‘Tis the Season.

 

 

  It happens every year, so I’m not sure why I let it surprise me.

The stores start playing Christmas music.

We put up our Christmas tree.

Lights are on the houses all around us (but not ours, because seriously, where do people find the time!?!).

And it’s like a cue is given, it’s like a switch is flipped, and our sweet girls and their broken hearts start to bleed again.  With the music, with the lights, with the tree, and with the traditions, it’s like their scabs are peeled back, exposing the hurt again.

So every year, as we usher in the holidays, we also usher in dis-regulation and regression.

 

Every Christmas is hard for our girls.  They are clearly confused by their feelings and revert back to an instant fear response.

BUT, I can also see growth each year.  As they look to us with increasing confidence for their comfort, and as our trust and love grows stronger – their hurt does not diminish, but now we can be their safe place.  We are praising God for growth.

This year we see the regression.

But this year we also see trust.  We see the girls looking forward with excitement to our family Christmas.  Their family Christmas.

It will always be hard. We are not their first family, we are not their only family, but it is clear in the joy in their eyes, that we are their family.

With that in mind, I am looking forward to this Christmas season.  Dis-regulation and all.

Christmas!

 

 

  The girls were so excited for Christmas to be here.  Sylvia was convinced that as soon as it snowed that it would be Christmas – of course, it snowed 4 days before Christmas….so she just thought that it was Christmas over and over again!  Bella counted down the days, and they were so excited Christmas Eve!

 

They looked so pretty!

 

 

 

Me, ridiculously pregnant.  Nope, no baby yet.  Just getting bigger by the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the castle that Brian built for the girls for Christmas.  They are thrilled to say the least.  We try not to go over the top for Christmas, and we try our best to make most of our gifts hand made.  You would have never known the difference between our girls getting this, or them finding some expensive video game console under the tree – and this takes so much imagination!

The spend about 3/4 of their time in there now.  We’ve been working all week on decorating it, and it is definitely coming along…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas afternoon we worked together to make cupcakes to celebrate Jesus’ birthday, the reason that we celebrate Christmas at all.  We are still feeling out what Christmas should look like for our family, but every year we get closer, and I love this tradition.  We make cupcakes, decorate them, and while we eat them we read the story of the birth of Christ out of the Jesus Storybook Bible.  The girls love it, and it centers our celebration.

 

 

 

 

 

We had a wonderful Christmas. Celebrating with children is absolutely the best way to do it.  Their excitement, imagination, and joy is palpable.  It was also so nice to get to celebrate with Bella and Tootaw this year, with no big visit in the middle.  I love our family.

 

 

“Don't you know I've always loved you
Even before there was time
Though you turn away
I'll tell you still
Don't you know I've always loved you
And I always will
Greater love has not a man
Than the one who gives his life to prove
That he would do anything
And that's what I'm going to do for you.”

Christmas Prep.

 

I have gotten ridiculously behind on posting, partly because we had work done in our basement and then it flooded and fried our computer.  But we got a new computer out of the deal!  We’ve had a lot of fun this Christmas – sorry to post all of our pre-Christmas pics at once, but I have to get them up!

 

Making salt dough ornaments for our Christmas Tree and for presents!  First we made the dough, cut them out, and cooked them, but the painting was the girls’ favorite part!

 

 

 

 

 

It was always my family’s tradition to go cut down our Christmas Tree every year.  We took the girls this year and they loved it!

 

 

 

 

The girls all ran behind Brian yelling, “Look at Daddy, he’s so strong!”  It was adorable.

 

Hayride!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who wants to put the star on the tree when you could honk Daddy’s nose instead?

 

 

 

 

We do an advent study called Truth in the Tinsel that includes lots of crafts.  This is the night we made crowns for the coming King.

 

 

 

Rudolph sandwiches with Nana!

 

Waking up to the first snow of the year.  Unfortunately it cancelled Bella’s pajama day and holiday party at school!  But they were very excited.

 

 

And last, but not least, cookie making and decorating!

 

 

 

 

 

We had a lot of fun preparing for Christmas this year!!