Thanksgiving, Camera Hog and Christmas Traditions

Hey there!
We are back from spending Thanksgiving in Texas. We had a great time with both families. The special treat was getting to spend time with Jean and Wally Hunton (Stephen's grandparents) and Retha Deyoe (my grandmother). Both sets of grandparents were visiting from out of town. The weather was pretty cold and rainy, perfect lazy weather!

I have titled this blog "Camera Hog" because Stephen is hogging the camera so I can't post any pics. He is editing them all right now on his computer and then will let me post/send them out. He says editing a picture is the only way to do it. I guess from an artist's standpoint this must be true, but I'm not very patient about this one.

Okay, wow! So Christmas is here. I got down the Christmas stockings today. Kinda concerned Adler may be able to pull them off, so may need to find a way to secure them. Also deciding what to do about a tree. I really want a tree in the house, but also wondering if my little monkey might try to climb it? On a deeper note, Stephen and I have been kicking around different ideas of what we want Christmas to be like in our house. Stuff like - what traditions will we do? - what will we teach? -what will we focus on? - what will we down play?

One tradition we have already started is that each family member must write a note to each other and put them in each other's Christmas stocking. I think this is a fun idea because families are sometimes not good about expressing verbally the way they feel about each other - and a letter is a perfect opportunity. I think it will also be fun to keep them over the years. Maybe Adler's first letter to me will be a crayon marks, but how fun will that be to have?

Another tradition we plan to implement is adopt a child in need for Christmas. I think this will be a good way to have our children think of others in a time that can be very self centered and "more" focused. It will also be a fun family outing to pick out gifts for the individual. Not sure what this will look like down the road (maybe become a year round thing?), but definitely something we will do.

Adler is too young for "Santa", so I still have some time to figure this one out. I have mixed thoughts on the Santa character. Yes, it's fun, silly, imaginative, etc. And I'm definitely not one of those that thinks Santa=Satan in any shape or form. However, I do think that the world around us can use the "Characteristics" of Christmas to distract from the real reason we are celebrating this season. I really want to keep the birth of Christ as the center of Christmas in our home, while keeping it a fun atmosphere. But I also don't want our kids to say "Santa Claus what's that? Who's he?" (any body know what movie quote that was from? my money is rylie will be the first to respond) I'm also not sure how you go from "pretending" about Santa to "Santa is not real" with your kids. I guess we all did it, but I wouldn't pretend about other stuff or tell Adler something and then a couple years later tell him that all that stuff I told him wasn't real. I don't know, maybe I'm taking this too seriously? Thoughts? Any family traditions in your home you enjoy?