Over the Hills and Everywhere

The last 4 days of the Advent season involved a lot of driving in order to visit with both sides of the family. Work schedules and travel itineraries made it impossible for my handsome husband to be going to the same places at the same times as me and the kids, but we made it work and had a good time.

December 22: What is Christmas? Banner

A pack of new markers + a huge roll of paper were laid out in front of the kids. I asked them the question, "What is Christmas?" After they thought about it, I told them to illustrate everything that Christmas means to them.

I was impressed with both their honesty and the depth of their theology. We had everything from a crazy-looking kid reaching for a present while chanting, "Give. Me. My. Toys!" to a picture of a man whose sin was being carried away to the cross and empty tomb.

December 23: Feed the Birds...decorate outdoor Christmas tree

Grandad has  a really lovely pine tree in his yard and we love to decorate it each year. This year we kept it simple, with strings of cranberries and popcorn.

It fit right in with one of the books we have been reading this week. It is such a sweet book.

December 24: Christmas in Missouri!

We got to spend the afternoon of Christmas Eve with my in-laws. It was a lovely day full for gingerbread, coffee, gifts, and good conversation.

They trusted me enough to get the kids science kits and learning games instead of the usual toys, and it was a complete success. There were experiments being conducted in the middle of their living room!

Our visit with them was followed by a candlelight service back at my hometown church, then Christmas Eve presents of new jammies for the kiddos (and A Christmas Story for the grown-up kiddos).

Shut up, Ralphie.

December 25: Christmas in Illinois!

Christmas morning, stockings, gifts under the tree, egg nog for breakfast, and...Star Wars.

The boys were more than spoiled by my dad and brother, and the rest of us made out pretty well, too. We had a lazy morning and while the bird was in the oven, we watched Star Wars. The kids have been dying to watch, but they are pretty nervous when it comes to movies. They don't really like scary things. We decided that they were finally big enough to handle the original 3 movies. So far, we've made it through A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back with great success.

Maybe we have a new Christmas tradition.