Our Family Circus

Every Christmas my mom blesses the children and I with a new ornament. She loves Christmas ornaments and is a Hallmark Queen! I had told her last year that it was no longer necessary that she give me an ornament, but she is my mom and well, she disagreed! My Dear has been putting the tree up with the children as a surprise for me while I was away at our church's annual Christmas Tea. They did not have the tea last year so I simply sat on the couch, uninvolved. I received the new ornament in the mail and kinda tossed it into the storage tub in no mood to unwrap it or the other ornaments dating to 1995! I was going through a private battle in my life and could see little beyond it. Frankly, the only reason we even had a Christmas tree was because My Dear put it up and the children begged him to do it! This Christmas I was in a much better place-MUCH! My Dear put the tree up and I opened the storage tub and enjoyed trying to create the Norman Rockwell Christmas. Th...

Repost from 2008-you can check out other ideas there as well. Another fun way to keep Christ the JOY of Christmas. Shepherds Point of View Here is another option to allow your children the THRILL OF CHRIST in Christmas! Last year, after opening presents, we read the Christmas story in Luke 2. We listened how the shepherds were told about Jesus birth and went to find Him. Here is what to do: Place angels in different rooms of your home like a scavenger hunt. I referred to the children as Shepherd Dolly (age 3) and Shepherd Billy (age 6) and we went on the hunt for Baby Jesus. The angels should be visible from one room to the other so they can spot them. Ours were more like a straight path with angels along the way to reinforce them. The end of the hunt lead us to our unfinished basement-damp and cold, probably like a stable. There, hanging from the ceiling, would be the final angel and under it was the Baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph. That year, behind the figures, we chose to cover and re...

A few years ago, My Dear and I along with Billy were gifted an amazing gift-a trip to Israel. While on the trip we were able to see so much and learn even more! We of course went to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Interesting enough, any place thought to be holy has a church built on top of it. This was the believed birth place of Christ. It was heavily decorated and it was impossible to visualize it as a stable with all of the candles, paintings, and fancy lighting which was needed since we were in a basement. Yep, that is it in the picture above. The location was crowded and people were packed in for a Christmas carol and then lead out like an elementary field trip. Our guide then took us next door. It was not crowded at all, actually our group was the only one there. It looked far more like a stable of that time would appear, stone and cave like. The guide then shared that most groups did not go there but he wanted us to see it. The place where we were was where the Inn wou...

I hope to repost a few of my favorite Christmas activities that we have done over the past 10 years with our children. Billy and Dolly loved this one as preschoolers and now they are the ones helping Miss B. to enjoy it! I use this one every Christmas with the preschoolers I work with at church as well. They LOVE it!! Hope your little people do too! In Mexico, it is tradition for children to march through the town carrying the figures of Mary and Joseph. They knock on doors and ask if anyone has rooms for the figures. They, of course do not. We did this with our children as well. I walked down the hallway with the children while Billy carried Joseph and Dolly carried Mary. They knocked on each door in the hallway. Their quick daddy jumped behind each door to answer their knocks. He changed his approach and character with each knock. They asked if there was room for them to stay the night and each time, My Dear shared that no there was not. When they got close to the last door, My Dear ...

I am sure I have shared this a zillion times but can't help but share it again just incase someone might have missed it! Last year at the end of the season, the children and I wrapped 25 Christmas books including a Bible. As of December 1st, we began to unwrap a book a day to read in preparation for Christmas. I know that sounds like a lot of books but you would be amazed how quickly they accumulate. Because the older kids realized last year that these are the same books, they are on the hunt for their favorites. Miss B. wants the Little Critter book. Dolly is watching out for the Legend of the Candy Cane. Billy enjoys The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey (which is also one of my favorites.) I know there will be a day when they no longer have time for this silly tradition but as of now-it is a gift everyday-for them and for me!

Billy had a cumulative final exam in 4th grade! I was nervous for me and concerned that I had not prepared him for it. I left a couple of days for review and then we went for it. I handed him his test and watched his shoulders slump over. He was already defeated, or so he thought. He then told me that if he scored within a certain percentage, he was going to pay me for being such a good teacher. Cute huh! I graded the test and Billy got 98%! I went to the bathroom to clean up an accident and here comes Billy putting a dollar bill in my pocket! He reminded me that I had earned it. I think I might hang that dollar on the wall by my desk! To make the deal even sweeter, we went to the park and invited some friends to join us. We decided to play soccer and Billy and another little boy chose teams. Billy got to choose and he picked me first! It was a good mama day! I made a buck and made the team! You better believe, I was sure to remind My Dear of how we met-he chose my roommate for his wif...

Today we went to Bass Pro Shop to get a specific item. We chose that store because there is so much for the kids to see! Well, apparently they have started the Christmas season. Parents and children were lined up through the store to see the Jolly Ole Elf! The line was L O N G! Santa had extra elves on duty just for this purpose. I questioned our sanity even going in! As I walked past, I noticed the children were dressed up for the very important meeting and of course photo! The children seemed to be waiting patiently probably due to the "better not pout" lecture even though the line was way longer than the words to the song. The line seemed to be parent "driven" so to speak, but I am sure none of the children complained! Those folks were willing to wait. We had to fight our way by them again to leave and this time I had a less than happy preschooler. Here are the conclusions that I came to: 1. That would NOT be me waiting in a line that long with children! 2. One w...