I am currently student teaching at a wonderful school where we can openly discuss and teach about the birth the Jesus. It felt great to be able to see my parents a week after graduation and spend more than two days with them over Christmas. Plus I was able to bring Josh home and we could share in some of my family's traditions! We spent time with family and relaxed (maybe too much!).
Let me share with you some of our family's traditions:
- Movies: It's a Wonderful Life is watched every Christmas Eve. I watch White Christmas at least twice and sing along and can probably quote the whole thing. Mom normally has Christmas Carol on starting December 1st until the New Year. We always squeeze in [the old] Miracle on 34th Street. Josh's family always watches a Christmas Story, so I guess I need to fit that in now too!
- Presents: We always open presents on Christmas morning. Ever since I was little, I had to make a pact with my parents that I would not wake them up before 7. So basically every year, I wake up starting at 4 and then every hour until I think it's an acceptable time. To stretch out waking them up - I'll start the cinnamon rolls and coffee! **And yes even though I'm now 22 the same pact gets made every year and this Christmas Eve I got a total of 6 hours of sleep.** We always open our stockings after the dogs get to open their gifts. We open our stockings slowly and enjoy all the little treasures of candy, gift cards, soaps, and more. Then I get to play "Santa's elf" and pass out all the gifts under the tree to the people they belong to. And then it's basically a free for all to see who can make the biggest wrapping paper mess while Dad slowly reads each gift very carefully and tries to preserve the wrapping paper. While Dad continues to unwrap gifts, Mom and I are showing off what we got, getting a second cup of coffee, trying on our new clothes, playing with dogs and finally Dad finishes.
- Christmas Day: Christmas Day is usually shared with my grandparents. We open presents in the morning and lounge in our pajamas for a few hours before finally deciding to clean up and go get them. We have plenty of appetizers out while mom gets the grandparents. Once they arrive they open their gifts while the dogs are so psyched to have more people over. Normally there are Christmas movies on or maybe a new movie someone opened. My sister may join us if she is in town and then there is a big family dinner complete with pie. And for added effect, we all just stay in our new pajamas and slippers for the whole day.
- Christmas Eve: On Christmas Eve, we always attend our church's service. A few times we went to two services because both services are great, but then it slowly became just one. We have attended the early and late service and we equally love both. We always loved the late service because it was more intimate and quiet. We also love the early service because then we get to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! These church services are apart of who we are and we won't miss it!
What made this year extra special?
At the beginning of this post, I already hinted at a few thing that made this year a little extra special and I want to tell you more about them.
I didn't go home for Thanksgiving this year (which I was totally okay with!) but it is always different learning about another family's traditions. I love spending Christmas at home and so I was very thankful to share Christmas with my future husband and family. I loved getting to see my grandparents, visit with friends, see my nephews who are now taller than me and laugh with family. It was fun explaining and sharing what our traditions are and deciding what we want our future traditions to be. I'm glad I was able to spend more time with my parents considering I'll soon have a grown-up job and won't always get to come home! I got to feel like a kid again and enjoy Christmas like I always have.
Christmas was also special this year because of the school I am currently student teaching at. As you know, I am going to school for Lutheran education and this placement is a Lutheran school. Watching my students and the whole school recites Luke 2 (the birth account of Jesus) brought tears to my eyes. They did a wonderful job at sharing the birth of Jesus. They were so excited to sing Christmas hymns and genuinely wanted to share the story of Jesus with others. I had many students tell me that they wanted to share the love and story of Jesus with their other friends, family, and neighbors. They were so excited for the Christmas season because they know that Jesus is born and He will (and did) save His people from their sins. There is nothing more powerful than understanding this message and see your students understand this message - and then actually want to share it with others!
There's nothing quite like fully appreciating what God has done for you all over again and seeing others proclaiming the good news. There's nothing quite like sharing this joy with family while you spend time together. Christmas always holds a special place in my heart and I am so glad this year was a little extra special ❤
“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Luke 2
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