Christmas Cards

One of my many favorite things about Christmastime is receiving Christmas cards! I love getting a stack in our mailbox, seeing the latest family photo, reading up on the happenings from the past year, and just admiring all the different types of cards! I just love it!

Up For Display
Every year I try to be creative with how I display them; tape them on our our sliding glass door, hang them from Ikea green and red clothes clips, stack them in a bowl (no way!), but this year I arranged them on a CB2 Cable Photo Cord held stationery by a mighty, tiny, little magnet. One year I kept the cards up on display until after Valentine's Day.

The List Keeps Growing
For several years I made other people their own specialized Christmas cards for $1.00/card with special services (printing labels on the envelope, licking the flaps closed, or putting the stamps in the corner). Each family had a different size number on their mailing list: some had a list of 50, most had 100, a few had 300, and one had a list of 500 names. Whatever the size of your list, how do you determine who to add or who to take off of your list?

(I just have to add here that this is the first year I didn't make our own Christmas cards, but I ordered them from Shutterfly by the October 31st deadline to cash in on the killer discount. They are able to produce my cards cheaper than I could ever make them on my own.)

I'm Not On Their List
Well, the other day I was at my friends house when I noticed two cards from mutual friends. Not so unusual, except, I didn't receive those Christmas cards myself. They sent their cards to me last year, but not this year. Yes, my feelings were a bit hurt, and it got me thinking about our Christmas card mailing list.

My Mailing List
On my mailing list I have family (of course), cousins (even though some do not send me a card, I just send them one anyway because how rude is it not to even send your own cousin a Christmas card), friends from college, roommates from years gone by, my husband's friends, friends that I have known a very long time, friends from church, my boys' friends' family, and new friends. So my list grows and shrinks year by year.

When to Take Them Off The List
So the big question is when do you cross people off your list? I have friends on my list that I have not seen for years, but I love them and I want our lives to intersect back to each other and I couldn't bare to cross them off the list. It's like crossing them out of my life. Christmas is sometimes the one time of the year that gives me a window into their lives for the past year.

I don't cross people off the list if they still send me their card, but there have been people I didn't know very well anyway who I don't see much and I can't imagine how are lives will intersect again type of people who I cross off the list and feel okay about doing that.

My boys have also been in on the Christmas card mailing list, because they too fancy to send a family card to their friends as well. And, for the most part, we are friends with the parents of our kids' friends anyway.

But, at what point do we cross them off? Some people stike out people on their list that they haven't seen for half the year or their kids don't hang out with the other kid so off the list they go.

Friendships Come and Go
It seems our lives are so disposal to some. Friendships come and go. As I receive my cards I think about friends who used to send me cards who don't any more. How did I get off their list? I just crossed a friend off my list after thirteen years of sharing cards and lives. I must confess, it was difficult and it sadden me to do it. I so wished our lives and our familys' lives could have intertwined, but after not receiving a card for the past two years, regretfully, I knew I had to finally release this friend from my life.

In this festive time I have to say I get a little sadden for every card I don't receive. I love sending Christmas cards and I just love receiving them so please add me to your Christmas card mailing list because I love to hear your stories and see your smiling faces. (I know, so gushy, but it's Christmastime so I'm allowing myself to be a bit sappy.)

Merry Christmas to my fabulous blog friends!

When Do We Tell Them About Santa?

I have been wondering lately if most parents tell their kids the truth about Santa.

Should we just play along with the idea of Santa until one day our child finally asks about jolly ol' St. Nick or when the neighborhood kid finally spills the beans (or they see a post pop up on their parents' e-mail that reads, "When Do We Tell Them About Santa?)? Should we really allow our middle school child to still believe?

Now, I have been contemplating this dilemma for some time now and have been asking around about this concept of telling your child about Santa and parents seem to agree they are mum on the subject with their kiddos. It seems odd to me to see a five foot boy weighing about 120 pounds still believe in Santa. Our children could be learning about the "birds and the bees" in school, but yet they still believe in a bearded man who comes down their chimney every Christmas and stuffs their stocking with everything they have been wanting. Don't you think that once that boy or girl finds out about Santa that he is going to feel a bit silly that he or she believed in that jolly old man for so long?

My husband and I agreed a long time ago that we would not play up Santa in our house. The kids hear all the songs about a man in a red suit coming down the chimney on Christmas Eve, but we never put out carrots for the reindeer or ask if they are excited about Santa coming. But we also did not give any hints that he was everything but real either.

Two years ago my oldest son figured it out. He was eight years old. (Click here to read last year's blog post on the story). At that time, my son agreed that he would not be the one to tell his friends and brother about Santa who all still believe. At first he was quiet about it and never said anything about Santa, but recently he has been playing it up and getting his younger brother all excited about St. Nick.

(Side story: every year Santa puts panties or a bra in my stocking. One year I accidently pulled it out while my boys were watching. From now on my youngest just cracks up that Santa put a bra in my stocking - although he still believes in Santa, he just can't understand why Santa would put a bra in my stocking.)

This year, our youngest put a note in his stocking. He never mentioned that he was going to do that and we were both surprised on Christmas Eve to see a piece of paper sticking up out of his green and red velvet stocking. It read, "Dear Santa, All I want for Christmas is to have a chance to be like you. Love, Samuel"

Santa wrote back, "Dear Samuel, Thank you for the kind note. You already are one of the most generous boys on my list. Keep up the good work. S"

Later, while opening our presents, our eldest came across a package that read, "To The Smith Family, Love S." Inside the gift was unexpected: another Wii controller and The Best of the Muppet Show. I was surprised too.

After opening up such an appropriate gift to the Smith family, my oldest son exclaimed, "Wow, Santa showed up big this year."

We were going to tell our youngest after this Christmas about Santa, but he is such a believer that I think it would just break his heart.

So, if you have older children, when and how did they find out about Santa? If you have younger kids, are you going to play along with the story of "Santa" or are you going to tell them the truth early? If you don't have kids, do you play along about Santa with your nieces and nephews?

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A Birth in Meager Means

By Maressa Conover

I was so excited when our guest blogger agreed to write a post for the week of Christmas. She gave birth to a beautiful girl on October 5, 2009 and I was so thankful that she found the time to share with us.
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It was 4:45pm when my husband and I arrived in the parking lot at the Birth Center. We were so excited and anxious about the new adventure we were about to embark on; natural childbirth in a bathtub.

As I walked from the parking lot to the entrance trying to get there before my next contraction begun, I told Kevin, “wouldn’t it be funny if nobody opened the door and I had to have the baby in the back of our car?” That would be a story to tell! No, not funny. We rang the door bell, and a minute later, I took a breath of relief, thankfully, I was greeted by a nurse.

They close the birth center to clients at 5pm and everyone had gone home except the midwife on call for that evening and two of her assistants. We had the whole place to ourselves. I got the room I hoped for with the large roman tub, soft lighting and plenty of space for my friends and family. I felt so pampered when I got in the warm water with my candles on and music in the background. I could now focus on my breathing and soon would have a baby girl in my arms!

Mary, the mother of Jesus himself, was not so fortunate. Laboring while riding a far distance on a donkey, her only hope was just to have a private place to birth. I’ve asked myself before, “Why did God himself come to earth in human form in such a lowly and humble way?” Our all knowing, all powerful God, creator of the universe, surely could have been born to a rich couple and had the whole world know about the birth. Surely then people would have respected Jesus and come to kneel down before the Son of God!

Yet Mary and Joseph knocked on the door of the Inn at night after traveling and probably exhausted, but there was no room for them. No room for the human parents of a supernatural baby, God in human form. You would think someone would have volunteered to give up their room for this poor laboring woman, or that the innkeeper would have looked further for somewhere comfortable, but instead, the only place available was the manger for the animals! Was there really not one person who could have made room for them to have their baby? Was there not one person who sympathized with the intensity of childbirth and how comfort is so important to a laboring mommy? Nobody to even let them borrow a room until the baby was born?

I can only imagine how uncomfortable it must have been to labor in a manger let alone, King Herod on the hunt to kill baby Jesus. It was probably stinky, dirty and itchy, far from the comforts we have now. Still today, time and time again, many of us are looking out for ourselves, but may not notice others who are in need or at least not enough to help them, love them or accommodate them.

God knew that Jesus would be born in a manger, and did not get in the way of that. Perhaps, he wanted to identify with the lowliest of people and did not care about a big show, for it would still become one of the most significant events in history. God does not push himself on people but quietly knocks on the door of our hearts, waiting for us to make room for him. He eagerly awaits for an open door.

When was the last time you looked for an opportunity to make room for someone else? Whether it be time, touch, a listening ear or a meal, show God you love him, by taking care of someone he loves. Even if it’s an inconvenience, provide a blessing to someone else in need this Christmas!

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Next week we'll talk about when if ever do we tell our children about Santa?

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"Love Everywhere"

For the third time this month I have watched the movie, "Love Actually" (released in 2003). I just love this movie for some quirky reason. The movie begins five weeks before Christmas, the setting is London, and the movie is made and produced in Great Britain. And the clip is loaded with big named English actors and actresses.

There are seven stories (there was eight, but they clipped those scenes out) going on at the same time about love. (1) There is Hugh Grant who plays the prime minister and falls for one of the gals who serves him his daily tea. (2) There is Liam Neeson (who is the voice of Aslan in the Narnia series) who just lost his wife and his step son has fallen in love with a gal at school. (3) Kiera Knighly makes her debut (shot right before she left for Pirates of the Caribbeans - the director had strongly encouraged her not to take that "silly" movie - but she did and I'm sure she hasn't regretted it) and at 18 or so she gets married and her husband's best friend (played by Andrew Lincoln) is in love with her. (4) Then we have Alan Rickman (who plays Snape fabulously in the Harry Potter series) with his wife played by Emma Thompson and he is confused because he gives a beautiful locket neckless to his assistant. (5) Then we have Colin Firth (who played the famous Mr. Darcy in the Pride and Prejudice series) whose girlfriend cheats on him with his brother and then the Colin character goes overseas to write and falls for his housekeeper. (6) Bill Nighly (whose birthday is a day before mine and also plays in the Pirates of the Caribbean series) plays this crazed rock star who sings the winning song of the year, "If you Really Love Christmas, Come on and Let it Snow." Bill's character comes out and finally appreciates his manager as his friend. (7) And lastly, and the story line that I find unnecessary, two innocent people stand in for famous people's romantic scenes. As they stand in at these sets they fall for each other. The last story line make the movie a R rating.

At the beginning of the movie they have people greeting each other at the airport while Hugh Grant, as the prime minister of England, says,

"Whenever I get gloomy about the state of the world, I think about the arrival gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion is to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. Seems to me that love is everywhere. Often it is not particularly dignified (scene of a older couple kissing) or news worthy, but it is always there. Fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriend and girlfriends, old friends, new friends. When the planes hit the twin towers as far as I know the phone calls from the people on board were not messages of hate or revenge. They were all messages of love. If you look for it, I got a sneaky feeling that you will find that love is all around."

Okay, it is a bit sickly, but I liked it anyway. A bit naive in a way since there is so much hatred in the world (the wars and bitterness among countries and tribes), but a great reminder of the love we do have in our lives. In the movie they say things like, since it is Christmas I thought I should tell you.... So my challenge to you today is, since it is Christmas, tell someone that you love or care for them. Someone you have never told them that you appreciate them for this or that, or a loved one you haven't told them for a long time that you love them, or a friend that you haven't expressed how thankful you are for their friendship. Then let us know who you shared with this Christmas season.

The ultimate love proclaimed was announced at Christ's birth. God wanted to let us know that He loves us so He sent His one and only son to proclaim His love among us. This is what we celebrate today. May His message have special meaning to you this Christmas. Luke 2:8-14

Merry Christmas.