Happy Christmas to All...and to All a Good Night!

Today marks our first Christmas as a married couple and a family. 4 out of 5 kids are here for almost two weeks and they've hardly been able to contain their excitement over today. The three year old fretted for two days over Santa's method of entry into our house, (we don't have a chimney), the eight and twelve year old speculated about their gifts, the nine year old arrived this morning, and my husband and I worried about how little was piled under the tree. Starting out in a new situation is always hard, even when you're grown. I was a single mom living with her parents because of some not-so-wise decisions and financially flying by the seat of my pants. My husband was recovering from a bad relationship. Needless to say, things have been pretty tight this year, but we're getting settled and we didn't let it ruin our holiday spirit. However, we got a little down because we got a little bit caught up in the material side of things and whether or not the kids were getting enough. The reality of it is, our kiddos have plenty. They have two households a piece that love them and care for them without the expected bickering and condescension that spans products of divorce. They know we talk and stand together on decisions and whatever else is in their best interest.

So, this year, at our house, we started the tradition of "one thing you want, one thing you need, one thing to wear and one thing to read." Each child received four gifts each, and they received a group gift to be enjoyed together. There wasn't piles of expensive presents. There wasn't mounds of wrapping paper. Everything was opened in 20 minutes. In that moment, in the midst of them tearing into their gifts and the "oh, cool!" I learned something from my children today. realized that it doesn't take gobs of money to make Christmas. It doesn't take the latest and greatest things to make them happy, and therefore we don't need to place so much focus on it. This Christmas for us wouldn't qualify as most people's definition of a "good" Christmas. However, for me, I wouldn't have it any other way. Through all of this, they are Bing taught how to be content with what you have, and how to spend your life being able to see past the end of your nose. 

Merry Christmas, everybody!