We have been the very best sort of busy around here.  Our home has been buzzing with Christmas cheer and all the activities that go with it. 

A heavy pre-Christmas snowfall of about 10″ cancelled all our plans for last weekend, but God had much better ones in mind.  We had a sweet, rich time together enjoying the beauty of God’s magnificent creation… right in our own backyard.

Although the photos below don’t really attest to this, I really do feel like our thoughts have been focused mainly on the true Christmas story this year.  I’ve read dozens of great blog posts on crafts and activities to emphasize the true meaning of Christmas, and maybe next year I’ll do some of them, but this year, I’m happy just to have started one new tradition in our family.

We have about five plastic kid-friendly dinnerplates in total, so the one that happens to be red with a snowflake motif on it gets used all year.  A few days ago as I was putting  the girls’ plates at the table for dinner, on a whim, I called this one “the Christmas plate” and instituted a new policy.  Whoever gets “the Christmas plate” at each meal must share some part of the Christmas story with the whole family.  It has turned out to be such a fun and simple way to rehearse the amazing events surrounding Christ’s birth, and to keep our focus where it should be during this busy holiday season.

Romilly pretty much sticks to “Jesus was born,” and Bea can now tell us that much as well, but Pippa has really gotten into it.  She talks about the wise men and the inn being full and lots of other aspects of the story, even suggesting ideas when her little sisters are stumped for new material.  My hunch is that it will be hard to persuade the girls we can stop doing this at every meal once Christmas is over, but then, why would we want to stop?