A Little Break

Just to let you know I'm not dropping off the edge of the earth.  Rather, Dh is home for a few weeks of summer holiday.  It is a good time to step back and enjoy a break from lots of things that happen in regular life and blogging, for me, is one of those things.

I plan to catch up on a pile of reading.  I plan to stitch with Miss Mischief.  I plan to bead with Miss Sunshine. I plan to sit and enjoy a pot of tea with my husband and just enjoy sitting.  And I plan to watch Mr Busy wizz by on his bike or play with his cars and a new garage.

I'm going to enjoy this one last summer before I begin my degree.  One last summer of ignorant bliss.

To each of you who pop in here regularly, or stumble over my blog by accident, to each of you who leave your  precious comments and thoughts I want to thank you for what you add to my life and the joy you leave here for me. I look forward to catching up with you all next year. 

Wishing Each of You....

...a very joyous and blessed Christmas.

The List Complete: A Pictorial Tick-Off

I completed my list, all bar the cleaning in fine time yesterday. I even had an hour to sit and have a cuppa with a friend before spending the evening with my friend Rel's family and a couple of other friends as well. I can tell you, I was happy to sit!!!!

Let's see what I managed to do!

 

Two chickens, deboned and stuffed and all ready for the oven.  One has cranberry and lemon thyme, and one has apricot and parsley.

Here is the pork, stuffed and ready for the oven as well. This one is filled with cherry and bacon, with both lemon thyme and parsley within. Yum..can't wait.

A pavlova was the last thing into the oven, as it then sat to cool when its cooking time was done. I'm pretty sure my Granny, from whence the recipe comes, would indeed be proud that her mantle has been passed on successfully. And the rest of the family will continue to indulge with great enthusiasm and deligh.. This will be filled with lemon curd cream and topped with sliced stawberries.

Meat was prepared in various marinades and placed in the freezer.

I also baked two double batches of biscuits. Dh is home for a few weeks' holiday now, so having extra things to nibble on always helps avoid the demands that come out when hungry people can't just dip their hand into some vessel holding something delicious.

There you have it.  A very productive day spent in the kitchen!

Christmas Eve and the Long To-Do List

Can you believe that we've reach Christmas Eve already?  Again?!  I'd had such plans for a sedate week at home and thought I'd be all serene and calm today.  Rather, I've woken and decided a list must be made if I'm to stay sane!  Actually, I think it's not going to be so bad....but I need that list to keep my head on straight.  You know how it is ~ things fall out of your brain when you try to keep too much in there at once.

So...my list:

• debone & stuff two chickens and pork roast; roast them
• make double batches of choc chip bikkies and gingerbread
• make a pavlova
• prepare meat for the next week to freeze in marinades and such
• prepare for a BBQ dinner with friends
• clean the bathroom and sweep floors
• finish wrapping presents

The first half needs to be done this morning!  Just as well I'm an early riser.

Our Christmas Eve always ends with children in bed, presents and Christmas stockings placed under a glittering tree and a cup of tea whilst watching Carols by Candlelight.

To Santa or Not To Santa

It seems that this is the greatest modern controversy facing Christian parents.  It is a subject rarely spoken of without some very emotional responses when differing opinions collide within one family.

My husband and I both grew up in homes that included the Santa element of Christmas.  I think it was just what our parent's generation did, without much questioning.  It was simply the way Christmas was and few would have been inclined to veer from it.  A generation later the world had become quite a different place and as parents, we were being confronted with all manner of issues to scrutinise, including this one.  We chose to take Santa out of our Christmas, and I'll explain why in a moment.  Our choice did, however, cause a bit of a stir.  Once my parents returned to Victoria and my brothers began their families we realised that we'd made quite a controversial decision.  They all expressed some version of dismay that we would deprive our children of one of the most important things of Christmas and felt that we were judging their choice.  It was a sticky conversation and one I vowed never to repeat within my family. This year, it was raised in Dh's family.  Quietly.  Not amongst the large throng that is our family.  One member of the family was genuinely interested in why we made our choice.  One member of the family was horrified.  I chose to direct my comments to the one who had inquired and moved on quickly.

Neither my husband nor I made our choice based upon looking back over our childhoods and deciding things needed to be improved or that our parents had been less than diligent.  Certainly, that never entered my thinking as we considered what choice we would make concerning Santa.  Our choice to exclude Santa from our festivities was made for two reasons.

Firstly, we wanted to focus on the real reason for Christmas.  We wanted to be able to celebrate the birth of Christ with our children without having to navigate a maze of distractions in the process.  Our world is filled with opposing worldviews and religious sects that skew the Word of God just enough to confuse us.  For me, the wonder of Christmas is not a jolly old man in a red suit coming down my chimney (yes, I do have one!), but rather that God chose to send His son to us as a helpless and very human baby because He wanted us to have a very personal relationship with our Creator.  This post at Couragous Homekeeping includes an excerpt from 'God Came Near' by Max Lucado.  It is this sense of wonder that I most want my children to connect with.


Secondly we considered the issue of parental integrity.  Please don't misunderstand me here.  I'm not saying that my parents, or my in-laws, were not people of integrity.  As I mentioned, the world is a different place now than it was when we were young.  It is because of the changes in our society that this became something for us to consider when deciding on whether or not to have Santa.  It was (and still is) very important to me that our children know that we don't lie to them.  About anything.  Even things like Santa.  I believe that as we conduct ourselves, as parents, with an integrity and authenticity that is not swayed by popular culture our children will have an added measure of certainty in the way they are parented by us.  Of course they won't always like our decisions, but we will always have that firm foundation on which our children can rely.

Finally, I want to make one thing very clear.  I do not believe there is any judgement to be made based upon whether or not a family should include Santa in their festivities.  Whenever we disucss this with our children I am very concerned that they too refrain from making judgements and they receive very strict instructions not to spoil things for other families.  I believe this to be an issue of personal choice and should never be reduced to 'right' or 'wrong'. 

And just so you know, the kids still get a Christmas stocking and all of the fun that we enjoyed as children.  They don't miss out on a thing.

The Exciting Parts of Christmas

After experiencing the difficulties that precede Christmas, last week, we've had the joy of experiencing the wonderful things that come with it.  And all before Christmas Day itself!

We've had our Christmas celebration with one side of the family, including a 'family camp'.  Two full days of relaxing together and watching cousins play together happily, no matter whether they're 20 years old or four years old.  The X-Box is an amazing equaliser of ages!

About half the family tripped into Costco yesterday, as if we needed to further entertain ourselves.  We all got into our cars after a couple of hours declaring that to have been a fun outing.  Of course it included a very cost efficient lunch at the end, after a tour around the taste testing tables throughout the store, so of course, the non-shoppers amongst the children were placated throughout the trip.  I found my much-desired Cashew Clusters as well as a few other well-priced items.

And then last night, our family had our family Christmas present.  We went to see Mary Poppins.  What an amazing show.  Mr Busy had been quite dubious about swapping full-on Christmas for a seat at the theatre.  About half way through the first half he decided it was worth it.  When I inquired after their favourite parts, they each declared the whole thing magnificent and unable to pick out one bit.  Personally, the 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious' moment was my favourite.  A very intricate choreography accompanied the song and was 'practically perfectly' executed.  Of course, the whole thing was great and scattered with plenty of humour.  Verity Hunt-Ballard did a grand job of playing Mary Poppins and Matt Lee was the perfect Bert.  They did the roles justice and then some.

I think the kids will opt for a 'theatre Christmas' in the future if there is an opportunity to see something they'll enjoy.  It was a truly magical evening that was worth every cent.  Mr Busy is wandering about the house gently chanting "Mary Poppins" in a perfect English accent!

Now we're ready to rest.  And prepare for a simple Christmas at home.  Beautiful food, time together.  I found free sheet music for Amy Grant's 'Breath of Heaven'.  So whenever I need a little bit of focus for the true heart and reason for Christmas, I have it right there at my piano.

The Excruciating Part of Christmas

If you think this is going to be a whine about family, you're wrong!  Although for some of us this may be the most painful part of Christmas, I have found something far worse than any family disagreement.  And believe me, our families are not immune.

The most excruciating thing for me is shopping.  In December.  I've one stop left to make and I'm dreading it.  I only have to go into one store, but the thought of going anywhere near a shopping centre is not a pleasant thought.

I had to finish up 'main' gifts and buy food yesterday.  We arrived at 9.10am, when it was lovely and quiet.  Normal, even.  By the time we left two hours later the place was a zoo.  And not a pleasant experience like wandering about the beautiful Melbourne Zoo, or Healesville Sanctuary.  I came home exhausted.  The kind of exhaustion I felt the week after the Year 6 graduation, when I'd been at work full time for a few weeks without a day off.  Trouble is, I was only at the shops for two hours. Those two hours rendered me useless for the rest of the day!  By the time I got into the last supermarket I was nearly in tears....and not because Mr Busy was being his usual shopping-difficult self.  He was being completely lovely.

After yesterday's experience I'm appreciating some things and planning on making some changes .  The staff at Our School are a very generous group of people.  On the last two days of school, our pigeon holes need to be cleared constantly, for the gifts and cards that arrive there.  Chocolate is often the gift of choice.  But this year I received two little gifts that really spoke to me on many levels.  One was a card from TEAR that indicated the gift of school supplies had been purchased in my name.  I am still so excited about that gift that I keep going back to it to read the card!  The second was a little Christmas tree decoration, in the shape of a Christmas tree.  This decoration was so much more special, though.  It is made in Kenya under a project that tries to help people find alternative ways to earn income whilst preserving the native wildlife.  My beaded Christmas tree is absolutely exquisite.  As I hold it I wonder about the person (presumably a woman) who made it and I am in awe of the workmanship that went into this little piece.

Neither of these gifts are terribly expensive and yet they speak to my heart more than any other.  These are gifts that have built a community up, rather than tearing people apart as they selfishly push and shove their way around a shopping centre that is designed to relieve us of our money so that others can become richer.

So what am I going to change in my approach to gift purchasing next year?  Two things.

1. I am going to seek out gifts that build up and provide hope to the communities from which they come.
2. Like one of my colleagues, I will aim to be done by Grand Final Day.  This lady does all her shopping on Grand Final Day, when the shopping centres are empty.  Oh yes...that's my kind of shopping!

I realise that this is not a perfect world, and not every recipient will be receptive to the idea.  But where I can, that's where I'm aiming.

If you're after some ideas of organisations that sell gifts that make a difference, here's what I've found on my very quick little google search:
Beaded Hope
Baptist World Aid
World Vision
Care
Ethical Gifts
Compassion
Global Exchange Store

Please note, that I have not investigated each of these organisations and do not necessarily endorse their philosophies.  This list is merely an example of what is available.