“The heart of her, that beat against my own
The love of her, out-breathed in every tone
The eyes of her, that saw my smallest grief
The feet of her, that flew to my relief
The hands of her, that mind and body fed
The voice of her, that soothed and comforted
The ears of her, that heard my childish plaint
The face of her, with halo like a saint
The lips of her, that smiled her motherhood
The mind of her, my own that understood
The prayers of her-Oh, I would worthy be
Of all my mother was, and is, to me.”
-Ida Scott Taylor
Enjoying the model train and village at Swanson Nursery before seeing their resident camel and reindeers.
With Christmas soon approaching, I’ve been thinking a lot about how the responsibility to make the Christmas “magic” has fallen to me. It makes sense, I’m not working, I have time. I’ve tried to get Scotter and Tom on board, often asking at dinner “So, what should we do for Christmas?” Usually, their response is one of excitement for the upcoming holiday, but before any concrete plans are made or suggestions given the conversation lapses back into dinosaurs, or an exclamation of fatigue by Tom. Their expectation is that the holiday will be fun filled and exciting, but I know that unless I go about planning and preparing for such, it will feel like nothing more than a long weekend, and an probably a let down considering the sentimental build-up. At first I felt a little put out by this, why can’t they chip in, but then I thought, Hey, how fun! I get to orchestrate this lovely weekend for the two people I love most. Amazingly, this quick change of perspective has resulted in some very “magical moments” already. I’ve been eagerly moving the Wise men each night, and early this week for the first time Scotland woke up and excitedly exclaimed “Mom, they moved!” This thrill has continued as each morning he finds them in a new spot, closer to Christ.
A few days ago I spent his nap time finishing up some homemade gifts, and wrapping presents. When he woke up and discovered the bright red and white polka dot boxes under the tree. He called me up “Mom! Look! Presents!” He asked, “Is the big present for Daddy?” We walked over to the tree, sat down and read on the two smaller packages To: Tom, Love, Cherry and on the large box “To: Scotland Love: Mom and Dad” As soon as I said it he got a huge smile on his face and gave me a tight hug, saying “I love you Mom!” when I read the same from another wrapped gift he hugged me again. Having spoken earlier about how we try to keep secrets so that others will be surprised when they opened our gifts, he said as we walked away to play. “Mom, I’m so surprised!”
A few days ago I made Scotter a Christmas tie in preparation for Christmas Sunday and ironed Tom’s white shirt and put out his red tie as well. Today seeing my two favorite guys so festively dressed brought joy to my heart. And I was glad I took the time to make this Sunday “special.”
Scotland and I have been talking about the Nativity story for weeks at breakfast (when we always do a “scripture story.”) This week for FHE we had Scotland give the lesson. He proudly held up his picture of the nativity and used our plastic nativity set to tell the story (with a lot of help) Tom was impressed by his understanding of the story, and I was thrilled that this beautiful story was taking heart in my son.
We’re preparing for our own enactment of the nativity tomorrow. Scotland is hoping he gets to play Mary- because that means he gets to ride a donkey and hold a baby. (Plus he watched me play Mary today for the Primary nativity, so I think he’s particularly entranced by the role.) Tonight, as I told him how we’d need to find costumes for all the roles, he excitedly pulled his blanket over his head, and had me do the same. He was Mary and I, Joseph. He thought his brown blanket would work for Dad- as the donkey. These simple exchanges have brought the spirit into our home.
A friend of mine arranged for the making of “blessing bags” to hand out to the homeless. Last week as we were driving around one day we saw a man holding a sign “Hungry, Please help.” Excitedly, I pointed him out to Scotland, grabbed a bag and handed it to him and opened the back window. The man walked over, leaned in the window and Scotland handed him the bag. The man thanked him graciously. Saying “God bless you! You are a such a kind boy.”
I’ve been so grateful for the simplicity of my life right now because it has allowed for the true “magic” of Christmas to bless our home. I’ve been waking up at 5:00am the last few days out of sheer excitement for our Christmas stay-cation. Most of it is that it’s been a long time since we’ve had more than a few days with Tom, but I’m also just excited to make the Christmas magic for my family. I wake up eager to make cinnamon rolls, turn on Christmas music, and talk about the nativity. We’re two days down, three days to go. Can’t wait! Merry Christmas, all!