be filled with joy: christmas eve

this year we took a new approach to christmas.  we felt like we've way overdone christmas in years past and while we put a great deal of focus on what it's truly about, we felt our actions weren't necessarily following our beliefs.  so, we decided pretty early on that we were going to adopt a new tradition.  we take no credit for this, a sweet friend told me about it, i read about it from another blog and combined the two into our newest tradition.  we told the kids we were going to do five gifts this year:  something you want, something you need, something to play with, something to read, and something to give away.  on christmas eve when they opened the advent calendar, we had a note in there that told them they would be receiving their first gift for christmas and that it would be the gift they gave away.  we gave them each some money and they looked through the world vision catalog and the samaritan's purse catalog that we had received in october and began searching for the perfect gifts.  i should rewind and say that last year, we did this as a family and used some money the kids had saved to purchase gifts as a family.  but, we pretty much had the final say.  so this year, i think they enjoyed being able to spend the money the way they wanted.  it was so much fun watching them pick gifts that really represented their true personality.

luke was the first to pick his gifts.  he's a boy who knows what he wants and makes quick, confident decisions.  he chose to provide fruit trees and to feed a hungry baby for a week.  anna took a while longer to pick something.  and she had been pouring through the catalogs for several weeks.  she eventually landed on clothing and shoes for children in need and two rabbits.  two rabbits will multiply into 52 rabbits by the end of the year (i assume they work out the male/female aspect of all that.)  and sam decided on a share of a dairy trio that provides three families with a goat, a cow, and a sheep for milk and wool.   he had a little bit of extra money left and decided to provide a stuffed lamb that plays jesus loves me.  i normally am a "no more stuffed animals mom," but who can resist that.  plus it wasn't going to be added to our collection.  :)  and if any of you know sam, you know that the stuffed animal fits him perfectly.  that boy LOVES stuffed animals!

i know they loved giving and we hope that this will be a tradition they carry on in their families someday.  we ended the evening with the worship service at our church and dinner at our house with gram and pops.  here are a few pictures for us to  remember the wonderful day!