 |
First package wrapped with art paper created by Creed and Mama |
Once again we are headed into the Christmas season and with that in mind we used our first piece of artwork as wrapping paper. Much to my delight it turned out a complete success. With Creed’s help we adorned our first package with Mr. Todd, the beautiful, but ornery, not to mention, sly fox from the hit TV show, at least at our house, “Peter Rabbit”. I’m looking forward to wrapping the rest. Usually I’m not thrilled in even the smallest amount because I wouldn’t say I’m great at it, but this year it’s a little different. I’m taking my time instead of rushing around wrapping haphazardly, coming out with cockeyed contraptions or last minute stuffing into whatever bag I can find lying around the house. With a little care, it’s a little more special, I think, even more so to the giver. I think about the person it is intended and wonder what they’d look like opening it. A great deal of our presents travel more than 1,000 miles. Why is it that we give presents, after all? Is it to fulfill a tradition or out of love? Our tradition is giving three gifts that represent the gifts the wise men gave to the baby Jesus. I remember a long time ago, it wasn’t fun, mostly because I stressed out whether or not we would have the money to buy gifts, let alone wrap or mail any. Each season became one of dread instead of what it’s meant to be …. true giving from the heart, not necessarily in materialistic form. These days I have a sense of wonder and amazement when I realize the miracle that took place, one in fact, that would impact humanity forever. If we don’t stop and think about it … if we don’t take the time to ponder as we’re busily keeping schedule with the order of it all, the business of it all, the hustle and bustle of Christmas that is, we may fall short of His glory. “And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” – Luke 2:10-14 Good tidings of … GREAT JOY, which shall be to all people! I’m counting my blessings and thanking God we’re not living in bondage at the disposal of the enemy. My heart is that you take in all the blessings and joy of this season of the birth of our risen Savior.
Creed and I are just getting over a nasty little bug that made its way into our home. It knocked us both on our backs and carried on a little more than a week. We ended up spending Thanksgiving watching TV and playing the computer, cooped up in quarantine. When Sunday rolled around Creed seemed back to himself completely, though I had some lingering sensitivity over the muscles that ached under distress. Nevertheless, I decided it was high time we left the house and went out to eat, because it was December 1, and we did not have an advent calendar. My favorite place to get one is from the Cracker Barrel, because there’s tasty little bits of Hershey’s Kisses chocolate hidden beneath each door. Little did I know this would be the day the abominable snowman would first make his appearance well ahead of schedule, I might add. Before going on I explained to my son that we were going to get a calendar that had chocolate inside. He was pretty excited about this idea. I also told him we would look around for a Christmas ornament after we finished eating. When we came in there was a small wait and I told him we could look around before they called mama’s name. He got to work immediately exploring all the wonderful toys they have settling on a small wooden kitchen. He pretending to pour me a drink and then clanked his cup against mine. I wondered where he learned that. Finally we made our way around to the toy trucks and cars when they called my name. I told him it was time to eat and he disagreed in a not so cute toddleresque way. I picked him up and carried him to the table where he refused to sit, so scooping him up I told him we would have to leave if he couldn’t behave. He looked at me wide-eyed in disbelief as I walked out of the eatery. With his mighty struggle against mama’s authority, I hoisted him over my shoulder and carried him the rest of the way to the vehicle, strapping him in safely - hard to do, when arms and legs are flying around in disobedience. He then commenced to kicking the back of the chair and I
 |
Creed's version of Mr. Todd |
reminded him that we weren’t allowed to kick the back of the chair and that because he couldn’t listen and behave he wasn’t allowed to watch TV. … big melt down. I’ll give it a four star rating. I drove to the nearest convenience store and turned around telling him he was in time-out. With tears streaming down his red little face, I was hoping this battle would be over soon. I stepped outside the vehicle and onto the curb and prayed for God to give me grace to deal with this child. A few moments later I felt my wits gather and sat down in the front seat. By then he had tired of the whole predicament and was sitting there staring at me. I turned around looking him straight in the eyes and asked,” Are you ready to try again?” “Yes,” he said, “I’m ready to behave.” “Do you have something you’d like to tell mama,” I asked? “Yes,” he said, “I’m ready to behave.” “Is there anything else you want to say to mama,” I asked hoping for an apology? “I’m sorry mama,” he said. I rubbed his leg and said, “That’s OK Creed. I love you.” He said, “I love you too mama.” And with our new given understanding about the process to come, eat first, then shop, we headed back to try again The abominable snowman, aka Creed, had turned into my sweet little boy again and what’s more exhibited some seriously nice manners. The only table left was a small one where we would have to sit across the table from each other. After taking our order the waitress asked if she could bring anything else and Creed said, “A muffin please.” She said, “We have blueberry muffins. Do you like blueberries?” “Oh yes,” he said, “I love blueberries.” We she returned with the large blueberry muffin as promised, Creed gobbled it up. As agreed we looked around the shop and he picked out an adorable orange and white fox that looked just like Mr. Todd. Sitting it on the counter, he said, “Excuse me. I’d like to buy this.” His politeness was greeted with a warm smile by the cashier and a beaming mother who felt proud of her little man’s progress.
We haven’t had school since a little before Thanksgiving, due to our serious illness, but I’ve decided that we will homeschool year around and our winter break will come early starting the week of Thanksgiving and running until the New Year. I’m loving the flexibility. We’ve been spending a lot of time watching Christmas movies and making many Christmas crafts that will be treasured for years to come. So no major homeschool posts for a while, but I’m sure we’ll sneak in a little learning here in there, after all learning is fun at its best. I do however, look forward to posting the merriest of Christmas memories.
No comments:
Post a Comment