Monday, January 12, 2015

Christmas 2014

Jase & I both had a pretty serious business cold the week before Christmas.  It was intense and knocked us both on our tails. Your immune system is weaker anyway when you’re pregnant, and I wasn’t getting enough sleep because I was staying up with our sick little guy, so that combo left me vulnerable to his little germies. The flu has been RAMPANT in Georgia so I was scared we may have it. I felt SO bad for a few days that I considered going to the doctor & taking Jase (yikes! didn’t want to expose us to even more germs). I didn’t end up going and thankfully we were both on the mend by Christmas Eve so we could enjoy the holidays with our families. FYI: They had us treat Jase’s cold by using a saline nasal spray, sparingly using an aspirator, running a cool mist humidifier, elevating the head of his bed, and using Vick’s (we use a homemade version my cousins made for us with essential oil) on his chest and the bottom of his feet (with socks on).

We didn’t get to participate in all of the Christmas fun like normal because we were under the weather, but we still had a wonderful Christmas Eve and Christmas with family. My mom did come over to bake & decorate Christmas cookies with Jase since we were going to miss out on the family tradition of doing it with cousins.

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Jonathan’s parents and sister came over to our house on Christmas Eve & brought dinner (honey baked ham for sandwiches- it was delish!) and gifts. Of course they spoiled Mr. Jase and he LOVEDDDDD his presents. The battery powered fire truck & stuffed dog (“Mac”) are his faves. We also love the boxed set of Veggie Tales DVDs. They are super cute and have a great message if you’re in the market for you kiddos.  His family is awesome about giving us money for his savings account too, and we are so appreciative of that!! My personal favorite gifts were an ornament his sister made us and a Pink Sands Yankee candle. Oh, and I also loved getting some Younique mascara. (Works great, just kinda feels like you have fur in your eyeballs. And thankful to get it as a gift cuz there is no way I would pay over the $6 I normally pay for mascara.) Jonathan got some clothes & tools. #bestdressedhandymanaround

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We are still praying about the whole Santa thing and didn’t do it this year. We woke up Christmas morning and read the story of Jesus’ birth from Luke 2.  Jonathan & I didn’t do gifts for each other this year either & made sure not to go overboard like we normally do. I love to give gifts, so I have a hard time not overdoing it. We ended up getting Jase some books and art supplies so we can start having some designated art time. (Jonathan was like, “Uhhhhh, did you really get him pipe cleaners?” Hahhaa!! I could not stop laughing. But for the record, yes I did. And yes, he really likes playing with them.) Jase really liked opening presents this year & it was so fun to watch. I’m convinced kiddos make holidays more special.

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We went to Mom & Dad’s at 11 on Christmas day. We ate brunch as a family, had a gingerbread cookie decorating contest, & then played a White Elephant swap game. Of course Jase enjoyed his favorite past times of playing in the car with Granddaddy’s keys and carrying around his snacks. He loves to be around his cousins (especially the big kids).

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We came home that afternoon and enjoyed a long nap.

As much as I love Christmas, I had a little bit of a tough time getting in the Christmas spirit this year. I’m not sure if it was from being a little sick, tired, & ill from pregnancy hormones or what…but honestly, I was a little bit ready to make it through & get on to a new year and fresh start. Thankfully we know the true REASON for the season & that is a gift to celebrate all year long. And despite my lack of Christmas spirit, it was fun to make sweet memories for Jase’s 2nd Christmas!

Hope you all had a MERRY CHRISTMAS with your families!!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

When I was little I believed in Santa, I can't really tell you when I figured out he wasn't real, but it wasn't a dramatic ordeal. My parents always made sure that my brother and I knew Jesus was the true meaning of Christmas, and that Santa and all that were for fun. I don't ever remember being threatened with "be good or you'll get nothing from Santa" (I personally think that takes it too far). But my parents also made it to where Santa never gave the "big" gifts, Santa brought little things we needed; a new tooth brush, a new set of PJs, a calendar for the new year, new bibles, or something like that. I think Santa is fun and fuels imagination for kids, and as long you keep Jesus at the front of all of that its fine. Like I said I never felt like I was lied to or betrayed, it was just like figuring out the Teenage mutant Ninja turtles were just on tv. I was always told Jesus the reason for Christmas and that he is the reason we celebrate.

Chelley N said...

Our kiddos are 4 and 2 (and we have twins on the way), and we've never done the whole Santa thing. Our kiddos know he's a fictional character who's fun to read stories about and talk about, but he's not real. It's worked great for us, but it's been a bit of a problem with our kids telling other kids that he's just fun

Unknown said...

Hi, I have a 7 1/2 and 4 year old. And we do not do the whole Santa thing either. We teach them he is a made up character just like Mickey Mouse or whatever other cartoon character. We still have fun and watch movies about him..My daughter did have a tough time in kindergarten with telling other kids. We just don't make it an issue now. We just tell them that is some families they choose to believe, but we have to "pretend" and let their parents deal with that. We also decided before our first was born to the 3 gift rule - Like the 3 wise men. Something you need, something you want and something for their spiritual growth..I researched it online as to what the gold, frankensense and myrh meant as well and found a really neat website! Everyone has different convictions. Just stay true to them. God will lead you.

Unknown said...

I accidentally exposed my niece to the fact that Santa isn't real by taking her to watch the movie Saving Christmas. It actually turned out to be a good experience because it presented me with the opportunity to tell her about the real St. Nicholas and how the story of Santa Claus began. If you aren't familiar with the history of St. Nicholas, you should look it up. I don't want to assume you don't know and post it here lol.