December 2: Christmas Stories

I was sick this day. The stomach bug got the best of me and I was in bed (and the bathroom!) all day long. I was too exhausted from throwing up all day to carry out any extravagant Advent activity, so we decided it was the perfect night to read a couple of Christmas books. We read "Happy Birthday, Jesus" and  Jeb and I explained that the reason we get presents on Christmas is because people brought presents to Jesus on his birthday because He was the King of the Earth. LilliAnn liked to point out all of the animals that were with baby Jesus on his birthday and Reid pointed to the big, bright star and asked, "Is that Jesus, mommy?"  Then we sang "Happy Birthday to Jesus." I have the sweetest video on my phone of LilliAnn singing to Jesus.

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Next we read a classic...The Night Before Christmas. Reid really likes this book/poem because of the rhyming. He sort of knows a few parts of it and likes to act like he's reading along with Jeb...although it sounds more like jibberish :) LilliAnn points at the pictures and Reid asks questions like, "Is Santa going to come down our chimney?" Then he says, "some people call Santa Clause, St. Nick" and "those kids are wishing about candy!" (He calls dreams, "wishes.")

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The 25 Days of Christmas: December 1 - Christmas Movies

I wanted to do an activity Advent calendar this year, but the more I thought about it, the more stressed I became. What if on a particular night it said to "drive around and look at Christmas lights," but both kids were cranky and ready for bed...or what if it said, "write a letter to Santa" but both kids were rowdy and not in the mood. I would constantly be changing/rearranging the activities...scheduled Advent activities did NOT sound like fun with a one year old and a three year old. I did, however, want to start a tradition of doing Christmas activities as a family and dedicating the month of December to time spent as a FAMILY, as well as teaching my children the true meaning of CHRISTmas. I wanted age-appropriate, fun, low-key activities...reading books, reading bible verses, talking about Jesus's birthday and what his birth means to the world, making homemade ornaments, cooking holiday goodies...SOOOO this is OUR 25 Days of Christmas. It may not be picture-perfect, and every day may not consist of something big...but every day we WILL do something together as a family and do something CHRISTmas related. I wanted to at least get a little Advent box or calendar to put little prizes or candy in for the kids... or even get one of the "old school" Advent calendars where you got to read a bible verse and eat the chocolate when you opened the little box each day, but we were all very sick the first week of December and I didn't get around to it. This year our Advent activities are fun, flexible, and family oriented!

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The first day of December Reid woke up with a temperature of 105. We went over to the clinic so Tricia and I could check him out...his ears were just slightly red, throat was fine, lungs were fine, no rash, no vomiting, no diarrhea...just fever. He got an antibiotic shot and we went home to rest. I've never seen him this "lifeless." He didn't get up off of the couch all day long and didn't even want to take his jacket off. So for our first Advent activity, we watched Christmas movies. Reid absolutely LOVES the Grinch this year! I love the movie too because now when I ask my kids where Christmas is, Reid replies, "in my heart." It was a great one to kick off the holiday season. No matter how old you are or how many times you watch it, it's always a great reminder that "maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store. Christmas, perhaps, is a little bit more." We also watched the movie, Elf, but Reid slept through most of that one. 

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Reid's words...

Jeb leans over in bed tonight to give Reid a kiss and Reid stops him: "No, daddy. I only kiss gwirls."
Lol!