown

Manager creation by Christopher Todd

Behold, my servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up, and greatly exalted.

Isaiah 52:13

It's hard to see how you get from a humble manger to the God of the universe saying you will be high, lifted up, exalted. It really is quite an amazing story when you think about it. I pray this Christmas season that I will see the story how God wrote it and that I will be truly and utterly amazed.

Traditions

We have a neat Christmas tradition that we have been observing since Christopher was a baby.  We owe it to Aunt Joanna and my mom (but I think mostly to Aunt Joanna).  I was supposed to go to a workshop with them to make a Jesse Tree, but couldn't make it when I was pregnant with CBT.  I was on bedrest and couldn't travel.  So....they made it for me.  It's a precious felt hanging (a tree) to which you add adornments each night for about a month before Christmas.  There's a scripture reading and a short devotional reading to go with it that tell a story about the picture that is being hung.  It finishes on Christmas morning and our boys (and sometimes all four of us when I'm not taking pictures) hang it together.  

It's a neat way to remind us the reason we celebrate.  I would love to hear any favorite traditions you have.  (Come on...it's not too painful to click on Post Comment.  I don't ask often, but I feel sure some of you have some really cool things that others would love to hear.)

Merry Christmas

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2:11

We hope you have a blessed Christmas day remembering that original gift to us.

It's Christmastime....

Have I mentioned I love Christmas?  I just noticed I'm a bit behind on both reading the blogs I like to follow and on updating my dear friends.  I've just been too busy enjoying the season.  We had just a few friends over the past couple of days for dessert and I enjoyed seeing them - just visiting a little bit.  (I especially enjoyed that new Coconut Almond Cake recipe I found.  We'll have to see about sharing it sometime soon - someone needs to remind me of all the things I promised to share later.

I think I did mention before that I try to really savor the short season because it seems like such a long time before it gets here again.  This morning I was reminded that I just love leading a small group of 2nd grade boys - there are eight of them.  Lord knows there are moments when I don't love it (you can imagine - eight boys wound up about anything), but this morning as we were having our Christmas party I was absolutely struck by how spending time with them is one of the most important things I do.  I was reminded that spending quality time with people probably should top that constant list I have going.

From there we went to service where Randy has been talking about idols.  There I was struck with how so many good things can become our idols when our passion for them overwhelm us.  The two thoughts together were perfectly complementary and just perfect for today.  I am loving this Christmas season - I hope you are, too.

Decorating the Tree

I love Christmas.  I love what we are celebrating.  I love the decorations.  I love the smell of my Yankee Candles.  From about October I start looking forward to this season with great anticipation and then I try to savor every moment of it. As soon as we return from our Thanksgiving travels, we put the tree up.

The first step is turning on the lights.  Christopher took the honors this year.

I learned in my class that my point-and-shoot camera has a manual setting - who knew?  This seemed like a good day to try it out a little....certainly not exclusively since I did want some decent pictures of our tree day.

Next come the ornaments.  Total shout out to James who lugged more bins - really big bins - up from the basement.  He was such a useful engine this year.  I could just give him a really big hug.  Well, that is if he wasn't too old to get really big hugs from his mama.  (And when did he get so strong?  Those arms are still pretty skinny!)

Suddenly, Christopher appeared as Santa Claus.  He taped a washcloth to his head to make a beard.  His creativity amazes me.  He always like to put out the nativity scenes.

The guys were so helpful this year.  I think we got everything decorated in record time in spite of all the discussion about the history of most of the ornaments.

And last but not least, the angel tops the tree.  It's time to proclaim the good news.

The Christmas Picture

Just when I think I have nothing to say my lovely munchkins come through.  I realize at 8 and 10 they are not munchkins any more, but they watched the Wizard of Oz at Thanksgiving so that term is stuck on my mind.  Follow on the yellow brick road...

Each year we take a Christmas picture for our Christmas card and each year it's an adventure.  Some years moreso than others, but I was kind of excited about this year.  I had had my photography class and I had my new lens.  The boys were a year older so the level of participation should be a little better.

This is the first shot.  It was pretty good, but I was sure I could do better.

I'm still shooting in manual and have pretty good control of the light, but I'm losing control of the guys already .

Suddenly Christopher grabs his Indy hat and decides this is a totally different photo shoot.

At this point I totally give up on shooting manual and go to the "green box." I get the "cheese smile" and chess pieces on James's head.  Of course, all Christmas pictures include that ever symbolic pawn.

Maybe if we include props that mean something to them...maybe then we could get some cooperation.  (We also had some cooperation-inducing threats encouragement from dad in the background.)  Still, not quite there.

Our Christmas cards ended up with the first picture and the last.  I guess it is always about the journey.