Thursday, December 17, 2009

getting closer

The BIG DAY is almost here, and I am trying to go with the flow and not get caught up in the last minute frenzy. This year, I have tried to focus more on family activities (crafts, story time, baking, singing, talking about the nativity) and less on the gifts. Last year, on Christmas morning, after the presents had been opened and the wrapping paper covered the entire living room floor, I looked around and instead of feeling joy, I felt sadness....it was all simply too much. We had gone way overboard on the presents, and I swear, towards the end, Sienna was complaining about having to open yet another gift!! And the whole thing only lasted about 45 minutes!!
This year, we are doing things differently. Our plan is to have the kiddos open all the gifts from their grandparents on Christmas Eve before our annual Christmas party at our house. That way, they can really savor the presents, and actually remember who gave them what. Of course, there will be lots of gifts from Santa waiting for them on Christmas morning, but there will only be 1 or 2 gifts from Mommy and Daddy :)
There is a part of me that LOVES the excess of Christmas, and I want my own children to have that sense of excitement and anticipation....I want them to look forward to this time of year as much as I always have, BUT there is definitely a balance that needs to be sought. My goal is to go to sleep on Christmas night feeling warm, cozy, and grateful for all the wonderful blessings we have been given...BUT most importantly, to wish our Savior a Happy, Happy Birthday!!

We're getting crafty at our house this year :)

Sienna loved chatting with Santa Claus this year. Grant....not so much!!
He did, however, find a few things at Bass Pro Shop that he enjoyed :)

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

LOVE the ornaments - so cute! Your kids are gorgeous, too! Sienna looks just like YOU!

mark said...

Your kids are very fortunate to have you for a mother. Enjoy your Christmas. You deserve it.

melissa said...

great pictures :-) hope you enjoy shimelle's class, it was a lot of fun!

Meghann Andrew said...

Great pics Kristy. If I had kids, I'd probably have a tendency to go overboard as well with the gifts! Thanks so much for the comment on my blog. I really learned a lot from Shimelle's class, but I still want to improve my blog. Your blog already looks fab!

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