Ten Blessings of Christmas {Blessing}

With New Year's Eve right around the corner, I didn't want 2012 to arrive without reflecting on some of our blessings from this Christmas.  There have been many blessings that filled the month of December but I am going to focus on ten that made our Christmas celebration extra special.  These are in no particular order...all blessings.

1.  A Candlelight Christmas Eve Service ~  This was such a blessing to our hearts!  Many dear friends joined us as we rejoiced over the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  There was lots of beautiful instrumental music, singing, a devotional, a group recitation of Luke 2:1-20 (Inspired by our CA homeschool ACTS days when all the kids were asked to memorize this wonderful passage of scripture.), and candles...lots of candles.  We look forward to attending again next year.

2.  A New Tradition ~ Christmas Eve pajamas!  This year, everyone received new pajamas which turned out to be lots of fun for most everyone.  I don't think that Brent would put this on his top ten list, but since everyone else enjoyed it so much, it is now an "official" Elliott family tradition! The pajamas were a surprise until we got home from church and each person was given their gift to open.  The deal was that everyone had to put them on right away and then plan to wear them through our morning celebration on Christmas day.  A warm fire, the soft glow of decorative lights and candles, Brent reading our Christmas family devotional book, and snugly pajamas all worked together to make for a wonderful evening.  Hattie wasn't able to join us until Christmas day since she was working, but she opened her gift when she arrived home and put her new pajamas on immediately.  Very fun.  I have been trying to think of things that will carry on when my children have all grown and have families of their own.  The thought that everyone will just know that "Gramy Tamy" gives new pajamas on Christmas Eve blesses me.

3.  Cake Pops ~ Dee made these delicious treats to bless us.  We will need to make these another Christmas time tradition, but I don't think everyone will want to wait until next Christmas for her to make them again. Thanks Dee!

4.  Tents ~ Okay, I am convinced that these were the BEST GIFTS EVER that could have been given to our younger crew.  The tents are cute and easy to store but that is just the bonus.  The real great thing about these tents are that my kids LOVE them, filled them with all their Christmas gifts and want to hang out in them all the time!  This means that the house stays cleaner and the noise level is cut in half!  This really works for the rest of us.  Thanks Grandpa and Nana!

5.  All Together ~  It was wonderful having all our children home at the same time.  This is very rare with all the busy schedules and a couple of them no longer living at home.  Brent and I cherish these times greatly.

6.  A Plan ~ Organization is my thing (although I am often not very organized) and having a plan for gift giving really is a blessing to me.  We draw names, set dollar amounts, and already know who we each have for next Christmas.  Yes, having a plan is truly a blessing.


Brent had me for Christmas this year.  He blessed me by disregarding our price limit
and had my rings redone.  So nice to be able to wear them  after going years without. 
I am so happy!

7.  Old Traditions ~ Along the lines of having a plan, traditions really work for us.  Some of our traditions started way back when.  We recently resurrected an old one from CA.  Brent took some of the kids and they choose and cut our Christmas tree from our property.  Something the older girls remember fondly doing with their Grandpa & Dad years ago.  We have a family Christmas devotional book and light candles, read an advent storybook, have an advent calendar, eat clam chowder on Christmas day, have fabric gift bags instead of stockings (and all the kids know there will be an orange inside), and a gift exchange with the Mount family, just to name a few.  Most are intended to point our hearts to the reason we celebrate CHRISTmas.

8.  Nutcracker Exchange ~ This started as a "Dirty Santa" gift exchange with the Mount family when they first moved near us some years back.  At that time, we gave just about anything...an old boat, a pregnant cat, a broken tool, or an outgrown toy.  This year, we made some changes.  To start with, we changed the name.  I just couldn't handle the old name one more year so now we have our "Nutcracker Exchange."  Yeah!  We also switched to exchanging food items.  This worked out great!  What were the most sought out items this year?  Dill pickles, Dr. Pepper and Coke disguised as reindeer made the top of list.  It was fun to think that when we first started this annual event with the Mount family, we had five less children between us and our crew was a lot shorter.  I am so glad we take a group photo each year to reflect back upon.

9.  The Unplanned ~  After our gift exchange, some of us went over to the Mount's to watch a movie with them...starting at 11:00 PM!  Very unplanned but lots of fun.  They had gotten a new movie that they thought would bless us and they were right.  We threw on pajamas, grabbed pillows, blankets and snacks and made ourselves comfortable.  So glad that no one had to go to work the next day!

10.  Jesus...The Reason for the Season!  Blesses our hearts to know that the entire reason we celebrate is because of Jesus.  There is no bigger blessing to be had!

We trust that your family was equally blessed this Christmas.  May your blessings be many, your memories sweet and your joy overflowing.

Grateful for ALL our Christmas Blessings,