We had a wonderful Christmas Day yesterday, and we hope you did as well!  Our children were so excited as we anticipated celebrating Christ’s birth.

I snapped a few photos of the kids on Christmas Eve in front of the tree.

Theodore wasn’t super excited about being held against his will!

But he sure does love the lights on the tree!

Jude is so sweet and loved everything about our Christmas celebrations.

We baked a lot of cookies this season, and Theodore always wanted to be involved too.  Maybe next year he can have a turn!

On Christmas Eve, we had a candlelight service at our church.  Most churches have one every year, but this was a big deal because it was the first time our church had one!  Until this year we were a mobile church, and this is our first year having a regular building in which to meet.  The service was so Christ-centered and beautiful.  We all loved it!

Tad and I did have a bit of stress during the time when the candles were lit.  In a lapse of judgment, we let all three big kids hold their own candles.  Tad was holding Theodore and trying to keep Theodore from grabbing his candle.  I was next to Jude, my own candle in one hand and my other hand wrapped around Jude’s candle.  Cordelia and Vera held their own candles, until I looked over and saw Vera crying.  She told me she didn’t want to hold her candle anymore, so she handed it to me.  Then Jude didn’t want his, and suddenly I was juggling three candles.  Then I got the giggles… and you know that giggles in a church service are the hardest to stifle!  It was a hilarious, beautiful memory that evening, and I am so glad we got to experience it as a family.

Christmas morning began bright and early, though not a lot earlier than our days usually begin.  Our girls love to wake up early every day, not just Christmas!

Tad read Luke 2 to our family and it was such a sweet moment seeing him sitting there surrounded by all our little ones!

I told the kids they couldn’t open presents until they smiled for a picture with me. It worked!

The rest of our day was really sweet.  Lots of playing together, pajama snuggles, good food, and happy moments.

So thankful to God for sending His Son, and for also blessing us with our four blessings!

How was your Christmas?

I can’t quite explain it, but this Christmas season has felt very different than Christmases past.  Maybe I’ve been sleep deprived or pregnant or both (ha!) almost every Christmas we’ve been married until now, so my memory of what those years entailed has faded.  (Yep, just did the math and this is the first Christmas since we’ve been married that I have not had a little baby or been expecting a baby.)

Anyway, this year has felt different because my ideas, goals, and expectations have changed.

We’re doing less, but also more.

Less decorating… more memory making. I have barely decorated the house this year, except for the tree and the mantel.  The kids don’t seem to mind.  (I will get our stockings hung soon!)  We’ve instead spent our time making crafts, cookies, and memories.

Less hustle… more snuggles.

We’re staying in lots.  And drinking more hot chocolate than is probably healthy.We’re snuggling up with Christmas books before bed.  

We’re lingering on the couch in the mornings before breakfast.

Less “have to’s”… more “get to’s.”  

I’m taking things off my (mental) must-do list and making them purely optional.  We don’t have to decorate cookies, but we get to.  We don’t have to go to that event, but we can choose to if we want to!  It’s making such a difference in my heart this season to view all of these activities, traditions, and events as optional fun things we can do.  I feel like a tremendous weight of obligation has been lifted this year!

Less perfection… more fun.

I don’t know if you can tell, but the kids decorated this little tree all by themselves one morning!

Less (no) school… more unschooling.  We are crafting more, practicing our scissor skills, and even writing a short story (Vera).  

We’re also practicing our climbing skills (Theodore).  Insert gasping emoji face here.

Less busyness… more time for Jesus.

We’re doing Advent every morning right after breakfast.  We read the Bible and a story from The Jesus Story Book Bible with Tad, then we work on memorizing Luke 2:1-20.  (If you’d like to memorize it with your family as well, I created a free printable… NKJV… for you, which you can download for free here.)

I’m thankful for all of the Christmas memories we’re making as a family this year.  Less is more, and that’s perfect for us.

I’m treasuring my little ones and the gift it is to share Christ with them at Christmas!