Doing the whole Santa thing was something I wrestled with before Anna came along. I don't want Christmas to be all about Santa, presents, and getting. I want it to be what it's really about. I'm going to throw a Jesus grenade here: Keep CHRIST in Christmas! I guess it doesn't really matter this year; I've got another year to wrestle with it since Anna doesn't quite understand anything yet. But as Christmas nears, I'm reminded of how much I loved Christmas growing up. I loved believing in Santa. I mean, I was 10 (basically in middle school!) before I really stopped believing, and even then I was sad to not believe anymore. I think deep down I knew for a while before I was 10 it was my parents stuffing our stockings, placing all our toys under the tree, and consuming the milk and cookies (I should've known when my mom always suggested putting out oatmeal raisin instead of chocolate chip!), I just wasn't ready to stop believing. After I stopped believing I even kept it alive for my younger siblings instead of telling them like a lot of older siblings do. But along with Santa my parents made sure to share the real meaning of Christmas. They told me about Jesus, about how he came as a baby born of a virgin to bring the world back to His Father. Christmas began to mean more to me as I grew older and learned more about Jesus and felt Him living inside of me, especially knowing the real gift given and what it means for everyone. While Santa was a great thought and fun while I was younger, I couldn't deny Jesus' existence. My prayer is that my daughter won't be able to either.
As of this Christmas we're kind of doing the Santa thing. Well, at least getting pictures with him. I still have another year to decide what we're going to do exactly. I would hate to not give my daughter the opportunity to believe in something that brought me so much joy as a little girl. So for now, Santa lives and he's coming to town!
Classic cousin picture. Each kid is doing something hilarious! Before the picture was taken Anna was pulling Santa's beard! Guess we'll see if she gets coal in her stocking this year :)
She looks so tiny on Santa's lap!
Telling Santa what she wants :)
anna! she's so cute!!! ahhh!!! what an awesome santa! he looks so jolly and real! i can't get over how adorable she is. seriously! i'm so glad you guys had a good time :)
ReplyDeleteThanks! He was so real! When Anna was pulling on his beard we thought he was saying "ho, ho, ho!", he was definitely saying, "oh, oh, oh, my beard!" haha!
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