Merry Christmas!

We've never sent out Christmas cards or a baby announcement in the mail. So with a December baby, I thought it would be the perfect year to do both! Well, I overestimated our abilities or underestimated our limitations (especially with a newborn in the home). We still feel like we are in "survival mode" most of the time, so we're going to settle with a Christmas greeting/thought here on our blog.

As parents, we have enjoyed teaching our girls about Christmas, and seeing their excitement for the season grow. We are always looking for ways to reward them for good behavior. So earlier in the month, we thought it would be fun to help them earn money to buy Christmas gifts for each other. Every time they were obedient, said nice words or helped clean up messes, we gave them a coin to put in their piggy banks. This was very effective at first, but before long, we worried that there was too much focus on money.

Luckily, we had a flash of inspiration during a FHE lesson about Jesus' birth. We talked about gifts that we could give Jesus for his birthday, such as obeying our parents, treating others kindly, and keeping our house clean (the same things they were earning money for). We decided to make a manger for our baby Jesus to lay in, and each time we did something that would make Jesus happy, we could put a piece of straw in for his bed. It felt so much better to shift the focus back to Christ, even in just this one aspect of our lives.

We are grateful for Christmas, and the chance to celebrate Christ's birth for an entire month. As we think of gifts we could give Christ, we can't help but recognize that HE is the ultimate gift-giver. All the blessings in our life have come from our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. We have been given the gift of life, and the chance to return to our Father after this life. We have agency to decide and act for ourselves each day. We have been given commandments, as instructions on how to be happy and how to return to God. Our merciful Father has given His Son, so that we can repent for our sins, and still find ourselves worthy to return to Him. We have been given the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, along with the scriptures, the priesthood, and a living prophet. We are given the opportunity as families to be sealed in the Holy Temple, and the hope that we can be together forever.

It is quite humbling to think of all the gifts that Christ has given us. And then even more sobering to try to think of the gifts we can give Him. Elder Maxwell taught that "The submission of one's will is really the only uniquely personal thing we have to place on God's altar. . . . It is the only possession which is truly ours to give." ("Swallowed Up in the Will of the Father" Nov 1995 Ensign). How convenient, that just one week after Christmas, we begin a new year. Each year, we try to be a little better than the year before. We try to give up our sins and overcome our weaknesses. We try to follow Christ more fully.

We've enjoyed having contact with so many friends and family this Christmas season. We have been reminded how much the Lord has blessed us, just has he has blessed each of you. We hope your holidays have been memorable, and that the light of Christ has been felt in your homes.