True Christmas Spirit

I wrote that last post a few days ago, but hadn't gotten around to publishing it yet. Then Sunday night our family got to listen to 3 wonderful men talk about Christmas, and I felt inspired and refreshed. And then yesterday my sister wrote this fantastic post, which pretty much answered my question and inspired me to do my own list.

My Holiday NOT to do list:

1. I will NOT go Christmas shopping more than one more time this year. I already have more than enough presents for our family and I've been trying to spend all the free time I have when Gibb is actually home shopping for the "perfect" gifts. Instead I will spend that free time with my family and hopefully not spoil my kids (especially Jayna) rotten, because that is not the meaning of Christmas.

2. I will NOT tell Jayna that she can't turn on the lights on the Christmas tree all day because you can't really see them and it's a waste of electricity. Instead I will let her turn them on as much as her little heart desires because it's so magical for her every time and her face just lights up, it's a special time of year and those lights can remind us of the light of Christ.

3. I will NOT spend all my time at night after the kids are in bed working on my endless list of projects to get done in the next 16 days. Instead I will simplify that list and spend my nights watching Christmas movies and drinking hot chocolate with my husband, who is so awesome and I don't spend enough time with.

4. I will NOT tell Jayna that she can't play with nativity scenes we have up in our house, just because I'm sick of arranging them again perfectly every time she goes to sleep. Instead I will put the ones I really care about up where she can't reach them, and then I will play with the other nativity scenes with her so that I can teach her about the story of Christ's birth and we can both learn about and remember what Christmas is really about. And if one of them breaks then I will buy a new inexpensive and unbreakable one that we can play with again next year!

5. I will (try really, really hard) NOT to complain about how cold it is and how much I wish it would only snow on Christmas Eve and Day. Instead I will snuggle on the couch and enjoy watching the snow from inside my house, or spend the time bundling everyone up and go outside and make snow angels and build snowmen, or go look at all the lights. (If I can actually accomplish this goal it will be a true Christmas miracle!!!).

Thank you, thank you Cassandra for giving me the idea for this post! I think if I can actually check off everything on my
Holiday NOT to do list this year
this just might be the most meaningful Christmas we've had in a while.