Tim and I occasionally talk about how we want to do things with our family at Christmas.....traditions, gifts, etc. We have come to the conclusion that our kids have a lot and are very privileged and so we get them one gift each....ultimately they get more with family giving them gifts but the basic idea is that we don't want to go crazy with all the gifts and make christmas all about getting presents. I am not saying that if other people buy their kids more than one gift they are making christmas all about gifts, I am just commenting that this is a way we have chosen to go about making christmas a little less about getting presents. We of course want to take lots of opportunities to talk to our kids about the true biblical meaning of christmas in every way we can. Tim's mom makes a "Jesus Tree" for kids where all of the ornaments have a specific meaning or example of the story of Jesus birth and the gospel.....this year she is making the kids their own little tree and each day of December they get to open an ornament to put onto the tree and we get to talk about the symbolism.....its kinda like an advent calendar! I also try to think of ways to teach the kids to think of others and I am not sure what that will look like for our family as our kids grow but I want to set some traditions now that we do each year. One of the thoughts I have that was inspired by another friends blog is by giving to organizations that provide water to 3rd world countries. "Solving this water problem once and for all will cost about $10 billion. Not bad considering Americans spent $450 billion on Christmas last year". - adventconspiracy.org Poor water conditions is the leading cause of death around the world and specifically in remote areas of the world. Thousands of children die each day because of water related illnesses and it is not that hard to do something about. My own children come from a country that suffers its own share of deaths related to poor water conditions and giving towards doing something about water conditions is one way we can help and in the process teach my family to think of others and have compassion for others! I would love to hear ideas from others!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Thoughts approaching Christmas time!
Tim and I occasionally talk about how we want to do things with our family at Christmas.....traditions, gifts, etc. We have come to the conclusion that our kids have a lot and are very privileged and so we get them one gift each....ultimately they get more with family giving them gifts but the basic idea is that we don't want to go crazy with all the gifts and make christmas all about getting presents. I am not saying that if other people buy their kids more than one gift they are making christmas all about gifts, I am just commenting that this is a way we have chosen to go about making christmas a little less about getting presents. We of course want to take lots of opportunities to talk to our kids about the true biblical meaning of christmas in every way we can. Tim's mom makes a "Jesus Tree" for kids where all of the ornaments have a specific meaning or example of the story of Jesus birth and the gospel.....this year she is making the kids their own little tree and each day of December they get to open an ornament to put onto the tree and we get to talk about the symbolism.....its kinda like an advent calendar! I also try to think of ways to teach the kids to think of others and I am not sure what that will look like for our family as our kids grow but I want to set some traditions now that we do each year. One of the thoughts I have that was inspired by another friends blog is by giving to organizations that provide water to 3rd world countries. "Solving this water problem once and for all will cost about $10 billion. Not bad considering Americans spent $450 billion on Christmas last year". - adventconspiracy.org Poor water conditions is the leading cause of death around the world and specifically in remote areas of the world. Thousands of children die each day because of water related illnesses and it is not that hard to do something about. My own children come from a country that suffers its own share of deaths related to poor water conditions and giving towards doing something about water conditions is one way we can help and in the process teach my family to think of others and have compassion for others! I would love to hear ideas from others!
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3 comments:
gosh, i don't think i'll ever get over how gorgeous your children are!
You are blessed!
thanks for updating often!
auntie karianne!
That's really awesome Leala. This year Trey and Tyson are picking a toy that they are going to give away to someone less fortunate. It is true, they have more than they could ever need. We also only give them one present together and one separate and that's it! They don't know the difference. Plus, the family thing so they get way too much anyway!
oh, and the birthdays- one before Thanksgiving and one after the New Year...it gets ridiculous! Fortunately baby #3 will spread this all out. :)
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