I was glad to get our Christmas letter and family photo completed and at the post office on Christmas Eve day. Every year around Thanksgiving I think about our family letter and I threaten not to write one because it becomes all consuming and sometimes seems pointless. I put it off until the week of Christmas this year.
Deep down I really believe that writing a letter to tell the praises of the Lord from our family's view is priceless. On the other hand, I wonder how much impact such a letter can have on people who know us and who are mostly saved.
When I look back over the letters from the last eleven years I cannot keep myself from weeping tears of gratitude. And that is why I continue to write them. God has been faithful to our family. Day to day can seem long and unfruitful. But the overview from year to year is beautiful. God is weaving a lovely tapestry with our lives intertwined with the lives of others. That makes it worth writing about.
Instead of ordering photocards, I saved the money and made our own collage on Picasa and had it printed in multiples. We used the second collage below, but I really liked them both. Honestly, there were many drafts. After many remakes I narrowed it down to these two. The snow made a nice background for the individual photos. The girls put snow in their hair since it had just stopped when I came out with the camera and they liked the effect.
The message in the middle is: Rejoicing in Emmanuel, The Butler Family 2010
Unfortunately our holiday was full of family illness. Mild. Yet continuously recycling. We didn't have any plans to travel or really visit anyone, but it was a disappointment to be completely quarantined. "Why can't we have a normal Christmas?" was one child's question. I had to remind her that hanging out at home reading Christmas stories, eating, listening to music and opening gifts is normal. We've done many different things at Christmas, but generally we spend the Day together at home. The young adults in our home think that everything has to be shared with friends or extended family in order to be special. We are trying to instill gratitude for our everyday blessings.
Reading Jotham's Journey, Tabitha's Travels, or Bartholomew's Passage during the Advent season has become our one sustaining tradition. It continues to be exciting and meaningful. I highly recommend all three books. You can only read one at a time and even if you reread them, there are enough lessons for the listeners to last a lifetime.
We were thankful to find a nice tree on Black Friday to replace our last artificial tree. Bob was so very sweet and manly to buy it at O dark o'clock on a great sale! He's my hero. He took Kendal to work at 5:45 and made it to Garden Ridge by six and then to work.
I don't like artificial trees at all but it really is nice to get a tree out of the attic versus lugging it home in the rain every year. Saving the $40 is important too. Last year we didn't have a tree at all and the children really balked. I don't blame them. I was pregnant and just didn't really want to do all the work, nor spend the money. They claimed it didnt' feel like Christmas. (Much later in the year they said they didn't really like having gifts of mechanical pencils and underwear either and that generally it was not a good Christmas.) Rather than being offended or shocked, I tried to make improvements this year. A new 9 foot tree was a good start.
Bob and the children assembled the tree and decorated it themselves! I nursed Joshua. I took some pictures. I played the Christmas tunes. I am thankful that I no longer need to organize every branch and ornament.
This past Saturday Bob and the children put it all away while I nursed the baby! I love this even more! I came out from our room and the den was cleared of it all! I am letting go of many areas of control. Now I wonder where I found the energy to run everything in the past! It is so wonderful to eat a meal that I didn't cook. I love opening my drawers to find clean clothes that I didn't put away. Enjoy a room that I didn't clean.
I am still very busy!!! It's a different sort of busy though. I used to perform all the manual labor of raising a family and cleaning house (except for being the sole breadwinner, of course). I also used to be the only disciplinarian and cook. And so on...I am still nursing a baby six to eight times a day. Training a two year old to obey. Keeping a four year old busy and content. Teaching primary school grades. Organizing our menus. Washing/drying our clothes. Managing all the stuff. Teaching Morning bible study after breakfast. Music lessons. Art lessons. Sewing lessons. Knitting lessons. Computer lessons. Now I've added highschool courses. Career counseling. Premarital courses. Chauffeur. And so forth.
It's less physical and much more mental. I sit more yet I am more likely to feel overwhelmed or discouraged. I've concluded that youth has some benefits. Zeal and enthusiasm are two perfect examples. I had a seemingly endless supply while our first four or five children were coming along. Sadly with that zeal comes a desire to control everything and that equals doing practically everything. I've mellowed. I'm glad. I haven't lowered my standards, atleast not the important ones. Hopefully my family feels more grace and less tension. I am sure my extended family used to think I was really uptight and a perfectionist. If I was, I am not not anymore. And Christmas is nicer because of it. So are family relationships and family vacations. I'm going to try to find more areas to let go of this year.
My focus for 2011 is to LOVE LIKE CHRIST! Of course it will take a lifetime to perfect but I'm going start now. More on other goals for 2011 next time...
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