On one of the forums I participate in, a poster gave her friend's idea for giving gifts. I thought it was a very practical and meaningful way of remembering the gifts that the Baby Jesus was given.
"My good friend... told me how she and her husband give their children gifts every Christmas in a way that reminds them of Jesus. They each get 4 gifts symbolizing gold, frankincense, myrrh and swaddling clothes.
Gold -- whatever they really, really want. A toy, video game, etc. Whatever is in your budget but it is only one thing.
Frankincense -- a scent... perfume, cologne, bubble bath, toiletry set even
Myrrh -- myrrh is a symbol of suffering and used for embalming. As a gift to the Christ child, it was a practical gift since He was to suffer and die. So this gift is something practical that they will need in the upcoming year. New clothes, shoes, backpack, school supplies, a book, etc.
Swaddling clothes -- pajamas, slippers, or a robeI thought some people here would be interested in a more Christ-centered gift giving plan. "
We've done some of those things. I've already gotten the kids new Christmas PJs, socks for the girls, and peppermint smelling shampoo and body wash, but I think I might try to follow this next year. Hopefully Kevin will be able to understand the meaning and it will help restrain the urge to over-indulge.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
'Tis the season!
Nope, not Christmas. It's wrestling season! My nephew, Trevor, is a senior this year and Trev
s brother, Brett, will be starting wrestling once basketball is over. Trev had a double dual tonight and won in OT in his first match, then got a pin in the second. The first match was big because he beat a kid who had beaten him before and he'll have to wrestle again down the road. The kid he pinned was a JV filling in for a highly ranked (top-ranked?) teammate who was injured so what could have been a huge challenge for Trev turned out to be an easier match, but he wrestled well. It's great fun seeing how Trev has improved since he started wrestling as a freshman. Kevin will probably start wrestling a lot earlier than his freshman year of high school, but I hope he's as good of sport as Trevor is.
Kevin had a funny tonight. Bob asked him where his liver was and Kevin started off that it was on his toe and he gets them from stepping in the sharp grass. He thought Bob was asking him about a "sliver" instead of "liver"!
s brother, Brett, will be starting wrestling once basketball is over. Trev had a double dual tonight and won in OT in his first match, then got a pin in the second. The first match was big because he beat a kid who had beaten him before and he'll have to wrestle again down the road. The kid he pinned was a JV filling in for a highly ranked (top-ranked?) teammate who was injured so what could have been a huge challenge for Trev turned out to be an easier match, but he wrestled well. It's great fun seeing how Trev has improved since he started wrestling as a freshman. Kevin will probably start wrestling a lot earlier than his freshman year of high school, but I hope he's as good of sport as Trevor is.
Kevin had a funny tonight. Bob asked him where his liver was and Kevin started off that it was on his toe and he gets them from stepping in the sharp grass. He thought Bob was asking him about a "sliver" instead of "liver"!
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Oh, where to start?
Las Vegas was great. Lots of food, amazing shows, a nice hike in Red Rock canyon, some time with Bob, what's not to love:) We stayed at Mandalay Bay and saw KA at MGM and La Reve at the Wynn. Both were terrific. KA freaked Bob out a little. We were in the front row so the platform and heights got him a little nervous. La Reve is diving/water type stuff and quite beautiful. The theater is round so there's not a bad seat.
We ate at Strip Steak at Mandalay on Friday. Yum. Anyplace that can make french fries that make you want to lick the plate and even better steak is worth the $$. Saturday night we ate ate Diego at MGM. It was good, like a B, but compared to Strip Steak and then Aureole on Sunday night, it placed 3rd. Aureole was delish. We did the 7 course tasting menu and the only course that wasn't wonderful was the cheese course, but that's mostly because I don't care for strong cheeses. The tuna tartare was really excellent.
Speaking of food, the girls decided that weaning wasn't on the menu yet so we're still at it.
Thanksgiving was nice even though Bob was on call. He wasn't too busy and was around all Thursday while everyone was here. We had, as usual, plenty of food and lots of visiting. We're going to do Christmas at Beth's the Friday after Christmas so it looks like our Christmas Day is free since Becky is having Bob's family's Christmas the Saturday after Christmas.
Our bathroom still isn't even started, maybe the beginning of the year...I hope. We have everything except the labor.
Christmas shopping is basically done. A few toys and books for the kids, practical stuff for mom, the bathrooom and an Iowa t-shirt for Bob. I gave it to him early in case he wanted to wear it to the UI-ISU wrestling meet- won by Iowa:) - but he declined. Gift cards for the boys. Pretty basic.
Kevin has his pre-school program Thursday. They're singing "Away in the Manger", "Jingle Bells", "Mary Had a Baby Boy" and "Happy Birthday". I hope he behaves:) We made Christmas cookies with icing today. He's been hot to do that for a few days now and even though it's a great big mess, it's kind of fun and he loved it. He said that toys used to be his favorite, but now it's food (meaning candy!) and he really wants a lollipop for Christmas. There's a picture of a big, multicolored lollipop in one of his books that really caught his fancy. I found a green and white one at Target for his stocking, but I'm going to keep looking to see if I can find one that will fit his image.
The girls are getting new clothes. They are getting into a lot of 18 month stuff already. It seems like they should still be my little babies instead of my little climbing monkeys! Nothing is safe in the house, but they're sure fun to watch!
ETA: Delaney's in the red, Claire's in the black:)
We ate at Strip Steak at Mandalay on Friday. Yum. Anyplace that can make french fries that make you want to lick the plate and even better steak is worth the $$. Saturday night we ate ate Diego at MGM. It was good, like a B, but compared to Strip Steak and then Aureole on Sunday night, it placed 3rd. Aureole was delish. We did the 7 course tasting menu and the only course that wasn't wonderful was the cheese course, but that's mostly because I don't care for strong cheeses. The tuna tartare was really excellent.
Speaking of food, the girls decided that weaning wasn't on the menu yet so we're still at it.
Thanksgiving was nice even though Bob was on call. He wasn't too busy and was around all Thursday while everyone was here. We had, as usual, plenty of food and lots of visiting. We're going to do Christmas at Beth's the Friday after Christmas so it looks like our Christmas Day is free since Becky is having Bob's family's Christmas the Saturday after Christmas.
Our bathroom still isn't even started, maybe the beginning of the year...I hope. We have everything except the labor.
Christmas shopping is basically done. A few toys and books for the kids, practical stuff for mom, the bathrooom and an Iowa t-shirt for Bob. I gave it to him early in case he wanted to wear it to the UI-ISU wrestling meet- won by Iowa:) - but he declined. Gift cards for the boys. Pretty basic.
Kevin has his pre-school program Thursday. They're singing "Away in the Manger", "Jingle Bells", "Mary Had a Baby Boy" and "Happy Birthday". I hope he behaves:) We made Christmas cookies with icing today. He's been hot to do that for a few days now and even though it's a great big mess, it's kind of fun and he loved it. He said that toys used to be his favorite, but now it's food (meaning candy!) and he really wants a lollipop for Christmas. There's a picture of a big, multicolored lollipop in one of his books that really caught his fancy. I found a green and white one at Target for his stocking, but I'm going to keep looking to see if I can find one that will fit his image.
The girls are getting new clothes. They are getting into a lot of 18 month stuff already. It seems like they should still be my little babies instead of my little climbing monkeys! Nothing is safe in the house, but they're sure fun to watch!
ETA: Delaney's in the red, Claire's in the black:)
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