Friday, December 16, 2011

a Christmas lesson, merry and bright, and a special tree for Daddy

 My dad surprised me with this frame with my favorite thing to say to my boys!


I'm crazy in love with my 4 boys.  My husband and 3 sons make my heart full all.the.time.  So Mamas, no matter what trials are in your face today, no matter how messy your house gets (you should see mine at the moment!) , no matter how rushed your mind is feeling, take a big breath of perspective and recognize the gift of your loved ones.

 Christmas Eve 2009


One of my best friends recently had her first baby.  She wrote, "what more could I possibly want for Christmas when I already received absolutely the best present already?".   There is so much heart and wisdom behind her words.  Those words she wrote blessed my spirit in the midst of my blank stares at my messy house.  I was able to breathe and smile as I realized what treasures I had within arm's reach.  My 4 boys are not replaceable.  How foolish I can be sometimes when I exchange my time with them for extra check marks on my to do list.  Thank you Kristen for your whispers of motherly wisdom.  Your excitement over your brand new baby renewed my gratitude for my family.

Our gratitude could be for any family or loved ones, not just those in our homes.  Never undervalue the importance of relationships.  Our habitually selfish society can easily isolate us from true relationships and people, but what a lonely existence that is.  Take time to love others always with even just a simple smile or a handful of encouraging words. (just another reason I love facebook by the way)


My boys have decked our halls with pure Christmas joy.  It is so exciting to watch the little people celebrate December.  Everything is created with passionate intention.

Kids breathe to life the magic of Christmas.  
 What a blessing that is!



They pulled out their holiday animals 
and used my old bead garland to create 
Santa and his reindeer!  
love, love, love!
 
They even found a big present to put in the back of Santa's sleigh.
My biggest smiles of the season are because of things like this. 


 

 

And... Santa remains "good old Santa Claus" in our home. 
I embrace the commercialized jolly elf because
he represents excitement and the pleasure of both giving and receiving.
Santa also represents a spirit of wonder,
 adding to the Joy of baby Jesus.

source unknown, please advise



Kotah even created an advent calendar JUST FOR ME! 
He jumps out of bed every morning to watch me open my advent calendar. 




The boys and I surprised Chris earlier this month with his own little nightstand tree!  This activity was in one of the boys ADVENTure envelopes that I previously talked about.  They were SO excited to show Chris! They each watched for him to come home that night through the front window.

We took a baby tree and snuggled it in a basket on Chris' nightstand.  
We used blue ornaments because that is his favorite color.


The tree holds special ornaments of Chris' too:

a guitar representing his surprise gift I gave him on a Christmas past,

our special wedding ornament that we have from our first year of marriage,

ornaments he painted and made as a child,

and some of his own baby ornaments.


The boys topped his tree with a Popsicle stick nativity star they made.



Chris is a pretty popular guy in our home.
We all think the world of him.
And he is just so darn cute! 
Men probably don't prefer to be called CUTE,
but it is what it is. ;)

Chris looking cute hot at a holiday party this season



He does cool things for his wife
like make our home
so merry and bright!
with every bulb being perfectly placed. 
Thank you baby! 


Needless to say, there has been a lot of holiday action in our home.
And I going to remind myself in the midst of the craze
of my sweet friend's words:
the greatest Christmas gift 
is our loved ones.



This post is linked to: Simply Sweet Home Inspired Room HomeStories Mantels, Holiday Home Link Parties TLCUnder the Table & Dreamin, Think Pink Sundays, Seasonal SundaysMet Monday, Making the World Cuter, Tuesday Tutorials and Tips, Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy, Tip Junkie, Get Your Craft On, DIY Design, Works for Me Wednesday, Blue Cricket Design, Transformation Thursday, House of H, Tablescape Thursday, Show off Your Stuff, Strut Your Stuff,   Show and Share Day, Foodie Friday, Frugal Friday, I'm Lovin It, Tickled Pink, Friday Flair, Design Dazzle, Be Different Act Normal, Funky Junk Interiors, Weekend Wrap Up  DIY by Design

7 comments:

Barbara F. said...

A beautiful family. Merry Christmas and many blessings! xo

caveman said...

:D Perfect post. And this was a perfect gift to a very blessed husband and daddy. So much thought went into every part of my surprise and every single one of them deeply touches my heart.

It also touches me to witness how perfectly you teach our little men to love. Someday they will make three loving husbands and their wives will have you to thank. I am very lucky to have you Lisa Renee Miller Moore!

Aimee said...

Love the frame&pic at the beginning of your post. So sweet.

Anonymous said...

No truer words..Ya have a beautiful family..Merry Christmas..

{northern cottage} said...

I LOVE that picture frame - the graphics are so GREAT!

Snap said...

Beautiful, true words and beautiful family!

Unknown said...

What a lovely post! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Daddy tree. I think I may do that in the hubs' office next year. Thank you for sharing!