I recently made a purchase to add to the Koch family's holiday traditions. I have been looking for an Advent calendar JUST like this one for a few years, and this year Restoration Hardware made it happen. I had seen many Advent calendars, none of them were "the one". This one was. It was one of those exhilarating shopping experiences when you know without a doubt you found exactly what you wanted. Woo Hoo. (I know there are some of you out there who know what I'm talking about...). Anyway, the girls already LOVE it, and the anticipation of what could be behind the doors is hard for them to handle, but very fun for them to look forward to. I told Jim I had been looking for the kind of Advent calendar that would stand the test of time and be enjoyed every year by all, and would be so special that it would be the kind of thing our kids would fight over after we died. (HA- ok, i didn't mean I want them to fight over it for real (not at all!)- of COURSE we don't want that! But maybe it would be ok if they had to settle on drawing names...JK). SO what I really mean by that is that I hope that this tradition, added to the others that have found a place in our family, would be a special one that they treasure and pass on to their children as they celebrate Christ's birth with their own families one day.
We've been talking about the story of Jesus' birth, and why God sent Jesus to us, etc. a lot lately, since we put the decorations out this week- so we could take our time and enjoy it together and still be done by the time family is here this weekend. We had SO much fun. They are old enough this year to be really, really exited for Christmas, and all the beautiful decorations, etc. We got out each thing one by one, each ornament individually and savored the experience while we talked about the symbolism, or purpose for each and found the perfect place to put it. I knew it would be fun, but wasn't prepared for how much fun it would be- they (and I) really had a special time while we prepared for the Christmas season together.
One book that has had a huge influence over our family's emerging traditions throughout the year is "Treasuring God in Our Traditions" by Noel Piper (John Piper's wife). I'd highly recommend it. We've started some really special traditions in our home- if you'd like to share some of your own/hear about some of ours, feel free to comment and continue the conversation.
1 comment:
It sounds like you've had a wonderful time decorating for Christmas. That's great.
I would like to know what your traditions for Christmas, in particular, are. I've been looking for fun ways to point the kids to Christ during the holiday season. One year, while opening stockings on Christmas morning I shared a really good biblical reason with Elijah about why we open stockings, but I can't remember what I tied it to (maybe the three wise men bringing gifts or something). I remember it as being really good, but I can't remember it. SO, what do you do?
I've read Noel's book and like it as well.
On a different note -- your pictures of your kids are always great! I love how you can capture most of their face without them necessarily looking at the camera. Good job! Do you take these pics yourself?
Love ya.
Trina
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