Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Tis the Season

What fun to decorate and get ready for the Christmas season. By far, this is my most favorite time of year. This year, Grandma and papa got to help us decorate the house. Megan even got her own little tree in her room. In the future we are going to use this tree for what I hope will be a new tradition for us... a Jesse Tree. It'll be our own special touchable and teachable Advent calendar. I decided to forgo it this year simply out of lack of time and energy - so instead, this year, it's just Megan's special Christmas tree.

We are starting a tradition of celebrating Advent with our family Advent wreath and our magnetic Advent calendar. Each door holds a magnetic addition to build a nativity scene. Megan is loving it. The hardest part is stopping her at one door a day. If she could have it her way, we'd just play with it all day long.Our Little People nativity set is on the floor by the Advent calendar - unfortunately Joseph is MIA... don't know where he trotted off too. Thankfully Baby Jesus makes it back to the creche each night. One of the sweetest things I'll remember about this year is listening to Megan try to say "Baby Jesus" - it comes out sounding like "Baby Deez" - so sweet it makes a momma tear up. On of the funniest things I remember is Megan being adamant that Mary did not ride in on a donkey! She is very sure Mary belongs on the camel. Not sure where that comes from, but lets just say her strong-willed personality comes out if you even attempt to put Mary on the donkey. It's made for some interesting re-tellings of the Christmas Story.

I have several Nutcrackers from my teaching days and Megan is very enamored with them. They are different sizes and she's sure to tell you if she wants to see the little one or one of the big ones. She loves it when the nutcrackers "talk" to her. I love watching her try to watch the lever on the back and the mouth open at the same time. Thankfully they are tattered and have been abused by many children prior to Megan so her loving on them is so natural and sweet.
And it's all just starting.... Hope everyone else is off to a great start in celebrating the Birth of Jesus. I've always loved Christmas, but now, it's amazing how so much thought is going into the whats and whys of our celebrating because I want this to be not only a fun season, but a memorable and teaching time for our little girl. Tis the season!














1 comment:

Uncle Dan said...

Precious pictures as always. I am glad Mom and Dad got to be part of your holiday preparations. Our music teacher, my dear friend Linda Patton, has a couple of Nutcracker figurines on a table. It made me think of Megan and I smiled when I saw them this morning when I picked up my kids.

I went to the link for the Jesse Tree. What a wonderful way to teach Megan about the true meaning of Christmas and build her faith in a unique and special way.