Santa came and the kids were thrilled! Bryson got the Wii that he had been hoping for
and little Miss Macie was thrilled about the double baby stroller, car seat and diaper bag he left for her. She is all about playing with her babies right now!
Each year Cleve gets the kids a special gift that he picks out for them, this is very cool because they know that dad has picked it out for them, of course mom is doing the shopping for all other gifts! Anyway Macie got the Dance with me Baby that she had seen on TV....I have to say it's pretty creepy looking but she loves it!
and Bryson got a very special gift......all he has been talking about for the past two months is wanting a BB gun and some BB's we have been telling him that he is too young and he has to wait until he is 7. Cleve decided that he would get it for him, of course he is only allowed to take it out when dad is with him. So Cleve put him on a scavenger hunt around the house, he ended up upstairs with three presents, first to be unwrapped, the target, next the gun and finally BBs.
Bryson was overjoyed when he read "BB gun" on the packaging. He was SO excited to finally have one of his own and couldn't wait to go outside and use it!
He is getting so big so fast!
While daddy was distracted I ran and got his big present from me, a golf bag. It was very fun because he had no idea and thought we were done opening presents. I can't believe I pulled it off without him knowing!
We started a tradition last year, the last present to be opened is to Everyone and is "the greatest gift of all" of course it is Jesus!
Macie returned him to his Nativity scene, just a reminder of what Christmas truly is. The celebration of the incarnation and ultimately the sacrifice of Jesus dying on the cross to save us from our sins.
Pops and Dede came up to watch the kids open their presents, this year they brought a special visitor with them.
Peter is a missionary from Kenya, he flew in on Christmas Eve and this was his very first American Christmas experience. He was amazed by the whole thing as they don't have anything like this in Kenya. The joy on his face and his genuine excitement and sweet spirit were such a blessing to us.
It definitely was a humbling experience for Cleve and I. Put a lot of things into perspective. We were humbled by his sweet spirit, he had the joy of Christ oozing from him. He kept saying this is the best day, this is the best day. He was taking pictures of us opening our presents and soaking it all in. He lives in a world full of poverty and orphans, they look at Americans and think that we are so blessed to live in the land of opportunity, our lives are so great. How much we take for granted. How we are blessed beyond measure and still want more and more of what this world has to offer, though the accumulating of stuff is not what it's all about. It's a never ending cycle. There is such freedom in letting go of what we hold on to so tightly, such freedom in humbling ourselves and helping those who are in need. The bible says to whom much is given much is required and my eyes were opened to the fact that there is so much more that I can and should be doing, not because I have to but because I want to be more like Christ and I want to.
I'm not sure how it will all play out, what it means for our family but it was a beautiful wonderful message to receive on Christmas!
