Sickies and Service

We had big plans this first week of December. I love the magic of the season, especially with little kids. We usually start with a bang doing fun things from our activity advent stocking. On queue for this week were the Alpine Living Nativity, decorating Grandma Osmond's tree with her, and seeing the lights on Temple Square.

But then... life happened. The crowds were insane at the nativity and we turned around for sanity's sake, with tired kids and dire need for a potty. Then the sickies hit. Mike was able to still take the kids to decorate Grandma's tree, but I stayed home in bed fighting a stomach bug. Of course the girls' caught it too, so we spent lots of time convalescing at home, reading Christmas books and watching Christmas movies. And you know what? I started realizing that we can feel the Christmas spirit just as much, if not more, just staying home and being together! It reminded me of President Monson's talk from the 1st Presidency Christmas Devotional...

"It is easy to get caught up in the pressure of the season and perhaps lose the very spirit in our lives that we’re trying to gain. Overdoing it is especially common this time of the year for many of us. The causes for this might include too many Christmas activities to attend, too much to eat, too much money spent, too many expectations, and too much tension. Often our efforts at Christmastime result in our feeling stressed out, wrung out, and worn out during a time we should feel the simple joys of commemorating the birth of our Savior."

We were still able to do some projects together. The girls each made a snowman craft.

We wrapped gifts together for our cousins.

Maddie read a book to Ella in their little nest.

This little cutie pie often puts her chins in her hands and looks at me like she did when we wrote letters to Santa.

Ty joined the fun by making himself a Santa beard with yogurt.

President Monson's talk also made me really think about what we are teaching our kids about Christmas. They know it's Jesus' birthday and we try to talk about him often, but I loved the next thing President Monson said:

"Finding the real joy of Christmas comes not in the hurrying and the scurrying to get more done, nor is it found in the purchasing of gifts. We find real joy when we make the Savior the focus of the season. We can keep Him in our thoughts and in our lives as we go about the work He would have us perform here on earth. At this time, particularly, let us follow His example as we love and serve our fellowman."

In fact, this really struck me and I realized we needed to change some traditions in our home. Rather than focusing on ourselves and all the fun we get to have, I hope to turn the focus to serving others, as Christ would do if he were here. I think it will really help us feel the true spirit of Christmas. I was talking to a friend about this and she reminded me of the tradition of putting straw in a manger for acts of service, hoping to make a soft bed for Jesus when he is born on Christmas.

I assigned Mike to this project and he made us a sweet little manger to fill with yarn.

The kids are already trying to think of ways to add more yarn. Hopefully it will alleviate some contention and foster kindness in our home. 

Another idea I came across from my friend here is a 12 Days of Service jar. We had some neat ideas for the weekend, until Ella came down with croup Saturday morning. Once again we had to postpone some activities, but we will get back on track soon!

If I hadn't gotten the message about service yet this week, I got it again at church. Our lesson was about following Christ's example and being "His Hands"... serving others as he would if he were here. This beautiful depiction of his life was shown and encompassed all of my thoughts and feelings of the week. 

For church we did a parent swap to stay home with the sickies. Mike took Tyler in his Christmas bow tie to sacrament meeting, and I got to go to young women's.

 To finish things off, this baby is officially half baked! I am 20 weeks along and finally feeling good, and we get to find out who is in there in 9 days!!!