attempting to have more thoughtful Christmas Pt 1.

This year I am doing a Jesse Tree Advent activitiy with my kids.  Or, I should say, will be doing it, as soon as I make it happen.  I had heard about it before, but just really understood what it was this year, and found a great guide that I printed out and will use every day from now until Christmas for our morning devotions.  We will make a (quick construction paper) display on the fridge that looks (even remotely) like a Christmas tree, and every day each child will get a turn drawing/coloring a small paper "ornament" that has the symbol for that day's devotional, which we will stick on the "tree."  I am not having my family hand-make real ornaments for the real tree, as some families do, because a) that raises the bar of time involvement and forethought, and I think if I try to make this is a bigger deal it just won't happen, and b) we won't get the tree up until this weekend when we go to cut it down, and I think if I wait to start until after then, it just won't happen. 

Now, even though I'm starting behind--and you all know how much I hate feeling behind on any project--its fine.  So much better to jump in a little late than never do it. 

So yesterday I started talking with the kids about the idea of the Jesse tree and we read a whole chapter from Isaiah.  (And then before we could do the activity part, some friends came by and then it was off to music and then martial arts testing and then I had a phone meeting and then it was bedtime. Sigh.)  Today I am putting the decoration of the fridge part on our homeschool list (ok, technically it was up there already two days this week) and will make it a priority.  It helps that I have four kids, so if they each make one "ornament" and I make one--we are good!  And we will read more of the scripture at breakfast. . . and probably at lunch. . . and maybe at dinner. . . and then again at bedtime. . . and while that is not the ideal way to do it, we will (hopefully!) be all caught up by tomorrow and can do the rest of the morning devotionals on schedule.  Or maybe we won't be all caught up.  But we will at some point read through all the scripture, and at some point will finish the art part, and this is why I don't try to be one of those blogger moms with amazing photographs of her charming children and their precious art projects--because my goal is not to impress anyone, or even to have precious art, but just to try to get our focus on the things that really matter.  And right now, even if I do it imperfectly, getting our hearts and minds focused on Jesus is what matters.

More (hopefully!) on this theme--a more throughful Christmas--tomorrow!