Christmas 2010

WoW! We had an amazing Christmas Advent Season. I feel that all things considered, three children 4 and under, we really celebrated the birth of Christ. I had a wonderful impromptu opportunity to have the 3rd-6th grade Sunday School class and boy did I have fun getting to know them! Kids are awesome and so much fun. We talked about how to celebrate Jesus' birthday and why He was the greatest gift ever given. I was blessed by this discussion (the Sunday before Christmas) it really helped me focus amidst the busyness of the season on remembering Christ.
The Matthews Family had a wonderful, and surprisingly relaxing Christmas day here are a few pics of the fun...





The kids had fun opening their stockings...it also helped Esther get the hang of opening gifts! So when we started opening their tree presents was a hoot they all enjoyed "helping" each other open and play with their new gifts.





Gaius took a lot of our photos this year including this one! For a 4 year old---not bad.
Our Christmas Fruit Cake
Esther eating her first Traditional Australian Christmas Fruit Cake, yum yum!

Christmas Thoughts....

I was at the BAPC Ladies Christmas Tea, which was lovely and a lot of fun, and we were read a passage that used a reference scripture verse and then shifted and applied it very directly to the Christmas season.
I was taken back by a line and it goes something like this...

"If you bake dozens of cookies and have not love...your just another baker...love stops to huge the little one at your feet not resenting their presence but grateful for it..."

WOW!! That particularly convicted my soul because I am queen of saying, "no" to my sweet little ones who beg to help with baking. After all, I have a ton to do and its just faster with out there "help."

Sure my children miss out in this situation but perhaps I am the one who ultimately misses out. One day all my children will be grown-up and gone and I will LONG for them to be in my kitchen asking to help me. One day our house will be empty of the mess makers, noise givers and china brakers...but I know I will miss them, oh, so much.

So perhaps the real person missing out on life when I get caught up in it, is me. Surly life is composed of moments and in these we find our memories and if we pass up to insignificant moments we will find ourselves with out those precious memories that we hold so dear.

Just a few of the many insignificant moments that make up my special life memories...