Christmas is All Around

There are some wonderful reminders of Christmas around the house. For the first time, our mantel is a bit more crowded! I found this cute stocking for you at Target. What do you think?

Daddy put most of the ornaments on our tree this year, so it took me a bit to find it, but this is my very favorite Christmas ornament. I have been collecting Santa ornaments for a very long time. My mom used to let each of us girls have a small (four foot) tree in our bedrooms that we could decorate in any style we chose. Mine was all Santas, Aunt Amy did hers in Southwest stuff (like chili peppers and cowboys) and Aunt Rachael's was more Victorian themed with pearls and fancy feathered ornaments. So now our tree has tons and tons of Santas. But this one is the best because it reminds me of the real meaning of Christmas. And this year it is even more special because we have just celebrated the birth of our own baby! Now the emotions of Mary and Joseph seem much more real to me, and Christ as a child seems more magnificent and wondrous than ever.


I look forward to the day when you are big enough to participate in Christmas and remember our family traditions (even though we haven't made any yet!) I hope that each year we will talk as a family and give money to a charity. For the past few years we have donated to Heifer International because they give animals to people in foreign countries. The receipients must care for animal, not eat it, and then they turn it into a sustainable source of income, like selling their cow's milk or their chicken's eggs. It gives them a new start in life, something to be proud of and work hard for. Your Aunt Rachael was telling me that one of her favorite parts of Christmas is donating to the Angel Tree. They give gifts to children of people who are incarcerated, and each year she chooses children that are close in age to your cousins. This year, (she would never brag about this, but I will) she gave gifts to FIFTEEN children. They got winter coats, bibles, toys, clothes and most of all, love from a total stranger. I was so proud of her.

We want you to learn that Christmas isn't about gifts from Santa (even though your grandparents will make sure that you get plenty.) It is about celebrating the beginning of the most wonderful rescue mission ever. Jesus came to earth in the most shocking way - as just a plain old guy. If God ever seemed distant or mysterious, he wanted to strip away the formalities and make himself accessable to everyone. The same God that made your tiny little heart beat in my tummy, he walked on earth and touched dirty hands and ate dinner with outcasts. This is what it says about his birthday in Luke 2:

And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them. That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep.

Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior — yes, the Messiah, the Lord — has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others — the armies of heaven —praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.

Now I realize what it means that Mary kept all these things in her heart. She was constantly think of Jesus and what his life would mean. What things were in store for him. Whether he would marry, whether anyone would believe him later in life when he told his story. Her story is different to me as a mother. As for you, Cameron, you are my all-time favorite gift from God, and I will keep you in my heart always.