Everywhere we go, Lily, with a Christmas song on her lips, excitedly calls out "look a Christmas Tree, look there's Santa Clause," etc, bringing to my attention just how fun it all really is. I have also really enjoyed sharing old traditions with her as well as beginning new ones. One thing we are doing this year to get in the spirit is to make our own wrapping paper out of Lily's paintings on her easel. I adore them and am still not sure how I am going to feel when they are inevitably ripped apart. Here are a few we have done so far:
We are also trying to teach Lily that Christmas is more about remembering Christ and helping others than Santa and toys, but of course this is a tough lesson for any child, much less a 2 1/2 year old. We were on our way to a drive through nativity the other night and I was trying to explain to Lily why we were about to look at people dressed up as Joseph and Mary and baby Jesus. At the end of it all she was quiet for a few minutes the said, "Hey Mom, do you know what Christmas is all about? Toys!!!" To which I replied, "But more than that isn't it about helping other people?" She paused and said, "Nope, just toys." Oh well, we'll keep trying.
Thinking about the mass commercialization and over-spending of Christmas leads me toward what has really been on my mind lately and what is to be my #1 resolution for 2011. To figure out how we (as a family) can really be different. How we can truly be more like Jesus and fulfill our purpose on this Earth. I think the answer is different for everyone and while we don't have our exact game plan mapped out yet, I am thankful to be having the discussion in a real way and prayerfully working toward that goal.
While I don't have the answer for us yet, I do know what it is NOT. It is not living the daily life that I have been... comfortable in my environment, giving without really sacrificing, not making any real attempts to bring others to Christ, consumed with my physical feelings and desires, and the list could go on. I know without a doubt that we have been called to do more than that and I am just praying my eyes will be opened and we can seize the opportunities that God will bring us.
Another, somewhat related, but less important resolution I have is to quit doing things that really don't matter out of a sense of guilt or obligation. One of these things is feeling like I have to document every holiday and activity on this blog. Confession: I only enjoy blogging some of the time. So that is when I am going to do it ... some of the time. We have plenty of photos and videos and that document our lives for our grandkids without me organizing and narrating every little detail. (i.e. there will be no Thanksgiving post, but photos are on FB if you are interested: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=570511&id=757975653&l=c15cefd626)
Another one of those things is reading the news. As someone with a PR background, I should love the news and want to read several versions of it to keep up with what is going on in the world. Truth is I don't. I try to enjoy it, but have decided to quit wasting my time and just let my news-hungry husband fill me in on enough tid-bits to keep me from looking like a complete idiot in the outside world and leave the regulatory reading to those who really enjoy it. I would like to develop a small, but great blog list to check periodically though, so if you have any that you relish, send the link my way.
An ongoing, recent resolution of mine is to buy organic whenever possible. This doesn't exactly fit in with our attempt being "gazelle intense" (dave ramsey-ism) but I think it is well worth the money. If you have not seen Food Inc., you owe it to your body, your kids, your spouse, etc to check it out. For a long time I had the attitude of just being content in ignorance, but I cannot ignore it any more. If you are interested in moving this way, I suggest just replacing your milk and hamburger meat with certified USDA organic (not "natural") products. This is where the bulk of the growth hormones lie from my understanding.
That is all I am going to say for now b/c my daughter is ready to play.
