Since I did not know when Micaiah would debut, I planned our holy-day celebrations far in advance. This way I would not have to be in charge of it all during postpartum. I wrote it all down for Ricky, so he could handle it during December.Devotions: Advent is where I put most of our emphasis, because what is this holy-day about if we do not prepare our hearts waiting for the Christ-child to come? You can see our Advent wreath (carved out of wood, with 24 candle holes, and there's a movable donkey carrying Mary). We light the candle after moving it forward and read some selected Bible verses. Then, we read the history of a Christmas hymn from Christmas Carol's for a Kid's Heart and sing it (along with the soundtrack). Then, we pray and eat a treat :)
Decorations: Most noticeably, we do not have a Christmas tree. We are not against them; we just chose (for several reasons) not to erect one. We have other items (ornaments, stockings, nativity sets...) hanging around. We have our Christmas books in a basket and keep the Christmas music playing. Also, I made a winter spice aroma spray (we replaced the ginger with nutmeg) that I spritz around our home for that warm, pleasant scent (or I run the diffuser). Also, we simply hang the Christmas cards we receive on ribbon with clothespins! Then, when the season is over and it comes time to take them down, we will pray for the person/family that sent each card as we remove it :)
Treats: I picked out five desserts that Ricky (or my mom when she comes for Micaiah's birth) could make, one for each weekend in December and a Chocolate Coffee Cake for Jesus' birthday party Christmas morning. {Here are the recipes: Fudge (we add 15 drops of peppermint essential oil and walnuts to it), Cookies (we add pecans, cut recipe in half, and use rapadura in place of the sugar), Coconut Brownies (we add walnuts), and Peppermint Bark Popcorn.}
Presents: As a family, we are not going to exchange presents amongst ourselves, but we did get small presents for our extended families. We are not against gift-giving amongst friends and family, but we chose to give a gift as a family to Jesus (see Matthew 25:45) for His birthday. This year, we donated money to Compassion International.
CHRISTmas joy to you in your celebrations and preparation for the coming of the King,
