A welcome Christmas Guest

This tattered book finds it's way into our lives once a year. Every Christmas, my dad takes the time to read this poem to the family. Every year, it chokes me up to hear it. If you've never heard it, grab a Kleenex and read along...

The Story of the Christmas Guest

by Helen Steiner Rice

It happened one day at the year's white end,
Two neighbors called on an old-time friend

And they found his shop so meager and mean,
Made gay with a thousand boughs of green,

And Conrad was sitting with face a-shine
When he suddenly stopped as he stitched a twine

And said, "Old friends, at dawn today,
When the cock was crowing the night away,

The Lord appeared in a dream to me
And said, 'I am coming your guest to be'.

So I've been busy with feet astir,
Strewing my shop with branches of fir,

The table is spread and the kettle is shined
And over the rafters the holly is twined,

And now I will wait for my Lord to appear
And listen closely so I will hear

His step as He nears my humble place,
And I open the door and look in His face. . ."

So his friends went home and left Conrad alone,
For this was the happiest day he had known,

For, long since, his family had passed away
And Conrad has spent a sad Christmas Day.

But he knew with the Lord as his Christmas guest
This Christmas would be the dearest and best,

And he listened with only joy in his heart.
And with every sound he would rise with a start

And look for the Lord to be standing there
In answer to his earnest prayer

So he ran to the window after hearing a sound,
But all that he saw on the snow-covered ground

Was a shabby beggar whose shoes were torn
And all of his clothes were ragged and worn.

So Conrad was touched and went to the door
And he said, "Your feet must be frozen and sore,

And I have some shoes in my shop for you
And a coat that will keep you warmer, too."

So with grateful heart the man went away,
But as Conrad noticed the time of day

He wondered what made the dear Lord so late
And how much longer he'd have to wait,

When he heard a knock and ran to the door,
But it was only a stranger once more,

A bent, old crone with a shawl of black,
A bundle of faggots piled on her back.

She asked for only a place to rest,
But that was reserved for Conrad's Great Guest.

But her voice seemed to plead, "Don't send me away
Let me rest awhile on Christmas day."

So Conrad brewed her a steaming cup
And told her to sit at the table and sip.

But after she left he was filled with dismay
For he saw that the hours were passing away

And the Lord had not come as He said He would,
And Conrad felt sure he had misunderstood.

When out of the stillness he heard a cry,
"Please help me and tell me where am I."

So again he opened his friendly door
And stood disappointed as twice before,

It was only a child who had wandered away
And was lost from her family on Christmas Day. .

Again Conrad's heart was heavy and sad,
But he knew he should make this little child glad,

So he called her in and wiped her tears
And quieted her childish fears.

Then he led her back to her home once more
But as he entered his own darkened door,

He knew that the Lord was not coming today
For the hours of Christmas had passed away.

So he went to his room and knelt down to pray
And he said, "Dear Lord, why did you delay,

What kept You from coming to call on me,
For I wanted so much Your face to see. . ."

When soft in the silence a voice he heard,
"Lift up your head for I kept My word--

Three times My shadow crossed your floor--
Three times I came to your lonely door--

For I was the beggar with bruised, cold feet,
I was the woman you gave to eat,
And I was the child on the homeless street."

Hannah and Abigail listened as Papa read the poem this year.

Gifts from the Hand, the Heart, and Heaven

Some people say the best gifts are made by hand. They take time and a bit of work, but they usually end up being extra special, even if they're not perfect. We gave a few handmade gifts this year:

the magnets the kids "helped" me make using THESE instructions (This is where the "not perfect" comes in.)

the calendar we made for Kyle and Vanessa to enjoy while in Kenya the next few years

and the coasters we gave to our parents. I didn't make these. My friend Kimber made these using some of our pictures. (She can make some for you too - click HERE if you want to find out more.)

But we didn't just GIVE handmade gifts this year, we also GOT some handmade gifts from other people.

Mimi made me a scarf which I think is amazing. None of us knew that she picked up crocheting these past few months, so her scarfs were a complete surprise and totally fun.

Jeff and Rosie came into town this Christmas, which is gift enough because Jonah and Hannah think Jeff and Rosie are the funniest people on the face of the earth. But they didn't just come in town. They brought gifts. One of the gifts they gave was written by hand, so I am going to call it "hand-made."

They gave us a night of babysitting! Woo hoo! We went out to see Smurfahontas....or, umm... Avatar. We had a blast on our date, but our night pales in comparison to the night Jonah and Hannah had with their super fun Aunt Rosie and Uncle Jeff. Thanks guys!

Handmade gifts are really great. But there are those who say gifts from the heart are even better than gifts made by hand.

Joey gave me a gift from the heart this year. He took the time to write out 100 MORE things about me. Sheesh. That man is more observant and knows more about me than I do. I really believe I am the most uninteresting person I know. When people ask me what is going on in my life, my brain literally turns into that tv test pattern and I can usually think of about ZERO things to say about myself. So finding out that someone loves me enough to write out 100 (now 200) things about me just floors me. I added his newest 100 Things to my 100 Things about Kelly page if you want to click over, scroll down and read them.

Vanessa gave me a bag from Kenya. It was made by Kenyan women in need who are part of a program that teaches them important skills as well as the importance of Christ and the peace that He offers to their troubled lives. Check out their mission HERE. This was a gift from the heart since it reflects her heart and her desire to minister to the people of Kenya. The accompanying note she wrote to me was in itself a gift from the heart. It made me cry. I'm trying not to think about them leaving in a little over a week.

Handmade gifts are special. Heartfelt gifts are tender. But Jonah and Hannah might argue that the best gifts come not from the hand or the heart, but from... You guessed it... Toys R Us.

Jonah will be quick to tell you that his Nintendo DS Lite is the best gift he received this year. The cousins and grandparents bought him some cool games and Grammy bought him that nifty case (thank heavens - we've already dropped it twice with no breakage!).

Hannah is all about being mommy to her favorite gift - a little baby WowWee Alive cub. She is so sweet and tender with it when she feeds it and cuddles it to sleep.

As I've reflected on our gifts this Christmas, I can't help but reflect on THE gift of Christmas. The one gift that came directly from God's hand. He planned it out, he took the time to make it extra special. He worked out every detail. He gave from the heart and revealed his heart at the same time. This gift couldn't be bought in stores. No money could ever be enough to buy it. This gift came directly from heaven. When all the other gifts lose their luster, this one shines bright. My prayer for Jonah and Hannah is that they would take this gift from God's hand, embrace it in their heart, and long to see it in heaven.

The most adorable nativity you've ever seen (besides the real one with, you know, Jesus)

A number of years ago, my mom had this super cute idea of making costumes for all her grandkids so they could get together and act out the Christmas story. That first year yielded one photoshopped picture that kind of sort of had all the kids looking in the general direction of the camera. It was adorable.

Three Christmases later, the tradition still holds.

So each year, about this time, we schedule a gathering where all the grandkids get to dress up in costumes and look super cute while all of the adults get to stand around shouting and making silly faces at their kids so they'll look at the camera. It's adorable. And it's tradition (including the shouting and making of silly faces). Last year, I tossed my camera in favor of the Flip video and put together a short little video of the entire process which I shared HERE on this blog.

This year, we got serious. Since this will be the last year for at least two years that we will have a full "cast" for our nativity, we wanted to make this one count. Kyle and Vanessa will be moving to Kenya in two weeks to do medical missions for the next two years. Their three boys won't be here to act out the story with us for the next few years. It won't be the same. We wanted to document this event well so we invited Sarah to come over and take some real photos. These are a some of the results...

The Nativity 2009

Micah, Hudson and Ezra as the three wise men

Caleb as the most adorable shepherd I've ever seen

Jonah as a toothless Joseph

Anna as Mary and Isaac as baby Jesus

Jude (the cow) and Caleb (the Shepherd)

Angel Abigail

Angel Hannah

One more photo of those cute wise men

The Adults

The Grandkids (all 10) with Grammy and Papa.

The entire group

Thank you, Mom, for organizing this every year and being so creative. You inspire me. And thank you Mom and Dad, for making all our family times together at your house so very special.

2009 Christmas ADVENTure

Like many families around the world, we celebrate the Advent (or "coming") of Christmas with a 25 day countdown to Christmas. Because we want Jesus to be the focus of Christmas in our household, we try to point our kids toward Him each of those 25 days.

For our family, this means the kids get to open one door on our Advent house each day. Inside they find an ornament. The ornament is carefully chosen (by me) to coordinate with a verse or passage that we want to read as a family that day. Then (to keep it super fun), we have a "mission" (or, as Hannah called it this year, a "family fun night") that coincides with that particular ornament and verse.

This year's ADVENTure went as follows:

(Feel free not to read this entire post due to the length of it. I just wanted to record it here on the blog for posterity sake.)

Dec 1st - The kids found the new gingerbread house ornament inside door number one. We read Psalm 127:1 and then concluded the evening by "building" gingerbread houses. I blogged about that one HERE. (Ginger bread houses are made for people who are not cotton-headed ninny muggins like myself.)

Dec 2nd - The heart ornament was behind door number two. We read Psalm 119:11 and sang Steve Green's song "I have hidden your word, hidden your word, hidden your word in my heart..." Our mission was to do a good job hiding God's word in their hearts for Awana that night. (Wednesday missions are short missions because we don't have much time on Wednesdays.)

Dec 3rd - The ornament the kids found behind door number three was the Believe ornament. We read and talked about Romans 10:9 (Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ...) Then we watched the Polar Express. (If you've seen the movie, you know where the "believe" comes in here.)

Dec 4th - Just before Joey and I left for the weekend, we let the kids open door number 4 to find the Peace ornament. We (sternly) reminded them what Matthew 5:9 says about being a peacemaker then we charged them with the "mission" of being peacemakers while staying at Grammy's house for the weekend.

Dec 5 - 6th - Since we were away from the kids until the 6th, we let them open two doors when we got back. They found both the trumpet and harp ornaments. We talked about Psalm 150:3-4 and went to the drama/orchestra/choir performance at our church that evening for our mission of the night.

Dec 7th - Door number seven revealed a painting ornament. We used the Wordless book to explain Romans 6:23. We explained the colors of the wordless book and how they relate to the message of Romans 6:23. Then we got out our paints and let the kids go to town painting their own pictures.

Dec 8th - Some nights, we purposely planned our mission around something that was already on the schedule. Jonah's school music program was this night, so we made that our mission. The ornament we found this day is the Joy ornament and the verse we talked about was Psalm 170:22.

Dec 9th - I found a mini globe charm (in the jewelry section at Michael's) and made it into an ornament for this evening. Mark 16:15 shares the Great Commission. We got out our larger globe and talked about missionaries around the world. Then I quizzed them to see if they could find different countries on the map.

Dec 10th - This door revealed the book ornament. We started this tradition last year. We read 1 Chronicles 16:8-12 and talk about thankfulness. Then we let each kid write in their very own "thankfulness" book ornament that we hang on our big tree.

Dec 11th - Door number eleven revealed the three wise men ornaments. We read the story of the three wise men in Matthew 2:9-11, then asked the kids if they have considered something they would like to "give" to Jesus this year for Christmas. Hannah said she wanted to give Him her obedience and Jonah told us that he wants to be more bold when people ask him to pray out loud. We affirmed those "gifts" they chose to give Jesus this year.

Dec 12th - In a deliberate coattail of the day before, we allowed the kids to find the Noel ornament behind door number 12. We again talked about Matthew 2:9-11 and then allowed them to watch The Very First Noel (it is an adorable Christmas movie from the perspective of the three wise men)

Dec 13th - This day's ornament was the treasure chest (I also found this one in the jewelry section at Michael's). We read Matthew 6:20-21 and then played a game. I hid a heart somewhere in the room and they had to find it. (Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also...) I thought I could be all clever and hide it with baby Jesus in our nativity so that it could have double meaning, but Jonah thought the same thing and found it before the game ever started. We played the game over and over again until I got tired of it.

Dec 14th - We found a star ornament behind door number 14. Matthew 2:1-2 talks about the star of Bethlehem. Then I let the kids make Christmas cards with some star stamps.

Dec 15th - Door number 15 hid a small sheep ornament. Psalm 100:3 and Psalm 23 both refer to us as God's sheep and Him as our Shepherd. For our mission this evening, I let the kids play a little game we invented called the "shepherding game." The kids use straws (shepherds) to blow cotton balls (sheep) into a bag (sheep pen). They liked it, but they got spit all over my floor and that was gross.

Dec 16th - This day was a flop. The kids found the hands ornament behind door number 16. We talked about Psalm 24:4-5 and having clean hands and a pure heart. Then I told the kids the mission of the day was to go wash their hands. Previous years, I have purchased some cool Christmas soap that they like and play with in the sink, but this year I didn't. They were mad. Hannah even said, "this is the worst family fun night ever!" I replied to her grumpy tone with, "girl, you definitely need your hands cleaned and heart made pure, don't you?" (Then I made a mental note to change this mission or spice it up a bit before next year.)

Dec 17th - We're not Jewish, nor have we ever celebrated Hanukkah in our house before, but we decided that we could use a candle ornament and tell the kids the story of Hanukkah since this day was the 7th day of Hanukkah. Then we tied in the Festival of Lights with the Light of the World (John 8:12) and how we are to shine like lights in the world (Matthew 5:14-15). The kids had fun playing a Hanukkah game that night for our activity.

Dec 18th - One of the great joys of working with the high school kids at church is that we get to attend their parties. They throw good ones. This year's Christmas party was a costume party with an international theme. Our advent mission was be to go to this party as a family. The kids found the plane ornament behind door number 18 and we read Revelation 7:9 that talks about every nation, tribe, people and language gathering at the throne of Christ. We raided the costume closet at church and came up with some international costumes to wear to the party and had a blast. (Even though the party started about bedtime for both Jonah and Hannah.) Hannah said on the way home that "that was the BEST family fun night EVER!"

Dec 19th - The highly anticipated day arrived. The kids found the angel ornament in door number 19 which meant they get to go to Grammy's house, dress up and act out the Christmas story with their cousins. We read Luke 2:1-20 to refresh their memories of the story. (I'll share the photos of this event soon. It was especially precious this year.)

Dec 20th and 21st - Our family got hit by the sick bug big time Dec 20th. So much so that we skipped Advent that night. Nobody felt like it. So I just combined Dec 20th and 21st and let each of the kids open a door to find Christmas light ornaments behind both doors. We talked about Matthew 5:14-16 again and then Joey took the kids to walk around the light display at Rhema. (I still felt sick that evening so I didn't go along.)

Dec 22nd - The kids found a bow ornament this day. We talked about giving generously from the heart (Deuteronomy 15:10) and how God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7). We emphasized how Christmas is not all about getting gifts. Our mission was to wrap gifts and experience the joy of giving. We also played the "present game" from my Family Fun Magazine this month. It teaches the kids to say "thank you" as soon as they get a present and then find ways to compliment the gift as they open it.

(I am writing this post on the 23rd, so the following advent activities are in future tense.)

Dec 23rd - This day the kids will find a sucker ornament. We will read Psalm 34:8 and Psalm 119:103 and then make Christmas cookies.

Dec 24th - Christmas Eve we will find the cross ornament behind door number 24. We will read Colossians 1:15-20 and talk about how the whole purpose for Christ's coming was so that he could die for our sins. God had that planned from the beginning so that he could bring us into a relationship with him. The kids will write a letter to Jesus this day for their mission.

Dec 25th - Christmas morning the kids will find Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus ornaments behind door number 25. We will read the Christmas story from Luke 2:1-20 and they will celebrate His birth with a party all day long!

So there you have it. Our Christmas ADVENTure of 2009.

Now, just in case you are tempted to think I'm some sort of superwoman for keeping up with this Advent tradition each year... let me be honest. I posted this so late in the month, because most days I had to scramble to figure out what we were doing that day for Advent. (I am thankful for previous years to look back on.) I didn't plan the entire month out in advance like I had hoped. Honestly, most days I just wanted to find something quick that would not take forever. But the kids excitement about it and the discussions that resulted were WELL worth the time and energy spent on doing this each day.

The picture below was me yesterday. (And yes, that is my messy house all around me.) Along with wrapping gifts for day 22, I thought it would be fun to have the kids make some crafts for gifts. I WAS SO IN EVERY WAY WRONG. Hannah lost interest in all of 2.4 seconds and Jonah held on until I got upset because he was doing it wrong. Dana, this picture is for you. :)

Just keepin' it real.

It's not the Friendly Beasts I'm worried about...

There are plenty of traditions around Christmastime. One of the traditions we have at our church is the "Cherub Choir" (made up of 4-5 year-olds) singing in costume the Friendly Beasts song.

Hannah is still young enough to be in the Cherub Choir, so she was part of the Friendly Beasts song this year. She played an angel. About a month before the performance, she told me that she was almost nearly 100% sure that since she was playing an angel, she would get to be hung from cords in the sanctuary and fly around the room while singing the song.

Her imagination is cute like that.

Somehow the glitter and sparkle of her tinsel wings and halo took her mind off her lofty imagination and (despite the fact that she didn't get to fly) she performed like an angel that night. (Get it, angel? hehehe) Her cousin Micah had a solo part playing the donkey. He belted his part out so loud that I think even the church across the street heard him.

All the little "friendly beasts" performed beautifully. The mass number of parents and grandparents wielding cameras and camcorders got exactly what they came to enjoy. While there were a few waves and one polite push from our little cherubs on stage, there were no major malfunctions. No shepherds picking their noses or angels lifting their dresses. And no one fell off the stage, which is a plus.

When it was all over, there was a great sigh of relief that it all came off without a hitch. It's not like we really needed to worry anyway. It's the Cherub Choir. They can pretty much do no wrong.

That particular night, however, it was not the friendly beasts that I worried about. It was my six year-old boy and the adorable eight year-old girl who sat in front of him. It seemed to me that they were a whole different kind of "friendly" that night.

They talked during the entire rehearsal before the service. It was funny because after nearly 30 minutes of talking, Jonah said to her, "Umm... what's your name?" Smooth, son. Smooth. Then they proceeded to pass notes during the entire Night of Music. I saved some of the notes. I just couldn't resist. (I mean, what if by some crazy twist of fate, Jonah ends up marrying this little girl? I want to be able to pull out these notes and say, "See? I was there when it all began.") I'm not one of those weirdo parents. Really. I promise.

Check this note out:

It says, "Mary Christmas Jonah. Will you be my friend pleese? Happy days and gifts. Peace on earth. I ^love love love love like you." That last part is the part that worries me.

The second note was a little more missionary-ish in style. Check it out:

This one says, "Do you like to sing? I like to sing. Thanks for being my friend. I relly like you. John 3:16 for God so loved the would that he gave Us his son to die for our sin. God loves you." I might like this girl.

But boy am I glad our church doesn't hang any mistletoe. That's all I'm sayin' about that.

A Peek Inside the Teach and Tickle Home this Christmas

I love visiting other people's homes around Christmastime and seeing their houses all decked out for Christmas. It is always a joy to see how different people decorate for Christmas. If you are as nosy as me, you will enjoy this super long post with a ton of pictures of our house all done up for Christmas. Grab some hot chocolate, put on your favorite Christmas song and take a little tour of the Teach and Tickle home this Christmas...

the tree

(we have a small living room, so this skinny tree works really well without taking up too much space)

close up of a few ornaments

the fireplace and stockings

the girl stockings

the boy stockings

the scent of our home this season

(Yankee Candle - Sparkling Cinnamon)

the advent house and ornament tree

a few of the new ornaments for our advent tradition this year

(This one is a treasure chest. I found it at Michael's in the jewelry department and made it into an ornament. We used the passage that talks about "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" and talked with the kids about the true treasure of Christmas being Jesus, not presents)

star, sheep, paints and gingerbread house ornaments that all correspond to our Advent tradition

the three wise men

this Charlie Brown Christmas tree is new to our house this year

(We found it at Atwoods, in case you are wondering. We LOVE LOVE LOVE it!)

the tree is new this year, but these have been around our house since before we had kids

(It just goes to show you how much we love A Charlie Brown Christmas.)

this is our entryway

these are the cheap ornaments I hung on the mirror with ribbon

(Sorry for the poor picture quality.)

also in the entryway - mini mittens :)

our nativity

the kids nativity

(in their bathroom)

Hannah's tree

Hannah's favorite ornament

Jonah's tree

Jonah's favorite ornament

my Christmas card holder

As of Dec 15th (when I am writing), we have a total of 5 Christmas cards. Two of those five don't count because one came from Joey's eye doctor and another from an organization we support. That means we have only received three official Christmas cards. I might have just talked myself into being depressed. Please send me a Christmas card. I'll be your best friend.

a few of our favorite books during this season

the exterior of our home

(This is Joey's job each year and he does a wonderful job of making our home look so festive and warm. I feel like I live in a gingerbread house all month long.)

he even decorated our backyard tree this year

That's a little peek into our home this season. Hope you enjoyed the visit.

Merry Christmas