My Favorite Christ Centered Christmas Children's Books

 There's something simply magical about snuggling by the light of the Christmas tree in cozy Christmas PJs to read a story with your little{s}.  At least, I imagine there is.  My two year old toddler guy is typically struggling out of my lap & forever running wild, & honestly the best times I find to read to him are when he's confined to a high chair {just keeping it real here}.  I can roll the highchair out tree side at least, so there's that.  Anywho, there are so many Christmas books out there for kiddos - more secular than not most of the time, but there are still plenty that spread the message of the true meaning of Christmas if you know where to look.  Here's some of our favorites...  {Also, we thrifted almost all of these!}

1. My Merry Christmas by Sally Lloyd-Jones

2. God Gave Us Christmas by Lisa Tawn Bergren

3. The Christmas Baby by Marion Dane Bauer

4. Usborne Nativity Flap Book by Sam Taplin

5. The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg

6. The Story of Christmas by Patricia A. Pingry

7. Winter: Poems, Songs, Prayers by Concordia Publishing House

8. This is the Stable by Cynthia Cotton

Truly there are so many other children's book gems out there that still point to Jesus as the reason for the season - these are just the few that grace our collection.  Let me know in a comment if you have any recommendations to add to this category!

Much Merry Reading,

Laura

Keeping Christ in Christmas

 

There is a hubbub at Christmastime unlike any other.  Lights blare, a soundtrack booms of "Santa Baby" & "All I Want for Christmas is You," advertisements entice, hurry & stress seem permissible & downright necessary, overspending & debt are the norm, & the true meaning of the day gets lost in all the noise & flash.  It is the most important story for all of humanity, & yet it is not what this old world wants us to see or hear this time of year.

The enemy has done his best to take over this holy day & make it as worldly as possible.  So then, how do we keep the focus on the true meaning of the season in our hearts & homes, & in the hearts of our kids?  As mamas & homemakers, we have the power to take this day back for what it is - the birthday of our blessed Savior.  Here are a few simple ways we use special traditions to point our kiddos {& ourselves} back to Jesus amidst the crazy the world puts on display.

-Have a simple birthday party for Jesus.  Make cupcakes or a cake together, sing the birthday song to Jesus, & talk about ways to give "gifts" to Jesus in behavior, praise, prayer, & obedience.

-Find a child friendly nativity for your littles to play with.  We have a secondhand Little People one our son loves.

-Read scripture daily this December as a family.  Luke has 24 chapters; read one a day & you get through the entire book by December 24th, letting you then reread the passage of the birth of Christ on Christmas day.  There are also scripture advent calendar ideas via Pinterest or just plain old Google to explore.

-Place baby Jesus under the tree.  For our current season with a busy & curious toddler, we take a little plastic baby doll we literally found at the Dollar Tree, wrap him in cloth, & place him in a simple basket filled with "hay" {craft store raffia}.  This let's us have so many moments to talk about how Jesus is the true & best gift.  Also, the child friendly nativity option talked about above, could be placed under the tree, too, for little ones to engage in.  If you have older kiddos, you might place a whole fragile nativity set under the tree.

-Find Christmas children's books that point to Christ.  We have a LOT of Christmas books in our house, & while it's true that not every one is about the real reason for the season, the ones that are are by far my most favorite to read to my son.  I've created a whole post sharing my favorite faith filled Christmas books for kiddos you can find here.

-Give to others as a family this Christmas.  Find ways to serve, give, & love on others this season as a family, all because of Jesus.  This could mean visiting a nursing home or shut-ins from your church, giving Christmas goodies to your neighbors, filling a shoe box for Operation Christmas Child {note the deadline for collecting these is typically in November}, helping out at a food bank or shelter...  The possibilities really are endless.  Make sure you use these moments of serving, to remind your kiddos {& yourself} that "We love because He first loved us." -1 John 4:19, & the greatest way God shows us His love is in giving us Jesus.

-Place an importance on attending church this Christmas.  This December 25th {2022} actually falls on a Sunday.  I have been amazed to hear Christian families rationalize not attending church on this day because they were too busy with celebrating the holiday.  How crazy this seems to me, when the whole reason for this holy holiday is Jesus!  We don't take a vacation from church {literally, growing up & going on vacation, we always found a church to attend come Sunday & that left a great mark on me to the importance of our faith}.  Make a statement to your family, that Christ truly is the center of Christmas.  And, yes, we will be at the Christmas Eve service the night before, too. 😉

Bonus Ideas:

-Display special Christmas decor in your home that focuses on Jesus.

-Try the Elf on the Shelf alternative Shepherd on the Search.  I really want to look into this for next year when my little boy will be 3.  I'll be keeping my eye out for after Christmas sales on this!

-Teach your kiddos the old Christmas hymns & carols of the faith.

What are some ways you keep Christ at the center of Christmas?  I'd love to know, leave me a comment!

Merry {Christ}mas,

Laura

Our 1 Year Bucket List // 2019

So I typically put this up early in the new year, but that just didn't happen this time around.  I'm giving myself some grace & sharing it now.  Yes, I know it's almost Labor Day! 

{Insert all the little sheepish faces here, my dear.}

Laura & Dan's Big Adventure: 2019

☐ Find new ways to serve Christ together.

☑ Become debt free!!!

☐ Go camping in the great outdoors together.

☐ Prayerfully try to start our family.

☐ Lose weight & eat healthier.

☐ Make fun travel memories together.

PB&J // That's You & Me

 

Life's been crazy busy lately {obviously since I'm just now posting our Halloween costumes 😥}.  More on that later in another post, but I wanted to share what we dressed up as this year... PB&J!

Last year I DIYed our costumes {we were Oreos} & had so much with it, but this year I knew it just wasn't going to happen {unless I wanted to make myself completely crazy} {which I didn't}.  So, we headed to Goodwill instead & happened upon these adorable PB&J costumes that looked like new!  We snagged both for about $12!  We created a PB&J themed tic-tac-toe game for our church's fall festival using felt & enjoyed a sweet Halloween night.

Our 1 Year Bucket List // 2018

Last January, Dan & I started the tradition of creating a 1 year bucket list of things we wanted to accomplish as a couple during the next 365... & we're doing it again this year!  We were actually able to accomplish all our 2017 goals {even though our "camping" trip ended up being in a tent in our living room in late December}.  Here's what's on our list this year...

Laura & Dan's Big Adventure: 2018
☐ Find new ways to serve Christ together.
☑ Pay off the last of our credit card debt!
☐ Go camping in the great outdoors together.
☐ Check off at least one item from each of our personal bucket lists.
☑ Have a yard sale + sell stuff on eBay.
☐ Be more intentional with our date nights + have at least 3 a month.
☑ Visit a new state. {We're counting Washington D.C.}
☑ Go to the beach for the 1st time together! {We went to Panama City Beach, FL in February.}

The Night We Made Some Christmas Magic

It was last Christmas.  Our 1st married one.  My 1st in a new city + state + away from my family & friends.  It was a hard one for me. {Can I just be honest & admit?} It was way harder than I imagined, but there were bits + moments of magic, too, {& grace upon grace upon grace from that little baby who came to save us}.  This was one such moment of merry magic.  Let me tell you about it...

★

It was Christmas Eve 2016, but the plan had been hatched weeks before.  A few days time had passed since I had gone out & bought some bright red fuzzy yarn + made a humongous pom-pom ball out of it... all for tonight.  Armed with the wonky red pom-pom + a thing of Scotch tape, Dan & I set out on foot {under cover of darkness} to the big elk statue that guards the entrance to our apartment complex.  This was it.  Operation Rudolph was underway.

We taped that nose on good, even though we kept being interrupted by passing cars - which made us jump down from the statue base & duck down behind it or scurry to an adjacent bench & try to look inconspicuous, because this was a secret mission, after all, & had to remain so.

After it was complete, we stood back & admired our handiwork with silly secret agent grins, not knowing how long it would last {'cause it was Scotch tape & not Gorilla Glue, people}.  Mission complete!

Each day after, the 1st one who happened to drive past the entrance + red-nosed elk statue first would report back to the other if the nose was still there {all of a sudden I want to belt out a Christmas version of the Star Spangled Banner}.  Funny thing was, that thing stayed on for days & days after!  {We did use a lot of tape.}  Finally, a big wind storm came & the nose was no more.

★

Little did we know, that we unknowingly began a tradition in our house that night - the night we made some Christmas magic.

Our Christmas Traditions

These are the traditions Dan & I have been keeping since we became a family last year...

★ Celebrate the true reason for the season with our homemade scripture advent calendar!

★ Gift each other a special ornament.

★ Put up + decorate 2 trees.  A real one in the living room + a faux one in our bedroom.

★ Place a nativity scene under one of our decorated trees to remember Jesus is the best gift ever given.

★ See all the sparkly lights at Rock City's Enchanted Garden of Lights + Callaway Garden's Fantasy in Lights.

★ Tour all the decorated trees they put up downtown.

★ Host a Christmas open house party at our place.

★ Drive around & look at all the Christmas lights we can find on Christmas Eve.

★ Attend our church's candlelight Christmas Eve service.

★ Secretly turn the giant elk statue at our apartment complex into a red-nosed reindeer!

★ Spend Christmas Eve with Dan's parents, enjoy our own little Christmas morning time together, + then drive up to spend Christmas day with my family.

DIY Thankfulness Tree

Whether you're hosting a gathering this week & need something simple + festive to spruce your place up, or you're just looking to start a new tradition at your house, this DIY couldn't be simpler. 

Gather small branches & twigs from outside, arrange in a canning jar, & hang decorative tags with blessings written on.  Place a small decorative plate or basket {or whatever you wish} with more tags + a Sharpie or two so guests/family can add their own to the tree.

Praying your Thanksgiving is full of moments where you stop & count up all your blessings!

"Every good & perfect gift is from above..." -James 1:17

Our 1 Year Bucket List // 2017

Back in January, Dan & I came up with a 1 year bucket list - things we want to get done within the span of 2017 {which just so happens to be our 1st full married year together}.  We wanted something manageable, with both fun & more serious goals, that we know we can actually get done in 12 months time.  This is our list, which resides on our fridge to help us keep the focus...

Laura & Dan's Big Adventure: 2017

☑ Go camping together at least once. {We ended up having to do this in our living room, because the temperatures for the last week of December were downright frigid (yep, we procrastinated).  But, we made the best of it & pitched a tent in our living room next to our then undecorated real Christmas tree + put on a campfire courtesy of YouTube for authenticity - & yes, we're counting this little indoor adventure as camping!}

☑ Visit at least one new state. {Arizona!}

☑ Take an amazing anniversary trip together. {Our Arizona trip!}

☑ Finish the F260 Bible reading plan. {This was a plan we started at our church & it really got us into God's Word together.}

☑ Continue work on the debt snowball plan. {We paid off one thing!  Just two more to go!  Read more about our story here.}

 ☑ Check off at least 1 item from each of our personal bucket lists. {Dan: Visit the Grand Canyon. / Laura: Explore a slot canyon.}

☑ Find new ways to serve Christ together. {In 2017 we taught the kiddos at our church on Wednesday nights for the 1st time + we helped out with VBS, the Easter egg hunt, & the fall festival.}

☑ Continue adding/maintaining new family traditions. {We did lots of this!  Some were new & some were continued (after all, we only celebrated year one of marriage in the fall of 2017).  Click here for a peek at some of our traditions!}

O Christmas Tree!

This is the story of a fake tree girl getting her first real one.  Yes, she was hesitant &, dare I say, {unbeknownst to her husband} silently {or, okay, not so silently} protesting.  But marriage is a give & take, so this wife gave her husband the gift of a real tree.

And this is how it went...

We miraculously stuffed the around 7-8 foot Fraser fir into my little hatchback.  Dan's knees were brushing the glove compartment door, & the tree, well it was loosing all its little needle things all over the place.  Just keeping it real, not a good start in scoring points for the real tree team.

By the time we got it home, I confess I had cozied up to it a lot more {they say close proximity will do that to ya}.  After vacuuming sheddings up several times over, & it literally nearly falling over when Dan put on the star {which led to more readjustments}, I must say...

Not bad.  Not bad at all.  It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!