We had a wonderful Christmas! The Eve fell on a Sunday, and church was just sacrament meeting. The children sang a few songs and there were lots of other musical numbers. We got these family pictures when we came home. Tanner was not at all happy to take pictures.
So since the poor kid really didn’t want to be there, Dallin made him disappear with his opera voice.
Just kidding, he was still there!
We had a white Christmas and didn’t have too much going on the rest of Sunday, which was really nice.
Per our tradition, Jeremy cooked steak on the grill.
Desha made yams and brussel sprouts super yummy in our skillet, and Dallin helped set the table.
After dinner, we played Nativity. We had SO much fun. Tanner was VERY excited and took it upon himself to be the director. He created a cast list, collected items around the house for costumes and props and also arranged areas for the set. Tanner gave roles to everyone: Mary- SarahLynn. Joseph- Jeremy. InnKeeper/Shepherd- Tanner. Sheep/Wiseman- Dallin. Angel Gabriel- Desha. Tanner ended up also being King Herad when we got to that part and he realized we needed someone. Desha, Jeremy and I took turns reading the scriptures while we all acted out the story. Everyone stayed in character really well and we added lots of details. All the boys wore their bathrobes, and I was so excited to have a head piece that matched Dallin’s robe!
King Herad on his throne, being questioned by a wise man.
Wise man greeting the baby.
Then it was bedtime. The boys filled each other’s stockings, put out a treat for us by the fireplace and fell asleep pretty quickly even though we put them in our bedroom instead of their room. They knew that Mom and Dad were going to be Santa and put a surprise in their room. Tanner actually knew what the surprise was. A couple weeks earlier, the boys watched a delivery guy place the large box in the garage, and Tanner saw a picture of the bunk bed on the box. So much for the surprise, but I didn’t let it bother me. A good friend once told me that when we give gifts with true love, we don’t expect anything in return, which includes not expecting a certain reaction, not expecting thanks, and not expecting certain circumstances in which the gift is given. Giving with true love can be really hard sometimes. I took a deep breath and rejoiced in the fact that Tanner was squealing with delight that a bunk bed would be making its way to his room in two weeks.
Someone asked me with dread, “Oh no! Does that mean Tanner found out about Santa?” Well, as many know, my kids have always known that Santa is pretend. Some people think I’m too anal or dramatic about this, but I feel it has brought so many blessings to our home, including: They know that Santa is kind and fun, but they don’t obsess over Santa the way I did as a kid, and they know how his legend of Sainthood turned into a fictitious story. My children know that Christmas is about Christ’s birth, a concept I don’t think any child who is told that Santa is real can ever really understand until they learn he is just pretend. They love talking about the Nativity and have probably learned more details about it than most adults know. They hold hope in their parents and in God instead of a fake being, and they are learning that I will always tell them the truth about what is real.
Some people think I’m a grinch, that I am stealing joy from my children by letting them know Santa is pretend. Well, the following story should illustrate otherwise… Tanner’s school did a special Polar Express adventure, and when he came home he asked, “What does it mean if you believe in Santa? Do I believe?” So I asked him, “Well, do you think it’s fun to pretend Santa comes to our house just like he did when he was alive?” “Yes!” he replied. “Well,” I told him, “then you believe in Santa! It means you think he is a wonderful person.” He cheered and rang his sleigh bell. If I was a grinch about Santa, I don’t think Tanner would have asked me in the first place what belieiving in Santa means, because it would have been ingrained in him that our family doesn’t believe in Santa. And I would not have told him that we believe he is a great person. I have made it a point to focus on the joy that we can expereince by pretending he visits us. Also, it’s important to note that I have helped host the Soup & Santa event at the HHH for 3 years. While I’m still very bitter about adults lieing to me as a kid, I do like Santa and the lessons his legacy can teach my kids.
“That’s fine for you, but I want my kid to believe he’s real, so I sure hope your kid doesn’t ruin it for us.” To my knowledge, my boys have not gone around telling their friends that Santa is fake. In fact, there have been times I was sure they would say something and they played right along. I think that’s because I’ve told my kids that Santa is part of the Pretend Game. The game works like this- everyone knows things like Super Man and Cinderella are not real, but we still have fun pretending that they are. “But mom, Billy thinks that Spider Man is actually real!” Yes, some kids think all those things are real, but when they get a little older their parents will let them know. I have made sure my kids know that it’s not their job to tell them.
No doubt, my kids will spill the beans to their friends or cousins at some point, but up until now, it has not been a problem. And after this point, it really doesn’t matter because next Christmas Tanner will be 7, which is the average age that his peers will figure it out anyway.
The bunk bed and setting up their new room was a big task! It took 3-4 hours. Luckily we had Desha helping us! If not, we would have been up all night. I was really excited about how well it turned out!! These next few pictures show the panoramic view…notice Jeremy “testing” out the bed out.
Another suprise in the bedroom was a CRAFT KITCHEN!!! It was Desha’s idea, and it has been AWESOME. The boys stopped playing with their toy kitchen over a year ago. And they had gotten into an awesome habit of drawing, cutting and taping in the library by their bedroom, which meant messes and taking supplies from all over the house every day. So I took the stove off the kitchen set to make a flat counter and filled every cupboard and fridge with their favorite supplies. Now, they have a kid-friendly place where they can do any kind of art project without waiting for mommy’s help. They use it several times a day!
These kids were so excited to see their room, they could not stop making adorable poses on the bed while waiting.
The big reveal!
Then we came downstairs to open everything else. The boys were excited to see that they gave each other the same thing in their stockings- snacks for our upcoming trip and fidget spinners!
Things were fairly relaxed while exchanging gifts. The boys liked playing with their gifts as soon as they opened stuff, so we spent a lot of time opening things. It was really fun to do it that way! We also called family members, rested, ate and watched Nativity videos. Such a nice way to enjoy Christmas Day!
We had yummy eggs benedict for breakfast and crepes for lunch. We made and decorated Jesus’ birthday cake. Usually we just make one cake. But Tanner and Dallin could not agree on the design, so we made two cakes!
The Jesus Cake, by Dallin
The Stable and Manger Cake, by Tanner
Our wonderful day ended with a yummy meal of pork, beats, quinoa, veggies and cake! And of course, singing happy birthday to Jesus!!
