And So this is Christmas...

Aside from baking and decorating, The first big event was the girls piano recital. Kayla and Kalli began taking lessons over two years ago and have really learned a lot in that time. Kammy just began a few months ago. It's interesting to see their different personalities come out even in this area. Kayla gets stage freight....Kalli and Kammy rather love performance. Kayla and Kalli have both learned to read music easily. Kammy is learning too, but it comes just a bit harder for her because she has an ear for music and can sit down and pick out anything without the work of reading the notes. Kayla, Kalli and Kammy all had solo pieces and then Kayla and Kalli also played a duet part. 

In church, we began a series entitled "God, We Have Room for You" the Sunday after Thanksgiving. It wasn't completely dissimilar to Advent. Each Sunday, a different ornament went home with each family as an appropriate reminder throughout the week. It was all about making room in the crowded busy spaces of life for Jesus to be born in us. And then on Christmas Sunday, our program was entitled "Christmas Born in Me."

I won't take up the time or space to relate the entire program, just share a few pictures and parts from the littles. Kammy has become an accomplished reader and we were proud of how she read her part with great inflection and expression. 

I struggled to find a part for her with a certain theme and finally gave up and wrote one. 

Up on a hill, boastful and tall, stood a large and elegant inn. It's ratings were mostly five star. It provided memory foam beds and swaddling sheets made of 100% silk for all its guests. A free continental breakfast was served each morning. Wake up calls were provided at no extra charge. Many important men had stayed here and rarely was there an empty room. It was the most coveted lodging in all of Nazareth. 

 

Joseph, wanting the best for his little family, went here first that night so long ago. But he didn't have reservations and he wasn't a VIP so he was told that there just wasn't room. As he and Mary turned to go, someone mentioned the stable down the hill. 

The stable was lovely and humble. Crudely built, but sturdy. It had no warmth of its own, but because it was home to the lowly beasts, it was filled with warm sweet hay. It had no light of its own, but it's rustic ceiling was open to the heavens and the moonlight flooded in. It had no memory foam beds, but because it was home to hungry animals, it's manger provided a cozy place to rest. As for the wake up calls here that night....they came in the form of a baby's cry. There was no continental breakfast served when the rooster crowed at the break of day, but the world rejoiced, because the very bread of life was born. 

 

And who do you think the wisest? The inn or the stable? Centuries later, the stable still earns a place in our Christmas story....even our Christmas decor. That stable once looked down on is now famous. And why? Because though humble and undeserving, it was willing. Willing to give all it had and willing to receive all it ever needed. 

I think the lesson is clear. I want to be like the stable. I want to be humble and strong. I want to shine my light to the lost, open my doors to the hungry, turn my heart to the heavens and awaken to the voice of the Saviour. Because....he's all I need.

 -Karen Bork

Kaite is our little singer and she really does quite well. We talked about how Jesus can't be born in you without a change taking place and you wanting to share Jesus with others. Her part was about being like the star and guiding others to the light that will change their life. Then she sang "Twinkle Twinkle Christmas Star."

In keeping with the theme of this wonderful Christmas story and how it will change our lives, Kaderick's part was about cherishing and keeping this story and God's word close in our hearts. He very proudly said, "Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee." 

It was a beautiful, meaningful program about the true meaning of Christmas....welcoming God to our broken world. 

When therefore the first spark of a desire after God

 arises in thy soul, cherish it will all thy care, 

give all they heart into it; 

it is nothing less than a touch of the divine loadstone,

 that is to draw thee out of the vanity of time, 

into the riches of eternity.  

Get up therefore, and follow it 

as gladly as the wise men of the east followed 

the star from heaven that appeared to them.  

It will do for thee as the star did for them, 

IT WILL LEAD THEE to the birth of Jesus, 

not in a stable at Bethlehem in Judea, 

but TO THE BIRTH OF JESUS IN THE DARK CENTRE OF THINE OWN SOUL. 

 -William Law

We had a beautiful white Christmas Eve and Christmas!

In keeping with a long-standing tradition, we celebrated with my Greenleaf family on Christmas Eve. My mom had surgery earlier this month and hasn't felt good for quite some time, even prior to surgery. We had a nice time though. It is always a blessing to be with family and to be "home." I know how important and special grandchildren are to grandparents and vice versa, so we do our best to keep in touch and up to date with those both near and far.

Christmas Day was spent at our home with our children. Unless we are out of town visiting family, these days have always been reserved for our immediate family. Children grow up and move on so quickly and it seems to me like we tend to neglect one another when there are so many people around. I can't even begin to put into words how special these times are to us. We keep Christmas pretty simple where gifts are concerned. Our rule of thumb is:

 "One they want, one they need, one they wear and one they read." (And yes, sometimes we break this rule by a small gift or two.)

 

 Kayla got a phone this year. She's going on 18, working and really needed it. But guess what? She didn't get an iPhone 6, 5, or even 4 lol. She got a cheap tracphone. I know I'm probably crazy, but it blows my mind to see 10 year old kids who think they are somehow entitled to all kinds of the latest and greatest gadgets. It has a limited amount of airtime per month, so calls and texts will be limited which is fine. Our family has yet to develop a love for texting....seems so impersonal when you could pick up the phone and tell a person whatever you're texting. Also seems like such a time-waster. I can talk while I'm doing other things, like cooking or folding laundry, while texting takes my full attention. Okay, so enough of my humble opinion on that. 

Another "big" item this year was the doll house Daddy made for Kammy and Kaite. He made it 100% with wood scraps that were here at the house when we moved. We used paint from our remodel project and I even made fun little light chandeliers out of medicine bottles and lace. Total cost was $0.00 but lots of love went into it and I'm sure it will be cherished for years/generations! 

And that's my whole world right there! 

Thank you, Jesus!