Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I hope you all have had a wonderful Christmas season and stepping into the New Year with great anticipation with what God has in store for you.  I know we have enjoyed ourselves and look forward to the many fun filled activities being planned already, Lord willing.

Here is our Christmas card I wanted to share with you earlier on Christmas day but never got around to actually doing it.  :)

May the joy of know that Christ came to this earth for sinners like us always remain with us as we "leave" the Christmas season.  The true meaning of Christmas is meant to be remembered not only on December 25th but all throughout the year.

Now that 2014 is upon us, what new resolutions have you come up with?  We have decided as a family to complete certain tasks that have been pushed aside for a while and to simply get them done!  As our little girl gets older, there are certain traditions we hope to start and values we hope are instilled into her little heart (I will write more on that at a later time).  We are ever so thankful for the opportunity God has given us to raise our little girl and we can't wait to build more memories together as a family in 2014!

Any of you have New Years resolutions you are willing to share?

Merry Christmas 2012!

Just wanting to wish everyone a Blessed Christmas Day!

We all have so many blessings as a family for which to be thankful for, including the gift of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  Wishing you all God's blessing as we are reminded again of the greatest gift of all.

Our Family picture:

 

Our extended Family Picture:

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

We wish you all a Blessed Christmas season as we remember the birth of our Lord and King!

Christmas 2011 Decor

Here are some of the decorations we have at our house this Christmas. Some of the things I have had for years, some I got on sale after last Christmas, and some i have made myself using left over supplies. It is always fun to change it up from previous years and experiment with what I have to try to come up with some new things.

These cute blocks I got on discount last year after Christmas

I am reusing these vases.  The tall one is from our wedding and the short one is from a bouquet of flowers Andrew had gotten for me.  The candle was a gift from a friend last year.

Last year I didn't have curtains so I hung all our Christmas cards with ribbon from the curtain rod.

This year I wanted something different yet simple, so I hung ornaments from some left over ribbon.

I had to find a new spot for all of our wonderful Christmas cards, so I followed this idea which I know is found on Pintrest and also mentioned by a friend on her blog post.  I used some leftover ribbon I had that looks like organic hemp with a little gold trimming on the edge.

This is a wreath I made from an old garland.  I just wrapped it around in a few circles, tied a ribbon at the top and added a few berries for color.

Merry Christmas!!

Wishing you all a Blessed Christmas!!

Why Our Family Doesn't Celebrate Santa Claus

When I was growing up, we would always get asked, "What did you get for Christmas? or What did you get from Santa Claus this year?" to which we would answer, "We don't do gifts at Christmas." Then they would look at us funny and wonder "Why?"  My parents decided that instead of spending lots of money at once on gifts (which they didn't always have the money for) they would just spend a little more on gifts around our birthdays!

My parents also felt that they wanted to keep the true meaning of Christmas more valuable. We have a church service Christmas morning with a little program that the Sunday School kids would put on for families. After that, we would have a big lunch together and just have some family time together. Several different years, we would go caroling at a nursing home, which is always very rewarding.

Santa Claus:
1. Takes away from the real meaning of CHRISTmas and simply confuses kids.
2. Causes kids to focus more on getting, instead of giving of themselves and of Christ's gift to us.
3. We want kids to trust us. If we live the fantasy life of Santa Claus, take them to the mall to get their pictures taken with him, have them sit on his lap and tell him what they want for Christmas, and then later they find out that he really isn't real, it could danger their trust in parents or grandparents or hinder them from believing God - as if he wasn't real either.

Growing up, all knew who Santa was and were explained about him, but it was always as a fictional character. We never understood how little kids could truly believe that he would drive a sleigh of reindeer, fly around to everyone's house, and deliver presents to ever kid in town! We knew enough that there was absolutely no way he would ever be able to drive that fast, carry that much stuff, and climb down every chimney!

Many christian families still incorporate Santa Claus into their Christmas traditions, but I am not here to judge them. I am simply explaining the way I grew up and reasons why we did what we did.

A Reminder of Sin & the Cross?

Well, I thought I would venture into some topical blog posts on issues that we may face or on topics that I have always wondered about and maybe you have too!  I hope you will find them interesting or at least something worth discussing.

Have you ever wondered where the idea of a Christmas Tree originated?  I decided to do a little research and find out for myself.  Well, there were many different ideas, some of which were fictional legends, but I was able to come across some articles that really made me think.

Many believe that the Christmas tree was started by Martin Luther who brought a fir tree into his home as a sign of life.  Other sources, however, state that this idea is a pure legend.

In an article written by Dr. Richard P. Bucher, he explains his own research of the scholarly records to see where the true meaning behind the christmas tree began.  His sources have brought him to the conclusion that the original idea of the evergreen tree was used as the paradise tree in religious plays performed outdoors or in churches.  One of the most popular scenes was depicting creation with Adam & Eve, their sin and banishment from paradise, ending with the promise of Christ.  The tree would be the only prop with apples hanging from it, which Eve would take from and give to Adam.

After they discontinued the plays, people had grown so accustomed to the tree, that they started bringing them into their own homes and decorating them with apples (representing sin) and homemade wafers (representing communion and life).  It has slowly changed over the years to adding lights and decorative globes, etc.

I found this quote from him worth thinking about, even for those of us who don't necessarily carry the tradition of having a 'Christmas tree' in our homes.  "The tree reminds us of the tree in Eden by which Adam and Eve were overcome and which thrust them into sin. But more importantly, the tree reminds us of the tree by which our sin was overcome, namely the tree upon which Christ Jesus was crucified."

You can find Dr. Bucher's article here.

According to Wikipedia, the Christmas tree began in Germany and was a form Christianization of pagan tradition of winter solstice.
You can find the article here.

Whether these sources and others that I read have any validity or not, I feel that the modern day Christmas tree is most likely a blend of both fact and legend.  Where exactly it originated from, I still don't know what to think.  One thing is for sure, my research has really made me think.

Should I get a paradise/christmas tree?