Make Me Smile Monday

On Saturday we woke up and went downstairs to see if Santa had eaten his cookies and to see if any new presents had made there way under the tree, which of course they had. This in turn resulted in much squealing and jumping up and down. Before opening our stockings however, it's tradition at our house to a couple of Christmas stories. We like to really take our time and savour every moment. This year we read "God Gave Us Christmas" by Lisa Tawn Bergren and "A Fruitcake Christmas" by Max Lucado. Then we read the story of Jesus birth from "The Picture Bible" (our copy has a plain red cover):



After reading we opened our stockings and then enjoyed some Bacon and Potato Breakfast Pizza with some fresh fruit and orange juice for breakfast.

What really made my heart sing this Christmas was how appreciative each of our children were when opening their presents. A few years ago we began a "one person opens one present at a time" policy (as a way to help ensure we were able to really soak in all the excitement and make it last). They did such an incredible job! It was so nice to see them show appreciation and give thank-yous and hugs with little to no reminders. It really was such a fun and relaxing time. And such a great learning experience!

A highlight of the morning for me was when Jason and I were explaning the significance of the Learning to Read gift we bought through World Vision. We shared how some children don't get the chance to learn to read and write. This really hit home to our 7 year old daughter. "That's horrible," she said "reading's the greatest!"  There was so much sincerity and compassion in her response. She was so happy we could be giving these gifts; I thought it was beautiful.