Christmas Eve didn't start out the way you would imagine a day like that should start out. My little guy threw up milk all over the couch and my throw pillows early in the morning and then had a major potty disaster that had me cleaning up the entire bathroom. The older one did her part too: she spilled an entire bowl of soup over my kitchen table and floor right after she clogged the toilet by using too much toilet paper. And it wasn't even noon yet.... After a stressful morning, I took a couple of deep breath, calmed down and we got ready to attend church in the afternoon (the evening services were too late for my kids).
After hearing the Christmas story being read (Luke 2), I realized then and there that God doesn't want to make my life just easy and calm because then I wouldn't remember all those ordinary moments that happen every day. When Mary gave birth to Jesus, she must have been exhausted and in utter pain and when her son, our savior and king, was born, he didn't live a pampered life either. But both of them had never-ending love; a mother for her child and Jesus for all of humanity. He didn't seek perfection or an easy way out, but taught us (and continues to teach me every day) that life is messy and often doesn't work out the way we imagine it and that love is always present and that any moment can turn in to a great memory if we open our hearts and minds.
But during all this mess going on, we also had some great moments. For example, the kids said their goodbye to Eli, our elf on the shelf, as he had to get back to the North Pole and won' be back till next year.
And we received a package from my "little" brother, who sent us Bruce, a living puppet bat, as part of himself so that we can spend Christmas together (yes, his letter brought tears to my eyes). Thank you, Lenni and Anna! We will take good care of Bruce.
For Christmas Eve service we went to a different church and they had quite the entertainment going on: The family service involved a dance performance and a game show (not my cup of tea for a service) and afterwards they offered apple cider, S'mores, wagon rides and some snow for the kids to play in. After 3 days of rain, unusual warm temperatures, and being cooped up inside, the kids were delighted to be out and about (and we got lucky because it didn't rain the whole 2 hours while we were out of the house).
We also prepared for Santa's arrival by leaving reindeer food out in the front yard and putting cookies and milk out for Santa.
But the best part of the day was reading the Christmas story and "T'was the night before Christmas" with my kids before they headed to bed.
"Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night!"
But during all this mess going on, we also had some great moments. For example, the kids said their goodbye to Eli, our elf on the shelf, as he had to get back to the North Pole and won' be back till next year.
And then "the stocking were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas would soon be there."
"Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night!"
No comments:
Post a Comment