That was Much Better!

A year ago at this time, I felt overwhelmed by excess.  The combination of Christmas followed by Jonah's birthday two weeks later had filled our home with an enormous amount of plastic crap (ie: toys) that we did not need.  I remember telling some friends that the excess of all the "stuff" we had acquired in that two week period felt heavy, even oppressive.  I swore that we would do things differently the following year. 

The good news is that I did not forget that yucky feeling all year long.  So as Christmas rolled around this year, I made intentional choices to tame the beast of excess - or at least to make some strides in that direction.  For example, I was very selective in my choice of gifts for the boys: I steered clear of toys that I lovingly refer to as "plastic crap," I shopped in museum gift shops, book stores, and teacher supply stores rather than Toys R Us to find unique and longer-lasting items, and I only got the boys a few things each (mostly games, puzzles, and learning toys).      

Jonah was very pleased with his Magic Science Kit which allowed him to mix fizzy potions.

Nicolas was happy with some new games and puzzles.

 And Riley liked opening up a couple of new hoodies (an article of clothing that he insists on wearing every day).

The grandparents did great this year, too - only getting the kids one thing each.  Overall, the gift-giving aspect of Christmas just felt much better this year!  

As for Jonah's birthday...I warned him early on that he would not be having a big party this year. Last year's outrageously expensive party at Chuck E. Cheese with the accompanying 20+ gifts from all of the guests had enough excess to make us all a little crazy.  So this year we went sledding (Jonah's idea) and he brought along just three friends.  Jonah is a very social little boy, so it was challenging for him to not invite everyone he knows, including all 29 of the kids in his kindergarten class.  But it was a good lesson in restraint for him and I think he'd be the first to say that he had a really terrific time at this year's festivities.  In fact, we all had a great time - especially Riley who, as it turns out, is quite the little daredevil on a sled!

Look Who's Six!

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!

Ode to JibJab

I know we are well past Christmas, but I never quite got around to posting these.  They are fun and funny and I figured there's probably a relative or two out there that would get a kick out of watching them.  The first two videos were created by my dad.  The third one was created by Sade at The GreenHouse. With Jonah's new found obsession with breakdancing, the first one is entirely too perfect.     

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/J2qDTyDzok6lhDvOHLoj

http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/lIqTxCAmvjJ4RX48EOUv

http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/syCfNC502ZV5gQNq

One last Christmas post (family-style) coming soon...

Christmas Caroling at The GreenHouse

Q:  What do you get when you mix various ages, languages, ethnicities, income levels, and religious backgrounds in a group of about 100 people and send them all off singing Christmas songs with one another in a community that they all care about?

A.  A whole lot of fun, laughs, and Christmas cheer! 

Let's do it again next year! 

Melvin's Hope Christmas Store

Our Melvin's Hope Christmas Store was open this past Friday evening and Saturday and it was a big success!  There was a line around the building the entire time and everyone left the store with big smiles on their faces.

We had several awesome parent volunteers who worked hard both days at the store, as well as an amazing group of other volunteers from Sanctuary, Adventure, and Bridge of Life who served as personal shoppers, re-stockers, and gift wrappers.

I honestly loved everything about it and had so much fun!  The whole experience filled my heart with joy. I'm so glad we revamped the project this year - there were many confirmations along the way that we had made the right decision.  Thank you to everyone who donated or volunteered!

Let the Family Festivities Begin...

On Tuesday, Steve finished his last final. Five semesters down, ONE to go! The end of finals came just as a flurry of Christmas activities was ramping at The GreenHouse - making for a nutty (intense, grueling) couple of weeks in our household. But once again, we made it out alive. Marriage still intact. Children still breathing. Stress levels back to normal.

The kids could not wait for their Daddy to be done with his "big tests" so that we could go and get a Christmas tree. Poor Jonah was distraught over the fact that we didn't have one yet! So on Wednesday night, we shimmied over to the tree lot just down the street and let the boys pick out the one they wanted.

That same night, we headed over to The GreenHouse for the Oasis Christmas Party where a large group of people from Sanctuary was gathering to go caroling with the teens. We had a blast! (more on that event in a subsequent post).

And today, the kids got to perform some Christmas songs at church.  Riley was much too grumpy to participate.  Nicolas was cute as a button and did everything he was asked to do.  And Jonah hammed it up like the rock-star that he is.  Classic.   

It feels good to finally be able to partake in some Christmas festivities together as a family - just in the nick of time!

Being Present during Advent

Throughout this season of Advent, our church is reading a daily devotional book that was written by our pastor called Living the Christmas Story.  The book is challenging us to let Christmas be a season of Prayer (closeness with God), Presence (connectedness with others), and Participation in God's love.

I read this post on another blog yesterday and thought it correlated very well with the devotional.  (plus, I love Henri Nouwen):

The Ministry of Presence
More and more, the desire grows in me simply to walk around, greet people, enter their homes, sit on their doorsteps, play ball, throw water, and be known as someone who wants to live with them. It is a privilege to have the time to practice this simple ministry of presence. Still, it is not as simple as it seems.

My own desire to be useful, to do something significant, or to be part of some impressive project is so strong that soon my time is taken up by meetings, conferences, study groups, and workshops that prevent me from walking the streets. It is difficult not to have plans, not to organize people around an urgent cause, and not to feel that you are working directly for social progress. But I wonder more and more if the first thing shouldn’t be to know people by name, to eat and drink with them, to listen to their stories and tell your own, and to let them know with words, handshakes, and hugs that you do not simply like them, but truly love them.

- Henri Nouwen