I'm a homeschooling mom of 2 great kids. I've been married to my wonderful husband since 1997. I love to crochet, knit, and digi scrap. So, you never know what I might post about!
Tuesday, December 24, 2002
Presents are wrapped, house is pretty much clean (I still need to vacuum...again). B has to work through Christmas Day, so we won't be headed down home 'till the 26th. I'm pretty sure my family will open their presents without us. *sigh* Oh, well. I'm starting to think that we (B, H and I, at least) shouldn't celebrate Christmas. It's not actually Jesus' birthday, and besides, we were told to remember His death, not His birth. So, we'll discuss it and maybe we'll make a decision about it by this time next year. We aren't doing anything big for it this year, anyway...at least not here at our house. We got H 2 gifts, and last year I made stockings for each of us, that are now hanging and filled with candy. We have no lights, no tree, and just the 2 gifts for H. We buy her stuff all throughout the year and just give it to her then. My mother would always hoarde all the gifts and save them for Christmas and birthday (it was nice, though, probably for both of us, that my birthday is 6 months before/after Christmas). This added to the big hyped-up Christmas celebration, of course...and birthday, too. Even without the whole Jesus' birthday or not and whether we should be celebrating it at all, I already hated the materialism and commercialization, (and don't even get me started on Santa!!) so I'm thankful and feeling blessed that we are as poor as we are, so that we can't go all out and buy out the stores. Spending a lot of money has never felt comfortable to me, even when I was a child and it wasn't my money to worry about. But it has taken me a few years for the materialism of my mother to wear off. The first 2 or 3 Christmases after H was born, I felt like I had to buy her all the coolest age-appropriate toys; that she wouldn't feel special if we didn't buy her as many presents as we could afford. What Satan does for evil, God uses for good, and we've been blessed in many ways by our financial straits. I definitely think this is one of those ways in which He has chosen to bless us: by helping us escape the insanity of Christmas. Of course, we will still be having a big family dinner at B's parents' house, but even they aren't giving gifts this year (the money thing again...B is the youngest of 5, all but one with spouses and all with children). I'll miss the family dinner with my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins since they always get together on Christmas Eve and we won't be there 'till the day after Chrsitmas. But that's ok. It really hasn't been much fun since I was a small child, and this way I won't have to worry about H's behavior. So, it's going to be a rather low-key Christmas. The only big gift-opening time will be at my parents' house. I'm sure H will get tons of toys and things. My mother pretty much knows the kinds of toys I object to, so hopefully we won't have to make a trip to the store to return anything. I already know that she's got a Barbie and a Ken for H, but I can live with that as long as they stay at Mom's house. We've told H that she can't have a Barbie 'till she's 10, and I personally hope that by the time she's 10 she'll have decided she's too old for Barbie. But I also know that she'll be getting an easel, which is SO cool! I mentioned to Mom that I was looking for one and the next thing I knew, she said she'd ordered one! For her b-day, we got H lots of artsy stuff: fingerpaint, fingerpaint paper, Crayola ColorWonder Markers and paper, and a paint smock. So, now she'll have a place other than the constantly cluttered dining table to do her art! Anyway, here's wishing you a merry Christmas and a happy holiday season. B's and my 5th wedding anniversary is on the 31st, so we'll be staying on the coast 'till the 2nd so we can go to Galveston to celebrate. I may or may not write again before we leave, but if I haven't written by the 26th, don't look for me again 'till next year!
3:02 AM
Monday, December 23, 2002
And yes, now a mere 3 hours later it is 47 degrees! Lol
6:30 PM
This, I think, is a pretty good reason not to like Barbie.
3:32 PM
Yes, that's right...it's December 23rd and it's 75 degrees with 69 % humidity. I love Texas!!! :)
3:29 PM
