How We Do Christmas

If I have time, I will update this post.  For now, you can read about how we changed the way we celebrate Jesus's birthday here.

Christmas Morning 2009

Christmas morning we got up at 5:00am to get ready to head down to the Coalition. When we got there, we (along with lots of other volunteers) packed up at least 350 Bibles in backpacks that were already filled with hygiene kits. From there we served breakfast and spent some time with some of the men there. (We're not allowed to take pictures so I left the camera at home.)

We got home shortly after 10am and had a quick lunch, we napped before heading over to my parents' house to celebrate with everyone. Tradition: Papaw reading the Christmas story before opening gifts.Lots of help was needed to pass out all those presents!Sedona, my brother's dog, found a seat on Jackson's lap. I don't like dogs but I like that dog. Very well trained!My mom made the boys snuggees with their favorite football team logos all over them. Emma spent time earlier in the month with my mom working on a surprise for me...a beautiful hand-made pillow.

Christmas with Meme & Papa

The Sunday before Meme and Papa drove to NC to celebrate Christmas with family up there, we spent the afternoon at a local park and then went back to their place for dinner and gift exchange.

Nursing Home Visit

I'm still catching up from December.  Here are the kids making cards to take to the nursing home where we caroled with the Fittros.

All eleven of 'em... 

O' Christmas Tree

I've mentioned before how I don't like to decorate the Christmas tree.  I'm a perfectionist and don't really have an artistic eye so when I decorate it, I end up picking at it until the day I take it down.  Last year, the kids decorated it and did a fantastic job.

This year, we were having a family Christmas party so I called in the expert ~ my mom! 

She did such a great job that I don't even want to take it down.  I'd like to throw a sack over it and store it for next year.

Christmas Card Pics

I told you I'm behind!  Here are the outtakes from our Christmas card picture taking.

Roddy had the day before Thanksgiving off, so I took the opportunity (and help) to get everyone ready for pictures for a Christmas card.  It was the dreariest, rainiest day we had all month.  Which meant indoor pictures and terrible natural lighting.  If I knew how to use the Photo Shop program I have, I should have lightened up the background or something. Oh well!

I liked this one but it was a little boob-a-licious.  Once again, should have Photoshopped it.

We chose this one.

Jesus' Birthday

Last year around this time, I read a post by Ann at A Holy Experience that changed the way we do Christmas.

It made perfect sense to me. On my birthday, we don't all exchange gifts. Do you? So I wonder why we exchange gifts on Jesus' birthday.

I read the story to the kids and it made perfect sense to them as well.

Of course, we couldn't wrap presents and put them under the tree for Jesus to physically open Christmas morning. So what could we do?

Jesus said that whatever we do for the least of these, we do for Him.

So to give to Jesus, we gave to others...and it was the best Christmas ever yet!

You may think of other ways to give and serve others this month but these were our birthday gifts last year (some to be repeated this year and new ones to be added).

We put together hygiene kits for the men at the Coalition which we then had the privilege of handing out on Christmas morning.

We memorized the Christmas story from Luke 2 to recite to the residents of a local local nursing home followed by Christmas carols.

We saved our coins and donated the money we collected to Wycliffe Bible Translators. There is also an option of going through their Gift Catalog to specify where the money is used.

And we let the kids pick gifts from Samaritan's Purse Gift Catalog.

There are so many ways to serve others not just at Christmas but throughout the year. Keep your eyes and ears open. Give and it will change your Christmas. Keep giving and it will change your life.

Our focus was so different last year. Getting wasn't what was important. We experienced in spades that it is more blessed to give than to receive.

P.S. We still exchanged gifts with our families because this is our conviction not theirs.

And we decided that because Thanksgiving is about the abundance of blessings God gives us and being thankful for each other, we will give our gifts to each other at Thanksgiving. At the first Thanksgiving, the Pilgrims gave gifts to the Native Americans and vice-versa. So this will be our time to exchange presents with each other.

Best Christmas Ever!

What an awesome Christmas morning! Instead of the usual getting of gifts on Jesus' birthday, we loaded up at 7am to head down to the Coalition for the Homeless. The hygiene kits that so many of you helped put together had been put in backpacks to be handed out to the homeless men that sleep there. Doughnuts, coffee and specially packaged cookies were also given out.


What a sight. I couldn't have imagined the mass of so many without a warm, soft, clean bed to sleep in; without food for the rest of the day; without family to go to in their time of need. It put a lot of things into perspective for me.

While passing out the cookies, Sweet Pea noticed that one of the men was deaf. When she told me, I immediately sought him out. His name is Archie. He was very patient with me and my 2 years of sign language with no practical experience. At one point in the conversation, I asked him what he was going to do for the rest of the day. He said, "Be bored." I thought about him the rest of the day. Especially as I was preparing our Christmas dinner/feast. It was all I could do to keep from asking Hubby if we could go back down there and find him and bring him home.


As the men finished up their doughnuts and coffee and started heading out for the day, Archie starting working. I saw him cleaning up and moving boxes. I could tell he was a worker. There are homeless people who are bumbs - they're there because they choose to be; because they are lazy. Archie's not one of them. I think many of the men there want to work, want to get out of that place. It weighs on my heart.

I invited Archie and his friend (also deaf) to church Sunday. I want to introduce them to my first sign language teacher who is also deaf. They said they would be waiting for us Sunday morning. I'll let you know.

Merry Christmas!

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas and a Happy New Year!

We're not getting to send out Christmas cards this year, but if the budget allows will hopefully send something out in the new year. In the meantime, I want to wish you all a very merry Christmas as you celebrate the birth of Christ!