The Christmas season always seems to bring so much pressure. Too much stuff to do and not enough time! To be honest it's a real joy grabber. One of the blessings of little ones I have come to realize is that you have to re-prioritize... and quick! These days I have very little in the way of free time. Tackling the basic necessities is a real accomplishment! It seems that nearly every moment at least one little boy, and often two, wants to be in my lap. What's a mama to do? Make the most of this time and love on her little buddies. One of the things God has been revealing to me over the past several months is that His desire is for me to let go of my expectations for the day and embrace my God given role to love and nurture these sweet boys. Really, what better way could I spend my time? This way what gets done gets done and what doesn't will wait for another day. When I prioritize this way and don't lose my cool... it's amazing how all of the things that really need to get done do and many things that I thought were sooo important don't!
This week I was planning on hitting the kitchen hard and doing lots of baking... and then Ethan got sick. I have gotten a couple of things made, but for the most part I have had to let go of my unrealistic expectations and live in the moment God has given me, which is caring for my little guy. This may not seem like a big deal to most, but for me it's progress! And I can't take the credit. God is working in me showing me how to "walk worthy of the calling with which [I was] called, with all lowliness and gentleness, bearing with one another in love" (Ephesians 4:1-2).
Some of the special moments I have gotten to share with my boys so far this Christmas season have been singing Christmas carols. I am a terrible singer! I would never sing out loud in front of anyone else except them for fear of complete humiliation. But that's one of the best things about young children. They have no judgment! They don't care that I am off key and out of tune. They just love to hear songs and James loves to join in. I tried to do Advent readings for a couple of days and that was utter disaster! They ended in anger on my part and tears for James. Ummm... I'm pretty sure that's not the point and so I decided to appeal to them in another way. Music it is! There will be plenty of years ahead for Advent readings and this has been a wonderful way to impart some of the Christmas story to them. So, we belt them out! And at night, when I rock them to sleep, I sing them softly. Ethan looks at me adoringly with those big beautiful eyes... pure joy for me. And James snuggles in close. As each one ends he says, "another song" with a question mark at the end. Love! We are practicing singing Happy Birthday to Jesus and he is getting pretty good! I think perhaps these will be the moments I will remember most from this Christmas season.
There have been and will be some other fun and special memories we've made this year that I'd like to share and hopefully I will get to posting those soon. But for now here is a picture of my other sweet boy in a rare moment when he decided to smile for the camera and a few other shots in front of the Christmas tree! I think he looks like he is about five in this picture and I am reminded that he won't be my baby forever!
This is one of my faves!
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
~Isaiah 9:6
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