Necessarily Rewinding: The Holidays (Part 4)

December 2012 started out pretty stinkin' snazzy. Check it out.

Christmas tree shopping.

It's a serious business.

This is what the boys do EVERY time!!

Giving Thanks

CHRISTmas Continued Part 2

Can I please finish up my winter holiday blogging before it's 95 degrees and 100% humidity here in the great state of Arkansas? Pretty pleeeeeeze???? I'm trying my best to get caught up. You can go here and here in case you missed my other holiday posts. (And I apologize to those of you who'd rather not go back in time...)

Okay. First of all, I went to a fun cookie exchange party with some of the teachers at Homeschool Academy. The ladies who put it together are CRAZY creative and organized. They had us send our cookie recipes ahead of time so they could make us a cute, little recipe booklet. Isn't that sweet? They also gave away a door prize and then had a contest for the yummiest cookie and the most creative "wrapping." The other kindergarten assistant teacher won the yummiest cookie recipe with her Mint Ravioli Cookies. And y'all, they were seriously scrumptious!!! And, guess what? My container won the "Most Creative" prize! Yay me! Can you guess which one is mine? (Hint: there are birds involved.)

And then, CHRISTmas morning DID come for us, lest you thought we gave up after the tree debacle. Here's the way it went down.

Tuesday afternoon (before CHRISTmas), while I was frantically addressing envelopes for our CHRISTmas cards and putting the babies down for naps, the two older children (who should know better) were upstairs busily giving themselves a new look for the holidays. Actually, only ONE used the scissors. I'll let you take a guess on who that might have been. Perhaps you saw the end result? Anyway, when I came through the kitchen to pick up a final stack of cards, I happened to meet up with the "stylist," and boy, did I ever lose it! Self-control was nowhere to be found, let me tell ya. And I hadn't even seen BOTH of them yet!! One look at the other one, and it was all over. After a wildly awful call to their father and after banishing them to their respective rooms, I continued addressing envelopes...while bawling my head off for two solid hours! (So, if your CHRISTmas card had water spots on it, now you know why.) To say it was a bad day would be putting it very, very mildly.

Speaking of CHRISTmas cards, I had so much trouble with ours this year. I tried to design my own, but when I got them printed, they looked horrible. Here's an idea of what I was going for:

I could NOT get our names unblurred!!! Ugh!!

But we ended up with this instead, because there simply wasn't any more time:

Anyway, back to the "Great Hair Scare." The next day we got appointments to go see E.C., one of my old stylists back in my red-head days.........(What?! You didn't know about the red-head days?!) It was necessary. No way could I have fixed what needed fixing on those two. It was B.A.D. That night we went out for sushi. Perhaps Paul knew I was one home-cooked meal away from certain disaster. It was a much-needed respite from the craziness, that's for sure.

Once the kiddos were in bed that night, Paul and I stayed up LATE LATE getting all kinds of stuff done. We cleaned, we wrapped, we I worked on wreaths, and we gathered things to donate. Lots and lots of things. We literally FILLED the Expedition, leaving room for only ONE child to tag along with Daddy the next day. In fact, when Paul dropped our stuff off at Little Rock Compassion Center, they suggested he take the last box to Goodwill, because they were tired of unloading all of it. Seriously! They really did. He obliged them and what a relief to have it gone!! (Unfortunately, we still have a ways to go.)

There were a few other random errands that needed to be run--a forgotten ingredient here and there, pull-ups for the toddler, etc. But once it was all done, we got everyone dressed up in their cutest CHRISTmas clothes and headed off to church.

Ha! Just realized how much plaid we had going on!

My Handsome Little Fella'

Once home, we finished up our FamilyLife nativity and learned that God wants US for CHRISTmas. (Get one of these if you don't already have one.) Then we donned our most CHRISTmas-sy pajamas and got to bed. Paul and I, unfortunately, still had several things to do that night. There were stockings to stuff, of course, and a couple of large gifts to get out of hiding, and then the breakfast casserole had to be made and refrigerated overnight. I don't remember what all we did, but we got a half-way decent night's sleep.

The kids had a blast CHRISTmas morning. But I was so NOT on point that morning. Just couldn't wake up, I guess. We have always filmed the opening of presents, but somehow we didn't get around to it this year. At least I don't think we did. (Honey?) And the only reason there are any photos whatsoever is because Paul remembered to use the camera. I honestly don't know what I was doing. Helping littles do various things, I suppose. Going to have to be better organized next year. Definitely.

Atticus (and really Gabe) got a sand and water table.

And, y'all, I spent not a penny on it. Got it from Krista's church's "Share & Swap." (The "Share & Swap" is exactly what it sounds like. You bring stuff to give away and then you can GET stuff others have brought. No money involved. My other great "score" was a pink London Fog bib-style snowsuit in a sassy little size 5!) The sand/water table was basically brand new. Just missing a few parts, which I may or may not try to locate on Ebay. Right now, the kids don't know the difference. We set it up in the living room with a tarp underneath. And it would have been fine, had the big kids not taken over and lost a bit of self-control. Instead of sand, I used rice. (I figured if Atticus decided to eat it, at least it would be FOOD and not DIRT!) But once the rice started flying ALL. over. the. room, Paul and I moved it outside onto the patio--where it belongs!

Gabriel got a Radio Flyer tricycle. He loves it, but he's still using it like his little scoot toy (last year's CHRISTmas present, by the way). He's not convinced those pedals are for anything except looks. (And he's a bit too stubborn to listen to (Mommy's) reason.)

Saylor mainly got dresses (because we know the way to her heart is through fashion). We did get her a small toy item. She plays with Calico Critters. LOVES them! So we got her the baby furniture and accessories. Many tiny, tiny pieces. I really HAVE lost my mind.

Noah got a guitar and the promise of lessons. He was very excited. Now he's just working on some callouses...

Other gifts included coats...

underwear...

a new Bible...

and other essentials.

That's it. We are decidedly ANTI-junk at this point. And plan on keeping it that way.

Then we ate our CHRISTmas brunch: breakfast casserole, monkey bread, apricot scones, and fresh fruit (courtesy of Noah). Later Poppy, Aunt Wendy (Paul's sister), Uncle Mert (her husband), Ezra (our sweet nephew), Paul's Aunt Donna and Uncle Aubrey, and his cousin Claire all came over to just hang out. We snacked on our brunch foods, played, napped, and generally laid around until dinner time, at which point we all headed out to one of the two restaurants open in town: I-HOP. AFTER I got out of my pajamas, that is. (I was determined to stay in them all day.)

Atticus was hilarious because he wanted to sit in Ezra's seat constantly. Sometimes Gabe would even push him around (it has wheels). See the look on his face? Ha! He was so serious sitting in it! Cracked me up!

We also made our traditional "Carpenter Family" fruitcake (not what you think). It used to be a CHRISTmas Eve tradition when I was growing up, then we started making it closer to Thanksgiving so we could enjoy it throughout the CHRISTmas season. At MY house, though?? Well, let's just say ours was more of a New Year's fruitcake than a CHRISTmas one. But the Davidson kiddos didn't mind.

It's made with graham cracker crumbs. Now back when I was a kid, there was no such thing as packaged graham cracker crumbs. So we bought graham crackers and would grind them with an old, vintage meat grinder. This is still our tradition to this day. And this is the very same meat grinder I grew up grinding crackers with. (Now...I just need to figure out how to make healthy, homemade graham crackers. Is that even possible?)

Even though we didn't take just a ton of pictures, we will always have good memories of this CHRISTmas with our little family of six and all those beloved people who came to visit and share CHRISTmas day with us. Precious, precious memories.

The Infamous Holiday Email

I once wrote an email in response to an issue some friends of mine were debating over (there were SEVERAL group emails on both sides of the issue). This is my response in its entirety, originally written in November '06. We thought this would make a good post since it's already written (ha!) and it happens to tell quite a lot about our family. The issue being questioned: Halloween--should we celebrate it since its origins are pagan? (And someone brought up Christmas as well because of its ties to pagan customs.)

I've been trying to organize my thoughts and finally decided I would weigh in on the issue…sorry about the length.

In my opinion, for what it's worth, I think it comes right down to this question: Are you pleasing the Lord with your actions? As basic as it may seem, it is ONE major question we should ask about everything, always measuring the issue against God's Word. Are you pleasing the Lord when you chase your sister until she cries? Are you pleasing the Lord when you hit your brother on the head with a block? Are you pleasing the Lord by your response to your parents? Are you pleasing the Lord by the way you eat? Are you pleasing the Lord by how you speak to your husband? Are you pleasing the Lord by how you manage your money? Some are obviously easier to answer than others because even as children many of us were taught the popular Scriptures, the ones easy to memorize, the Commandments, etc. and we learned to apply those principles to our lives. Somewhere down the line it got harder and harder to answer questions on our own. We stopped searching the Scriptures, we stopped seeking God's will, we stopped listening to the Spirit. Why? It's easier to stop. It feels good to our flesh to go along with the ways of the world. I'm speaking for myself here!!!! But God's Word really does have everything we need to answer this question, no matter what the issue. Are you pleasing the Lord with your actions? It is a question only YOU can answer because it is based on your specific set of circumstances, your own personal knowledge of God's Word, and the Spirit's subsequent convictions on your heart.

For me, I usually start to recognize these types of convictions when my mind keeps going back to something over and over. I just can't seem to quit thinking about something. You know, you're just trucking along and suddenly you get challenged with something. Maybe it's a Scripture you read, maybe it's a Scripture someone has shared with you, maybe it's something said in a sermon or a song, maybe it's a conviction someone else has and is sharing with you; whatever it is, you keep reflecting on it, maybe you even do everything you can to refute it, you ask others about it, you may be extremely bothered by it, you just can't seem to let it go. This is the point at which we need to ask God's direction about the issue, because He may be changing our hearts and minds about something we would never have dreamed we would change on.

For my family, we never ever considered doing anything different than what our own parents did during our upbringings. After all, we turned out okay, right? In fact, Noah's first year included both trick-or-treating AND Santa Claus, no big deal. Then a friend of mine in my Bible study mentioned she was struggling with several issues (I don't even remember if they had anything to do with Halloween) and that she had been led to the verse "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." Phil. 4:8. Whoa! That verse is HUGE when we apply it to everything in our lives, huh?!! TV shows? Movies? How we dress? Books? Images we allow our children to see? God gave us very wise advice (of course!) in his effort to protect us from evil, from temptations, from struggles in raising our children, from cultural desensitization, even from bad dreams. Why? Because these are the things that keep us from having the abundant life He wants for us and these are the things that lead us down roads that are far from pleasing to the Lord, far from glorifying to Him. I know, I know, you're thinking "Good grief, it's just a little pumpkin bag filled with candy and jolly old St. Nick. Whatever could be the harm in those?" Maybe nothing, I suppose. It just depends on where you are in your relationship with the Lord and what His dealings with you have been.

On Christmas: Our specific convictions regarding our Christmas traditions are mainly centered around problems with Santa Claus. We decided to take him out of our family's celebration for the first time two years ago. Our biggest reason is that Santa has the potential to take away from Jesus. What child wouldn't obsess over Santa rather than Jesus? Santa, after all, is the one with all the potential "loot" and the cool sleigh and the magical powers, etc. A story about a baby being born long ago in a stable becomes, well, boring. You know. What's in it for me? Salvation? So?! What does that really mean anyway? What about the candy and Playstation 35 (or whatever number they're on now)? Children are not abstract thinkers. When given a choice over who is most important at Christmastime, who do you think they lie in bed excited about? I know I didn't lie in bed on Christmas Eve thinking of my Savior and His blessed birth. I was thinking about the man in red coming down my chimney in only a few short hours and all the great stuff he was bringing me. In fact, the whole process made me quite materialistic.

I think it's worth noting, too, that Santa, like Jesus, can't be seen but we are asked to believe in him anyway, at least until we're old enough to know better, at which point you couldn't blame a child for logically pointing out Jesus must not exist either. We have been telling our children Santa brought them all those gifts and now they find out we've been lying to them all this time. Okay, maybe it wasn't THAT traumatic to you as a child, but if you're the parent, don't you think it will be hard to reconcile that lie when the time comes? (Note: We also tell our children it's a sin to lie!) I once overheard a friend asking a child what was so special about December 25th. The child answered that it was Jesus' birthday. The friend responded with, "Yeah, but what else?" Again the child answered something like "God sent Baby Jesus to us." Sadly, our friend said, "Yeah, but what else?" This went on for a while, as the child just wasn't catching on. It was like "Jesus PLUS..." The message: Jesus is not enough.
And that's just part of it. Shouldn't we want our children's hearts to belong to US (Malachi 4:5-6) and not to some chubby elf who doesn't even exist? Paul and I tell our children that all those gifts are from US and the gifts have nothing to do with how good they've been; we give the gifts because we love them so much. It's just another way to direct their eyes and hearts to the Lord, because He too loves us no matter how good/bad we are. His love is unconditional, and your love for your children is, too. About the Christmas tree: Yes, its history is less than lovely, but by putting up a tree in 2006 are we displeasing the Lord? Maybe. Maybe not. I know at least at our house we don't hang replicas of Bacchus (the pagan god) on our tree. Instead, our tree has a star on top (to represent the star of Bethlehem), the beginnings of childhood memories, angels, crosses, and other things that honor the Lord and the family He has gifted us with.

On Halloween: Our problems with this holiday are the obvious ones. The images and practices connected with (which have a history in paganism AND are still prominent in the culture today) are not of the Lord. Period. Am I pleasing the Lord by allowing my children to dress up as princesses and pumpkins to look cute and accept candy from neighbors? I wouldn't call that in itself DISpleasing to the Lord, but taking part in it--no matter how innocently one does it--may show others our acceptance of the entire holiday, and God calls us to be a light to the nations. It's not like we'll be walking down the street, hand-in-hand with our costumed children, wearing a placard around our necks explaining to everyone that we reject the pagan customs of old, the Satanic practices of today, and the whole idea of witchcraft, and that we are merely doing the fun, cute stuff with our family. Of course not! We'll be lumped in with the rest. Oh, sure, you can argue that most people are clueless about Halloween's past and even the dark side of its present. But is their ignorance our excuse for participating?

We have to ask ourselves, am I wanting to participate because I just can't imagine life without it?? Speaking for my family, we haven't missed anything! Our kids get plenty of candy year round (too much if you ask me) and we have a dress-up box they can play with any day they want. So what's it all about if not those two things? Is it seeing the neighbors and family members? We could visit at other times. Is it about looking like everyone else so as not to appear weird? REALLY think about that one. As believers, we're not supposed to look just like the rest of the world. We're supposed to be different so that people will ask us WHY we're different. We have a good explanation!!!! And they need to hear it!

Is it hard to reject these customs after having them be such a prevalent part of our own childhoods? Yes!!! Noah once commented in front of his grandmother that she had wicked stuff on her table (a "decorative" Halloween witch). And doing without Santa means asking the grandparents (who feel they did a pretty decent job raising children WITH Santa) to please refrain from buying gifts with Santa on them or labeling packages from Santa or asking (for goodness' sakes) what Santa is going to bring them. It's hard! It's controversial! It's radical in many ways. Being different is always difficult from a worldly standpoint. But Paul and I are starting to feel more and more comfortable with radicalism. As long as we are being radical for Jesus and allowing Him to transform our lives according to a biblical standard, we are willing to appear totally weird to everybody else. (Believe me, the Christmas and Halloween issues are nothing compared to the other things the Lord has changed our minds about!) The disclaimer: This is simply an explanation of where we are and how we got here. While we are totally convinced this is what God wants for OUR family, we recognize that not everybody is going to be in the same place.