Christmas Busy-ness

We have been busy busy this Christmas season.  My oldest son has branched out and is teaching an art class twice a month to 10 fellow homeschoolers.  He has done really well so far and I'm proud to see him conquering his fears.  It's not easy getting up in front of people and speaking and he's doing a smashing job.

At the start of each class he reads a scripture that pertains to art and then briefly expounds on it.  The first class he read Psalm 91 and spoke of how the heavens and all of creation show God's handiwork.  God is the originator of all art and we simply attempt to recreate the beauty that the Lord has created in the first place.

The second class (he's only done two so far) he asked the class if anyone knew what the first sculpture was.  Nobody knew.  Then he read the verse in Genesis that speaks of forming man out of the dust of the earth and that the first man, Adam, was just a sculpture until God breathed life into him.  Isn't that awesome?!

Then we got our Christmas tree put up and it looks beautiful.  I bought some ribbon at Costco this year and just tucked it in all around the tree and I think it turned out nicely. We got an artificial "slim" tree on craigslist last Christmas.  First time we've had a fake tree in years. But it was a bargain at $25.  In our last house we had an 1 1/2 acrs of fir trees and cut our own Christmas trees which was really cool.  The price that a fresh tree costs commercially anymore is ridiculous, so we're happy to use a fake one. :)

Last Friday we attended a wonderful Christmas symphony at a local church.  The choir sang beautiful Christmas carols and we had such a nice time together.  Going to musical performances is one of our favorite family traditions especially at Christmas time.

I chose to do photo Christmas cards this year and I'll be honest...I'm a little disappointed with how they turned out, which is really my own fault.  I cropped the picture too close up and the photo size I chose was just too large. bleh. This was my first attempt at doing this so if I do this again next year, I'll know better. 

We are nearly finished with our Christmas shopping and tonight I am attending a gift exchange party for moms.  My family thinks there should have been a gift exchange party for all the families instead of just the moms.  Maybe next year we will plan something like that. It sounds fun, but I don't know if we could fit all the families comfortably in one house. 

For us, Christmas has been a little different each year.  Some times we have only had our little family, other times we've enjoyed a big family gatherings.  Now that we live in a new state, we are getting to know new friends and enjoying a whole new twist on the holiday season.

What is important to us is that our children feel safe and secure no matter where we are.  Relocating as much as we have has its advantages but there are definite drawbacks.  One of which is the task of forging new friendships over and over again.  I never realized how emotionally taxing that can be. 

But I praise God for the wonderful husband I've been given and our children who have been so flexible and loving through it all.  There love and strength are what I'm most grateful for this Christmas.