'Tis the Season

So, I have this pet peeve, Thanksgiving just gets lost in the "Holiday" season - we seem to go straight from Halloween to Christmas and Thanksgiving just becomes a big meal. In protest of that we do NOTHING Christmas until after Thanksgiving has been given its proper respect. That being said - woo hoo it's time to celebrate Christmas!!!

The day after Thanksgiving all of the Christmas movies get put at the front of the shelf - the binder of Christmas CDs is brought out and we all go around with Jingle Bells running through our heads. There is no telling how many times Savannah has watched "The Polar Express" in the last week. I've tried to make sure that Savannah knows that Christmas isn't all about Santa, I've had to remind her when the cute little movies say "Oh no!!! Santa is not going to be able to find us and there will be no Christmas!!!" that Christmas comes each year regardless of Santa because we're really celebrating Jesus' birthday.

Yesterday I was reminded about what the true spirit of Christmas is. A sweet friend whom I hadn't seen in a very long time called me up. She had read the post about Savannah's "Butterscotch" experience and knew that the housing market being what it is we probably didn't have an excess to devote to Christmas and offered to help us buy Butterscotch for her for Christmas. It brought tears to my eyes to know of such love and to know that the Christlike love that season should engender is alive and well. I chatted with this sweet friend for quite a while and explained that Savannah's wants for this Christmas are really very simple and have already been bought and put away for the festivities of the day.

This giving spirit is what I want my children to learn, the joy of serving, the joy of seeing others' joy. Thanks again, sweet friend, for the beautiful reminder of how to approach this time of year. My heart is full and I really am glad that we have this next month to celebrate the coming of our Savior, to rejoice in His birth and to be reminded of the examples of His life.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!!