The Girls' Christmas Wish Lists

Like my friend Jamie, I wanted to record the girls' Christmas wish lists. Written tonight, Christmas Eve... (seems a bit late to most, but they are holding out hope for these lists!)



Jena writes:

I want:
1. Chapter Books
2. Littestest Pet Shop
3. Stafft aminals (Stuffed animals)
4. Viteo games
5. Snow hat and glaves (Because she happened to misplace the ones Mommy bought for her last week.)

From,
Jena



Paige dictates to me:

I want butterflies for Christmas. I like unicorns, horses, dogs and cats. I want a golden retriever.

Love,
Paige


Annie doesn't have a clue about what is about to happen tomorrow morning but I am sure she would have placed her order too if she understood!


We've begun a tradition of opening one present on Christmas Eve night before bed. The girls were besides themselves trying to decide which one to choose. So I suggested that they open one from Daddy and Mommy. The girls both opened theirs. They were really excited to see what it was. We'd decided to get the girls their own bible this year. Their bibles have been pretty beat up these past few years. We read the account of Jesus' birth in Paige's The Message Version for 4-8 years olds. In the morning we will read the account in Luke 2 out of Jena's Young Women's Bible. She was really excited about having a bible that didn't have pictures in it!

Beginning the season like this is really important for us. We've cut back on the amount of stuff we are giving the girls this year for many reasons and are trying very hard to instill in them the real reason for celebrating Christmas: Jesus' purpose in coming to Earth, not just a cute story of a little innocent babe but of a Savior that wanted to give up everything He had to live among us and die for us to make a way for our salvation.

We are hoping that this time is satisfying in that despite what we "think" Christmas should be about, we are trying to focus on what His birth on earth really meant for humanity. Interestingly, Paige's bible had a devotion at the end of the story and it asked, "What would you do if Mary and Joseph came to your house that night to birth Jesus? Would you have let them stay at your house?" Then another question: "If you had a chance to see Baby Jesus who would you tell?"

After Duane read those questions, we had a knock at the door, it was almost 9pm! We all looked at each other and Duane said, "What if it is someone to deliver a baby? Should we welcome them?" The girls were speechless. Instead of someone wanting to deliver a baby, it was some friends of our who are really starting to investigate who Jesus is. We've been praying for them and watching what the Lord is doing in their lives, it was such a great moment for our girls to witness. God is really good. Sometimes His gifts come in different packages than what we imagine but we still have an incredible chance to enjoy what He has put in front of us!

From our family, we hope you and your family have an incredible Christmas, celebrating Jesus this year!