christmastime

School all but stops from Thanksgiving to New Year's Day, but we hung in there this year much better than last year. We will school more consistently this summer so that we can put the 'reading, writing, 'rithmetic,' aside and just focus on Christmas activities once Thanksgiving is over.  This year, we finally started a Jesse Tree tradition. We managed to not keep up with it the way I'd like to, but the kids enjoyed it.

Here's an explanation of the Jesse Tree from the Etsy shop where I bought our set. Found here, at Inspired Tradions on Etsy.

"The Jesse Tree tradition began as a family tree for Jesus. It originates from Isaiah 11:1, which says, "A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse". Jesse, the father of King David, is one of the patriarchs through whom Jesus' lineage is traced. This Jesse Tree ornament set can be used much like an advent calendar. Advent, meaning "coming", refers to the anticipation of the coming Christ. There is an ornament for each day in December through Christmas day that depicts a story from biblical history. For each symbol there are correlating Old Testament and New Testament scriptures. These stories give a "refresher" of the Bible as a whole, all the while reminding us of how the scriptures are all connected in the theme of God's grace. Some of the Old Testament symbols were chosen because a person in the story is in the lineage of Christ while others because Jesus himself referred to some part of the story. The New Testament symbols chosen have the prophecy scriptures referenced from the Old Testament. From the story of creation to the story of the wise men following a star, each symbol was chosen to help tell the story of God's plan to bring us back to himself through Jesus. The Jesse Tree displays the story of the coming Christ, carved out through history, by the sovereign hand of God."

I got a small 3' pre-lit Christmas tree on sale, but the ornaments can be displayed anywhere or on your main tree. I liked having them separate.  There are also sets that are much cheaper, paper sets that kids can color, or you can make your own symbols. I'm the opposite of talented when it comes to crafts and arts, so buying our family something pre-made was the best option for us. The quality of the Inspired Traditions set is great and they will last quite awhile.

Nugget had a Christmas program at his preschool. He cracks me up with his faces, especially when you catch him with the camera!

Stopped singing as soon as the camera went up.

 

"I will not perform for you" face

 

 

Buddy entertainment

 

 

 

We made salt dough ornaments for our tree and to give away. We made lots of cookies, and at Nugget's request, we made cupcakes. I also made a ton of our "bar cookies" and peppermint brownies, and we enjoyed sharing our goodies with friends and family!



 

 An early December dusting

I was not all that camera happy this Christmas, which is both a blessing and a bummer. I enjoy having events documented, but I also enjoy soaking up the family time and celebrating our Savior, and sometimes for me, the camera gets in the way.  I'm still hoping that more pics surface (like the November ones) and it's likely that they will as sometimes we have put them on the laptop or tablet when the camera is full.

Nanni and Gran and Grandad were all here for Christmas, and we had a lovely time entertaining. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were relaxed, we read from the Bible, played Christmas music, cooked delicious meals, and enjoyed the company. It even snowed on Christmas Day- just a dusting again, but it's still so special to our little family that's used to wearing shorts on Christmas Day and cranking up the AC.

Next year, I am hopeful that we will have quite a different celebration. It would be nice to have family in town again, and snow would be sweet.