Christmas

The great thing about having kids, is seeing Christmas through their eyes. And I have always been a big kid, but now I get to take it to an entirely new level.  For the last few years, usually during church (Lord, please forgive me), I would email Norad to find out where Santa was and when he would be stopping by my house.  And no, I never disclosed the fact that I was an adult emailing NORAD for myself.  NORAD does a great job with this and does an outstanding service of providing information to little kids or in my case, an adult.  And yes, I did download the NORAD Santa Tracker for my iPhone so that I could keep constant watch about Santa’s whereabouts.

If you have never taken the time to read the story about NORAD Santa Tracker, please take a few minutes to do so, by clicking here.

And please visit their site here and download their apps if you have a smart phone. I know, that I’ll be emailing them to get an update Monday night to find out where Santa is and when he will be stopping in my area.

 

 

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I know that the boys are still way too young to have the first clue about Christmas, but for the first time in years, I’m really looking forward to it.

I don’t know who will be the bigger kid, me or them on Christmas morning?

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Today was everything that I had hoped. The boys had a great Christmas day, we went to church as a family, we were able to see and spend a lot of time today with family and friends as well. And isn’t that what Christmas is all about?

As I reflect on the year thus far, we have been truly blessed. We have our health, we have two wonderful and healthy boys and we have a wonderful support system.

I am taking the rest of the week off to spend time with the boys and family. So from my family to yours, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Years.

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As I type this out today, I sit with excitement in anticipation of my sons 1st Christmas. The boys will have no memory of tonight. We will take the boys to church tonight for the Christmas Eve Family Service at 5pm, then we will feed them, put them down at 7pm and then I will return to church at 11pm for the late service. The 11pm Christmas Eve service that I started attending when years ago and it is just a tradition that I will continue as long as I live.

And to keep with tradition, I am pretty sure that I’ll be checking on Santa’s progress with NORAD throughout the night, I just never disclose that I am 35 when I email and ask for updates of when Santa will be in our area. I can’t help it, I’m a big kid too. I’ll stay up late watching It’s A Wonderful Life when I return from church after midnight and fall asleep sometime after 3am. A few hours of sleep is all I will need, as I can not wait until Christmas morning and seeing the boys play with new their toys.

From my family to yours, Merry Christmas.

 

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What does the true meaning of Christmas for you? Is it giving gifts or others or receiving gifts? Maybe you are like me and would rather receive nothing, but give to those less fortunate.

I watched the movie about Dax Locke and his mother’s goal of raising $1.7 million dollars to run St. Jude’s for 1 day in Dax’s memory. We are going to contribute, will you? Here is the link to read more about Dax Locke and be sure to get a copy of Matthew West’s song The Heart of Christmas. This movie will change your life.

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As I’ve stated previously, we are on a budget this year and for years to come. Our financial goals have changed and we have to change with them. We now are trying to pay down debt and save for the boys future, so our view of Christmas shopping had to change as well.  In a day in time where our society is over spending, we decided to take a different approach.

With only 10 days away from Christmas, my wife and I decided that this year we are giving photos of the boys to our immediate family. To save money, we took the photos, had them printed for about $0.10 a piece and then bought frames, which were on sale. Then for the rest of our friends and family, we decided to have people over for dinner one weekend. As we get older, the need to receive a gift lessens and the need to be with friends and family increases.

With this being our boys first Christmas, we have decided to get them a few small things, as we have found out that their grandparents will be getting them the more expensive toys. I think that it is more important to spend less on them this year, when they don’t really understand what Christmas is yet.

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