Cuteness is not enough. There must be cake!: December 2013

DECEMBER 2013

Oh, December!! December, though cold, is a magical month. The cold and snow isn't as offensive to me during this month and my guess is because it's Christmas time. From December 1st to December 25th I'm actually okay with the snow. I've lived in Utah all of my life and so I'm used to a White Christmas. Therefore, it's not Christmas unless there is snow on the ground. On December 26th I am done with the snow and want spring to arrive. I love going to Christmas parties, I love opening my door and finding goodies on the porch, I love making fudge and other Christmas goodies, I love decorating the house, I love Christmas carols, I love Christmas stories, and I love Christmas break....two weeks of sleeping in!! In case any of you were wondering, I am NOT a morning person!! December is joyous and happy.

I made this for my mom one year. I haven't made one for me yet. I need to to that.

I'm very particular about celebrating my holidays. I want to make October through November last as long as I can. I, therefore, REFUSE under any circumstances to purchase, decorate, or think about any holiday before the one coming up has been celebrated. I WILL NOT buy anything remotely Halloween related in September nor will I decorate until October 1st. November 1st, the Halloween decorations come down and the Thanksgiving goes up. I WILL NOT buy anything remotely Christmas related until after Thanksgiving Day. I refuse to listen to Christmas music before Thanksgiving. November is dedicated to being thankful and celebrating all of my many blessings. The first Saturday after Thanksgiving I take down Thanksgiving and put up Christmas, and turn on the Christmas music. I also refuse to go Black Friday shopping, to me it's become a day where the true meaning of Christmas and Thanksgiving have been forgotten and we are consumed with our gluttony and fighting.

Christmas is my all time number ONE favorite holiday of them all!! I just LOVE Christmas. I love all of the beautiful decorations. I love the lights. What is it that I love about spring and summer the most (besides the heat that is)? It's the flowers and the colors. Christmas is like the winter version of spring and summer. There are pretty colored lights and decorations that brighten up the dreariness of winter. It's happy and wonderful. One of my favorite things to do is drive around and see all of the lights.

I love celebrating the birth of Jesus. I love thinking of the miracle of his birth and how angels sang, a new star appeared, shepherds came and worshiped at his feet, and the wise men who traveled from a far off land to bring him gifts. The birth of Jesus ushered in the most important events in human history. One of my favorite Christmas songs is "Mary Did You Know".

"Mary Did You Know"
(originally by Mark Lowry (lyrics ) and Buddy Greene (melody ))

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy has come to make you new?
This Child that you delivered will soon deliver you.

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy will calm the storm with His hand?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy has walked where angels trod?
When you kiss your little Baby you kissed the face of God?

Mary did you know.. Ooo Ooo Ooo

The blind will see.
The deaf will hear.
The dead will live again.
The lame will leap.
The dumb will speak
The praises of The Lamb.

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would one day rule the nations?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?
The sleeping Child you're holding is the Great, I Am.

I love the idea of Santa Claus. I don't like the over commercialized Santa, as a matter of fact, I greatly dislike how over Commercialized Christmas in general has become. I know that some people hate Christmas because of that. I refuse to allow the over commercialism of Christmas cloud my feelings about Christmas. I will always march to the beat of a different drummer and celebrate Christmas in my own way and according to my desires. The Santa Claus I love is the Santa that represents the pure love of Christ. I love that Santa is selfless, caring, and loves all people, children especially. There's magic to that. Jesus loves the children, he gathered them around his knee. He prayed for them, and he blessed them. If Jesus Christ lived and died for me, and loves me so much to suffer and die for me, then Santa is very real. Not the Santa in the North Pole with his elves and toy shops, but the Santa that thinks nothing of himself but only thinks of others. The Santa that brings joy and happiness to the whole world. It's the spirit of Santa that is real. There's a Christmas story that I love called, "Teach The Children"

Late one Christmas Eve, I sank back, tired but content, into my easy chair. The kids were in bed, the gifts were wrapped, the milk and cookies waited by the fireplace for Santa. As I sat back admiring the tree with its decorations, I couldn't help feeling that something important was missing. It wasn't long before the tiny twinkling tree lights lulled me to sleep.

I don't know how long I slept, but all of a sudden I knew that I wasn't alone. I opened my eyes, and you can imagine my surprise when I saw Santa Claus himself standing next to my Christmas tree. He was dressed all in fur from his head to his foot just as the poem described him, but he was not the "jolly old elf" of Christmas legend. The man who stood before me looked sad and disappointed, and there were tears in his eyes.

"Santa, what's wrong?" I asked, "Why are you crying?"

"It's the children," Santa replied sadly.

"But Santa, the children love you," I said.

"Oh, I know they love me, and they love the gifts I bring them," Santa said, "but the children of today seem to have somehow missed out on the true spirit of Christmas. It's not their fault. It's just that the adults, many of them not having been taught themselves, have forgotten to teach the children."

"Teach them what?" I asked.

Santa's kind old face became soft, more gentle. His eyes began to shine with something more than tears. He spoke softly. "Teach the children the true meaning of Christmas. Teach them that the part of Christmas we can see, hear, and touch is much more than meets the eye. Teach them the symbolism behind the customs and traditions of Christmas which we now observe. Teach them what it is they truly represent."

Santa reached into his bag and pulled out a tiny Christmas tree and set it on my mantle. "Teach them about the Christmas tree. Green is the second color of Christmas. The stately evergreen, with its unchanging color, represents the hope of eternal life in Jesus. Its needles point heavenward as a reminder that mankind's thoughts should turn heavenward as well."

Santa reached into his bag again and pulled out a shiny star and placed it at the top of the small tree. "The star was the heavenly sign of promise. God promised a Savior for the world and the star was the sign of the fulfillment of that promise on the night that Jesus Christ was born. Teach the children that God always fulfills His promises, and that wise men still seek Him."

"Red," said Santa, "is the first color of Christmas." He pulled forth a red ornament for the tiny tree. "Red is deep, intense, vivid. It is the color of the life-giving blood that flows through our veins. It is the symbol of God's greatest gift. Teach the children that Christ gave His life and shed His blood for them that they might have eternal life. When they see the color red, it should remind them of that most wonderful Gift."

Santa found a silver bell in his pack and placed it on the tree. "Just as lost sheep are guided to safety by the sound of the bell, it continues to ring today for all to be guided to the fold. Teach the children to follow the true Shepherd, who gave His life for the sheep."

Santa placed a candle on the mantle and lit it. The soft glow from its one tiny flame brightened the room. "The glow of the candle represents how people can show their thanks for the gift of God's Son that Christmas Eve long ago. Teach the children to follow in Christ's foot steps... to go about doing good. Teach them to let their light so shine before people that all may see it and glorify God. This is what is symbolized when the twinkling lights shine on the tree like hundreds of bright, shining candles, each of them representing one of God's precious children, their light shining for all to see."

Again Santa reached into his bag and this time he brought forth a tiny red and white striped cane. As he hung it on the tree he spoke softly. "The candy cane is a stick of hard white candy: white to symbolize the virgin birth and sinless nature of Jesus, and hard to symbolize the Solid Rock the foundation of the church, and the firmness of God's promises. The candy cane is in the form of a 'J' to represent the precious name of Jesus, who came to earth. It also represents the Good Shepherd's crook, which He uses to reach down into the ditches of the world to lift out the fallen lambs who, like all sheep, have gone astray. The original candy cane had three small red stripes, which are the stripes of the scourging Jesus received by which we are healed, and a large red stripe that represents the shed blood of Jesus, so that we can have the promise of eternal life."

"Teach these things to the children."

Santa brought out a beautiful wreath made of fresh, fragrant greenery tied with a bright red bow. "The bow reminds us of the bond of perfection, which is love. The wreath embodies all the good things about Christmas for those with eyes to see and hearts to understand. It contains the colors of red and green and the heaven-turned needles of the evergreen. The bow tells the story of good will towards all and its color reminds us of Christ's sacrifice. Even its very shape is symbolic, representing eternity and the eternal nature of Christ's love. It is a circle, without beginning and without end. These are the things you must teach the children."

I asked, "But where does that leave you, Santa?"

The tears gone now from his eyes, a smile broke over Santa's face. "Why bless you, my dear," he laughed,

"I'm only a symbol myself. I represent the spirit of family fun and the joy of giving and receiving. If the children are taught these other things, there is no danger that I'll ever be forgotten."

"I think I'm beginning to understand."

"That's why I came," said Santa. "You're an adult. If you don't teach the children these things, then who will?"

After Christmas ends, the next holiday waiting around the corner is New Years Eve. New Years Eve ranks in at #15. I guess the reason for that is that nothing big or grand happens when the clock strikes mid-night. Sure it's the start of the new year, but all that really happens is that the passage of time continues on. Sure, people look at it as a fresh start but what is it a start to? Some people continue with the same struggles they are having. I guess for me, New Years Eve is an end, and end to the magic of December. It's time to put away the pretty lights and decorations, leaving the dreary winter in it's wake. It signifies that January is here and I really dislike January. I remember as a child begging my mom and dad to let me stay up to see, what I thought, would be some big magical fanfare when the new year began. When nothing big and magical happened, I was very disappointed and have never really cared for New Year's since. I do like New Year's Eve for one small reason. I love getting together with family and friends to play games, visit, and eat lots of treats.

For eleven years now, New Year's Eve has taken on a whole new meaning for me. New Year's Eve is only secondary to me. What is most important and very special about December 31st is that it is the day my daughter, Live Wire, was born. I always make sure that we celebrate her birthday first and foremost before any kind of New Years celebrations happen. Celebrating her birth is more important to me than anything else.

So what, may you ask, happened for our family in December 2013?

Little Red June Bug turned six months old.