A different kind of Christmas this year

This Christmas season started out for us much like any other in years past.

We decorated our tree.

while Marvelly watched.

We made cookies, made crafts

and ate cookies...lots and lots of cookies...too many cookies. I'm pretty much cookied out by this point.

we made goody plates for the neighbors and shared some gospel love

 We hit up the Durham to see the massive indoor tree

 oh, and Mr. and Mrs. Claus and their reindeer (?) Wait, we don't encourage this...how did that happen!

But, in the midst of the sameness of our season, we sprinkled in some 'firsts'....

Sydaleigh participated in her school Christmas program-the first of many I'm sure.

 We went to see the African Children's Choir.

(which was absolutely AMAZING! The children were so precious and the songs and their little African voices and clothes and skin and dances...Ah! Loved every.minute of it. Amazing program. A-mazing. I love hearing about how God can give one person an idea that will literally change countless lives. I want to be that kind of person.)

 followed by dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant where we ate Ethiopian food.

 (Isaak wasn't a fan of the bread, which really isn't bread, it's some kind of pancake like consistency 

flat bread/tortilla. I happened to like it. )

We picked back up the "sameness" by going to Christmas Eve service at church (no blizzard this year!), and made our cupcakes in honor of Jesus' birthday and serenaded Him to the tune of "Happy Birthday"...

But then the girls wanted to change it back up and asked to sleep by the tree, to which we obliged. So they slept by the tree, all night, but not before we let them open a few presents firsts.  (Which was another first. I'm usually a stickler for waiting till Christmas. But this year I let them open up more than just their usual new Christmas eve movie and book, to which they were completely thrilled).

Come Christmas morning we did what we do. The girls excitedly woke up (after sleeping till almost 8!) and we opened gifts

we lounged around all morning and then got to work on dinner. 

We coordinated with friends on what to make and what to bring for our Christmas feast..

 potatoes, honey glazed ham, sweets...

"What if I told you
You have the power
To give someone hope
Beyond their wildest dreams
What if I told you
It’s right there in your hands, In your hands" 

but on this day, this year, we did something different. We still got together with friends, the Willis' and the Thompson's, but not at anyone's house. 

"It’s hard to imagine
How something so small
Can make all the difference
Tear down the tallest wall
What if December
Looked different this year "

This year we brought our Christmas dinner here...

"Give this Christmas away
If there’s love in your heart
Don’t let it stay there
Give this Christmas away
And your life will be changed
By the gifts you receive
When you give this Christmas away"

 We filled up four carts worth of food

 and served it to some kids who don't have the luxury of being home with their families.

"It’s feeding the hungry
Serving the poor
It’s telling the orphan
You’re not forgotten anymore
It’s doing what love does
Even when no one’s watching you" 

These kids, who are stuck in the system, no Christmas tree to wake up to, no parents to kiss hello, no traditions to partake in. Not an easy place to be any day, but even more so on the holidays.

So, we brought a Christmas tree, and set one on each table. We brought parents and siblings to talk to over dinner. We brought presents. We brought traditions as we sang hymns and carols to the beat of a guitar.

We talked and laughed and sang and served and colored and played...and shared Christ's love on this Christmas day. So that for one night, the five kids staying here could be a part of a family.

"Give this Christmas away
If there’s love in your heart
Don’t let it stay there
Give this Christmas away
And your life will be changed
By the gifts you receive
When you give this Christmas away
For God so loved the world
That He gave His only Son
So we could be
His hands, His feet, His love
His love"

It was a different kind of Christmas for us this year. The girls got to see where daddy goes each week, the kids he talks to, the lives he's helping to change. 

It wasn't just about presents and our family.

They got to see a bitter reality for some kids, but a simple way to be Christ's light in the midst of that. 

We talked a lot before going about why these kids were there. Sydaleigh wanting to know where their parents were, why they couldn't take care of them, how we could help. 

Sydaleigh decided to make each kid at the shelter a cut out construction paper heart to make them feel better. Her own way of sharing joy and making their day a bit brighter.

She is getting it. She is seeing that the world is a hard place to be for some people. Not everyone has what she has. And I see God stretching her and molding her. Marvelly is still a bit young, but God will take her there. 

By His grace He's taking us all there.

After yesterday we decided to make this a part of our Christmas day each year.

After all, what better way to share Christ's love than to give it away...

Christmas 2010