Easter Sunday

"They" predicted rain for Easter Morning. As the week progressed "they" kept changing, and changing and changing...and sure enough we awoke on Easter AM to beautiful sunny blue skies and warm weather. I was so thrilled - a perfect day to celebrate the risen Christ!

Okay - I have to admit - I was also thrilled that my girls could wear their cute little Easter dresses and sandels without having to bundle them up. (It still is sometimes all about me! lol)

After a glorious Easter service where God was glorified again and again we traveled north to a friend's house for Easter dinner. Kathy is the mother of one of my dearest friends - Julie. For the past 20+ years I have been welcomed in their homes and lives for numerous holiday and personal celebrations. For many of those years I spent those celebrations chasing and playing with one or all of my four godchildren. That day there was a little bit of payback occuring as I got to sit and chat with the adults while my godchildren entertained my little ones!

My girls love to be outside. They kept the kids busy going in and out of the doors - Lizzie only tried to walk through the deck screen once. :) Quick learner.

  

They had an egg hunt for the kids. Bekah LOVED it. She has a good eye and found many more than she was supposed to so we snuck some into Lizzie's basket so it was fair. She didn't mind as long as she could keep looking.

"Grandma Kathy" bought them each Easter baskets. Bekah's was a brown puppy dog; Lizzie's was a hippo. What was so funny was that Bekah's "security" is a brown puppy she calls "Favorite Puppy" and Lizzie's nighttime friend is a Hippo - how's that for perfect!

Rebekah was a bit overwhelmed when we first got there because there were many face she didn't know - many of those people she was meeting for the first time. She spent the first half hour on Daddy's lap and then once she realized some of the other kids were watching Aladdin  she started poking her head out. Lizzie, on the other hand, is not shy at all. She just would walk around and around saying "hi" to all and sitting on any lap that would let her. Once Bekah warmed up though she was fine to be away from us for periods of time. Her favorite time - after the egg hunt, of course - was telling Carly what to draw in chalk. (In case you couldn't tell in the last pic that is our family! Bekah, of course, is covering up the pic of Lizzie!)

I hope you all had a fabulous Easter!

Palm Sunday

One of my favorite parts about Palm Sunday (besides the reason we celebrate) is seeing the children walk down the aisles at church waving their palm branches and shouting "Hosanna!" There is something so innocent and precious about it that I just am drawn in. I remember being pregnant with Rebekah and thinking someday my child will be doing that -- and this past Palm Sunday - she did! :) It was so great to walk with her up the aisle - both of us waving our palm branches and saying "Hosanna!" The children stayed up front as the choir sang - waving their branches.

She seemed to really enjoy it at first, however, as it went on I could see her start to "shut down". She starts to get overwhelmed after a while. I have talked to her food therapist about this who is also an Occupational Therapist. She believes that Rebekah's sensory processing abilities are more limited then an average child. I don't fully understand it myself but we are learning. From what I understand most of us have a certain level that we can get to without being annoyed. Then there is an area above that that allows us to tolerate above that for a certain amount of time. Rebekah's "time" is limited at that level. So one thing they work with her on is supposed to help her extend this time. We have seen some improvement over the time we have been working with her. 

As you can see by the second picture after a while she "shut down". She enjoys the noise and movements and people for a while and then it just gets to be a bit too much for her. She does well at taking a "time out" for herself. We have noticed that when she starts to get overwhelmed she will remove herself and go do a quiet activity by herself for a while. In this type of situation that really isn't a option so after sitting down for a while she got up and came and sat on my lap but did stay in the sanctuary and watch until the song was finished and then walked out with the other children. 

 It certainly has been a lesson in patience for Les and I. So thankful we have each other to depend on as well as friends, family and of course, the Lord. Some days are filled with prayers!!! :)

Hope you all are well!

Funny Girl!

Today Rebekah was crying and I asked her "Why are you crying?"

She was silent for a minute then looked up at me and said "I'm not crying...my eyes are watering."

Twice today I looked over and found Lizzie sitting in the middle of the dining room table. Yesterday she couldn't get up on the chair. Why are they growing so fast???

A Happier Post

My Mother told me that my last post was sad. I didn't mean for it to be sad. Yes, I must admit it was a bit whiney. Perhaps wanting some sympathy was an underlying reason for posting - sympathy and understanding. I am thankful that I am healthy though. There are others out there in blog land that are dealing with sick kids while being sick themselves. I have been quite fortunate to have stayed fairly healthy this winter despite all the germs around me. Perhaps it was all the colds I had when I was little - maybe now I am immune to many of them. I once heard that you can only get a cold once but since there are over 900 varieties of them you don't have much chance of ever getting to a point where you are immune to them all. (Not sure how accurate that is - just one of those trivial pieces I read/heard somewhere and it's stuck with me).

So let's talk about what has been happy these past weeks. One nice thing about being sick is you have the right to the big red chair. It's in the center of the room and from that chair you can see pretty much the whole first floor of the house. It's also super comfy and great for cuddling. I spent the first two weeks in that chair after giving birth to my girls day and night.

Another great thing about being sick is comfort food. I know some people don't eat when they are sick while others get comfort from food. Last night Lizzie got her first ice cream cone. (They are little kiddie cones). She had no problem figuring out what to do with it. She thoroughly enjoyed every bite! Funny how I didn't find any "leftovers" in her chair or on the floor like I normally do after she is done eating.
Bekah always enjoys spending time on the floor with daddy. Playing toys, rolling around, or having horsey rides. It always reminds me of doing that with my dad. He was great about that and I am so happy to see my daughters building the same memories with their father.

Bekah received some games from a friend from church. She loves doing the shape/color game and we have spent quite a bit of time making rainbows. She is learning a lot about shapes and colors and is very good at sorting them out.














Earlier this month we headed out to Underwater World. I went with a friend with her three kids and I had my two plus R. Yep, six kids total - 2 4-year olds, 1 3-year old, 2 one-year olds and a 3 week old. It was an adventure but all the kids did a great job. They were all so fascinated with all the fish. For part of it you walk through a huge tube that goes through the huge tanks so the fish are swimming over head. Bekah and R were not too sure about that at first but soon got pretty excited about it all.We learned about all different types of fish, turtles and sting rays. We saw "Dory" and "Nemo" - actually many of them. Bekahs favorite though was the "Pocpopus" (or octopus depending upon how you want to pronounce it).

Lizzie is learning the fine art of dressing up. She thinks she is pretty cute - we happen to agree!

Mommy has learned that her memory is not always accurate. These are the owies that Lizzie received as she fell down the stairs. I remember them much worse than that. Sadly, Lizzie has NOT learned to be safe on the stairs all  time. She does tend to be a bit of a daredevil. She loves to climb on EVERYTHING. She has even learned to move a small chair to where she wants to get to for step up. I'm not sure I want her learning that yet - if ever.

 

Mommy has been learning some new recipes. These are the chicken parmesan roll-ups I made a few weeks back. They do make a pretty dish.

Lizzie and Bekah are working hard on learning to share. So far they are doing a pretty good job! This was Rebekah sharing her ice cream with Lizzie. Now that's a good big sister to share even her Ice Cream!


They are becoming good buddies and it has been fun to seem them really start to interact. Here they are watching a movie together, "sharing" popcorn. (That worked by Bekah, every once in a while, popping a piece into Lizzie's mouth.)  Lizzie is also learning to love books. It started with one that she got for Christmas. At first that was the only book she would read. Needless to say DH and I got sick of it pretty quick. Thankfully she has reached out and embraced other books now and I am thrilled that she loves to read just as much as her big sister and mommy.

Hope this was a happier post for you mom! :)  (And everyone else. Don't mean to be a whiner!!!! :)

Hope you are all happy and healthy!

BTW - Girls are no better. Have a feeling we will be seeing our pediatrician tomorrow. God Bless!!!

PS. I don't know why some of my writings came out like links but I am too tired to try and fix it and Lizzie is demanding hugs and loves and that's WAY more important! :)

Again we are sick...

Once again we have the ickies at our house. Lizzie, Bekah and DH are all sick - again. This has just been crazy. I am about ready to open our windows despite the cold and snow and get this icky, sicky air out of our house! Last night I think I slept maybe 1.5 hours total between the two girls. Bekah was the worst. She was complaining about her ear hurting but this morning said it was fine. I hate taking them in for every little thing. We will see how it goes for the day and if she's still not doing well I will take her in late this afternoon. I know of two families who have chicken pox though so I think I will be happy with the cough and cold. However, Bekah is not eating well but at least she is drinking. She has thrown up the last two nights after eating a small amount and drinking juice. Giving her mainly water now and some bland foods.

Bekah's therapy is going well. I struggle sometimes with the necessity of it. It's a lot of money and time and I often wonder if she is just really a picky eater but last week at therapy we were reaffirmed in our belief that it is more than just that and truly a sensory issue. Our therapist introduced noodles to her. She had cute noodles that looked like daisies but at first Rebekah would not even touch them. Then as C and I were building towers with them she eventually joined in and started playing with them. However, as soon as that noodle touched her lips she vomited. C, her therapist, was surprised at how quickly it happened. Bekah didn't gag or anything - just up it came. Poor thing. But she recovered nicely. Now that she is older she isn't so scared and we are able to more easily explain why she threw up. So we will keep moving on and keep working with her. Just praying that she is a fast learner! :) C did say that was a totally sensory reaction. Sometimes I am thinking it is maybe a good thing she doesn't like noodles. With a history of diabetes in the family it might be a good thing to not like!

I finally got Lizzie's 1 year pictures done despite the fact that she is already 14.5 months old!!! Just a tad behind. However, she had H1N1 on her first birthday, then it was the holidays and trying to get in to get pictures is just impossible. Then she had an ear infection. After that she fell down the stairs and got rug burn down one side of her face. As that started to heal she fell and cut her other cheek with a toy. Even though she was sick and snotty nosed I took her in. We got some cute ones. They aren't amazing but they will be a good memory and fun to scrapbook.

 

Now I just need to get Bekah in for her 3 year photos - hopefully sometime before she is four! :)

Hope all is well with each of you!

God Bless

Silly Bekah (and Menus)

Today as we were getting into the van Rebekah pointed at the side of the van and said "There's snow all over my van". "No, honey," I said, "That's salt".  Bekah responded "Oh." Then she pointed to some mud on the side and said "And pepper too!" :) 

I have been doing menus the last two weeks but it's been a couple of weeks of "Cleaning out the Freezer" so nothing too exciting. Been feeding the family some box meals (like Lasagna, chicken nuggets, etc.) Not the healthiest but trying to add in lots of fruit and veggies. Next week I will post as I am hoping to add some items I haven't done in a while.

Lizzie's been fighting a cold the last couple of weeks again. No antibiotics this time. Just Tylenol and after three nights of being up all night with her a little bit of Benadryl.  She seems to be feeling better though she has been doing two naps a day which would be nice except her naps are before and after Bekah's so I rarely have any "kid-free" time.

We've been doing okay with our toddler free time. It's a lot harder than I thought. We have done many different activities and right now 30 minutes is a long time for one activity for Bekah so I have been trying two 15 minute activities throughout the day and that seems to work better.

Have a great week!

Menu Plan Monday

It's time again for my Menu for the week. I hope you made some time to check out her website. Be careful though - it could make you lose hours of your day!

First let me tell you about the recipes from last week. I made three new ones and they all were pretty good. The chicken parmesan bundles were my husband's favorite. They took a lot more work than any of the others but it was worth it. They were pretty yummy. I'm not a big spinach person and this had a little too much in it for me. I think next time I would not use the whole box - would still get the benefits of the spinach but the taste wouldn't be quite so strong.

The tortilla pie was awesome and I can see it being a common fixture on here. I used turkey meat instead of beef to help make it a little healthier (but then used sour cream and avocado as garnishes). I used tomatoes with green chili's to give it the Mexican taste but I think it would be just as good with Italian tomatoes for that Italian taste.

The salmon was the biggest surprise for me though. It was good! And that's huge as I don't like salmon. I know I should, I know it's healthy but I just have never, ever liked it. My MIL made a dish once that was okay but this was down right good. Will for sure make this again. The Citrus relish was super yummy. Elizabeth ate that. She wasn't so sure about the salmon but ate that right up! :) This is a relative easy dish that presents fancy!

For next week we are having:

Monday - Weeknight Lasagna Toss

Tuesday - Easy Baked Cheese and Vegetable Twist (I've made this before. It's a yummy, chilly night food. May serve with soup. I don't add mushrooms or tomatoes but do add in some turkey and maybe some carrots for more veggies.)

Wednesday - Awana night

Thursday - Taco Salad

Friday - Spicy Garlic Chicken (I use the box as a starter but we have found that it comes with a lot of sauce so I always add more veggies - water chestnuts, green peppers, red peppers, carrots and broccoli. It ends up doubling the amount of food almost without adding many calories or fat. I also will often make brown rice instead of the normal white rice if I am feeling healthy!) 

Saturday - quiche I have used this recipe many, many times. Super quick and easy. I have done many variations of it - one of our favorites is broccoli with colby jack cheese. Be creative! :)

Sunday - Chicken in the crockpot

Hope you all have a good week!

The Things Kids Say...

Tonight Rebekah tripped and said "Ow, my sock hurts!"

This morning she mentioned something about her daddy to someone at church. They asked where he was and she said "He runned away."  (We are working on grammar). There is a little bit of truth in that...although somedays I am sure that he would prefer to just stay home and not have to "run away".

After Awana DH was driving the girls home and Rebekah was concerned because "Her house was lost - find it, daddy!" They did (it's all of three miles away!)

Just thought I would share a smile with you today.

Had our first family game night last night. It was great. Two games of CandyLand. DH won one, and Bekah won one. For some reason I am NOT good at Candyland. Watch out Bekah...someday you'll want to play Monopoly with Mommy! lol

Bekah wanted Lizzie to play too and was not easy to convince that Lizzie really didn't care. Someday...but last night it was more about eating her red gingerbread man.

TV Free Toddler Time

A fellow blogger (mother of 9 and one on the way) has created a challenge for those of us with toddlers to set aside a minimum of 1/2 hour a day where the TV is off and we are focused on an activity. (I guess this would fall under my "FUN" resolution.) If we do 7 in a row we get on her weekly smiley face list! lol You know, it really is the little things. :)

Today Bekah and I played with her Tag Jr. She has several of the books but today we concentrated on her favorite one (at this time). She seems to love David Smells. It's a book about our senses. I know she's not really reading at this point but she certainly can tell you with almost 100% accuracy what each page says now. It's awfully cute.

After reading the book, over and over and over and over (well, you get the point) we did some of the worksheets that you can download from Leap Frog. Even with those she was able to mostly tell me what each said. It has been so fun to see her vocabulary just blossom  these last few months. There was a period of time where I was concerned but no longer. "They" say the average three year old has an average of 300 words so one night a few days after her third birthday I sat down and made a list. In about an hour I had 301 and when I showed it to DH the next day he came up with a bunch more. Throughout that whole day I kept thinking - "Oh yeah, I forgot that one, I forgot that one...." So - no worries at this point.

One reason for the worry is that Bekah is not a good eater. She is an extreme picky eater and has been since she was about 13 months old. At that time was the first time she had the stomach flu and threw up a bunch of green beans. Since then she has not eaten anything green except for pickles and the occasional green apple. She later got ill again and stopped eating pasta, rice, other veggies like carrots and corn (she had had fried rice with veggies). About a month ago she was down to eating toast w/ peanut butter and jelly, some fruits, some cereal, cheese (only orange though) and of course chips and cookies. She wouldn't eat pudding or jello and had stopped eating applesauce and yogurt and string cheese (if it was white).  The biggest concern was that she had lost two lbs so at 3 she was 2 lbs less then she was at 2.It could get to a point where it could affect her development.

We took her to see an Occupational Therapist and while there is not yet an official diagnosis it sounds like they believe her to have "food anxiety". They are working with her each week on different foods. It's all very interesting. We have had a few sessions so far and it seems pretty positive. She is again eating yogurt and applesauce and took a bite of a fishstick. She did spit it out but at least she tried it! :) 

It is so weird to think of a toddler with an eating disorder but I heard from a friend who's daughter was in a treatment program that there was a whole wing for toddlers with severe eating disorders! It's hard to wrap one's mind around that.

I'm thankful that my doctor is pro-active and that we are getting her help early where habits are a little easier to change. Please continue to pray that all continues to go well and the treatment is a successful.

Have a great Monday!!!

Menu Plan Monday

One "resolution" I seem to have every year is to get organized. I must have missed that gift when they were passing it out. :) I like things organized but I usually just don't know where to start. So - this year I am starting with menu planning. I've "heard" in my research that menu planning saves time in the kitchen, encourages healthier eating, saves money on groceries, limits waste of food, eliminates my 4 PM "Oh shoot - what am I going to make for dinner I have nothing thawed!" stress out and just helps me organize one more aspect of my life.  Baby steps!

I found Laura over at I'm an Organizing Junkie who must have received my organization gift. One of the great things she does is post her family menu every Monday - usually with links to get the recipes! Not only does she post her menus but she puts up a Mr. Linky where other organized people put up their menus!  Last week there were over 250 I believe. 250 times 7 recipes equals 1750 ideas - each week!!! How great is that! So feel free to head on over and take a look. I may not post each week but so far have the next three weeks planned out. Boy - did it make shopping a lot easier. I bought the food we needed, nothing extra, and was able to plan the menu around the deals and sales!

So here is my menu for the week - with recipes for some of the items. Go check out Laura!

Monday - Chicken Parmesan Bundles
Tuesday - Easy Pleasing Meatloaf
Wednesday - Awana (As the secretary I go early with the girls so we eat dinner there - usually something light or sandwiches.
Thursday -  Tortilla Pie
Friday - Citrus Salmon with Orange Relish
Saturday - Lunch - leftovers  Supper - Grilled Cheese/Salad
Sunday - Lunch - pot roast w/ veggies and potatos Supper - pizza

I have to be honest ... Three of these recipes are new. The chicken parmesan, the tortilla pie, and the citrus salmon we have not had before but I get in such ruts of cooking that I need some new recipes. I hope they turn out well...I'll let you know! :) My goal for the new year is to try 4 new recipes a month - at least. With planning ahead menus it is easier to do because you have everything you need and it's ready to go.

Have a great week!

It's a New Year

Happy New Year - a little late! (Not that you're surprised by that...I'm usually late and am often playing catch up).

What are your resolutions?

I always come up with some...I never make it the whole year through but I figure if I have goals and achieve a percentage of them I am still better at the end of the year then I was at the beginning.

I also like alliteration.

So I came up with my resolutions and figured I would remember them best if they were "catchy".

1. FAITH - I've always had faith but one can always improve. I need to spend more time studying the scriptures. I need to not leave my weekly Bible study for the last day and do it all at once. I need to pray more...alone, with my husband, and with my children. My children's spiritual walk is my responsibility. It is my job to teach them and there is nothing more important. I need to make my Faith more of a priority. I take it for granted sometimes and I need to find my zeal again.

2. FRUGAL - I like love to shop. I always have. The hunt for a good bargain, the perfect present, something cute for ______, a new toy, even grocery shopping - whatever the reason I enjoy it whether it be in the stores or from my computer. However, money is tight these days. There isn't an unlimited supply and I hate the thought that we are in debt. So my goal this year is to work hard on getting us out of debt, limit careless and impulsive spending, and be wise and frugal with our spending. I want to be able to give more to charities and church and to help others out. We have so much - much more than we need. I also want to weed out my items. Clothes, toys, and collectibles all are in abundance for each of us. 

3. FIT - Let's face it...I need to get fit. My DH could get more fit. AND my girls need to stay fit so they have a healthy lifestyle from a young age. We are members of a wonderful community center so there is no reason that we are not there several times a week working out, playing and swimming. They offer daycare which we get for free based on our membership so the girls get to play and socialize for an hour and DH and I can work out - really - it's not hard is it? 

4. FUN - I want to do more "fun" with my family. More hands on activities with the girls. Seeing how much fun we had making the ornaments I saw how important that was for Bekah to do those hands on activities. I found a very helpful website, TV Free Toddler Time (link is also on my sidebar). This is filled with wonderful ideas of things to do with your little ones that cost minimal to nothing and that don't include the TV. I also want to look for things to do as a family. Anyone have any ideas they would like to share of something fun they do with their family?

So that's my FOUR resolutions....Faith, Frugal, Fit and Fun - all large but doable and all for my Family!

God Bless!

Decorating the tree

We have decorated our tree but Rebekah was quite concerned that we didn't have a star for the top so the other morning I got out some stickers and yellow paper and we made a star for the top and star ornaments which she decorated with star stickers. She was pretty excited about making the ornaments.

So the next day we set about making some dough ornaments. I found the recipe online somewhere. It's pretty easy - 1 cup of flour, 1/2 cup table salt and 1/2 cup warm water. You mix it together, roll out the dough and use cookie cutters to cut out the shapes. Place them on a baking pan and bake at 250 for 2 hours or until hardened. (The bigger ones took more like 2.5 to 3 hours) Let cool. 

They recommend using acrylic paints but since I was dealing with a two year old we used crayola craft paint. It worked out okay. Probably not as shiny and when it was thicker in areas it cracked as it dried...BUT it cleaned up really well and at this point that is more what matters. 

So if you receive these as gifts from Bekah please act surprised! :) She worked hard on them! :)

Yesterday was our church's Christmas program. Last year Bekah didn't want to be up front. For the Palm Sunday program she was held by her teacher. This year she participated in the program and lasted about half way through. Not sure if she was bored or just tired or if she had had just enough. She was really excited about it and kept asking "now, now?" I think she would have gone up and joined the adult choir if we had let her! :) She did participate though and I got some cute pics and some video of her doing some of the actions. Hoping next year she will make it through the whole thing! :)

Lizzie was too young for the Christmas program but had a good time hanging out in the nursery with her pal. They were pretty cute together! :) (Of course I'm a little partial. )

Really?

Really? A month since I have posted? I've written a hundred posts in my head...not sure why you didn't get them? lol

It's been a VERY busy month. This is what's been going on with us since last time I posted.

Lizzie got an ear infection.

The next week Lizzie, Rebekah and DH all got H1N1. Rebekah had an ear infection. The "Big Red Chair" is the place desired when not feeling well.

Two days later Lizzie turned one. Had to cancel her party as no one wanted germs as a party favor. Had a nice quiet evening at home. Bekah helped to make pancakes and Lizzie got to open a few gifts.

Birthday pancakes as I had no cake that day.

                                 

*This is a two year old who is having a hard time just watching her sister play with her new toys. Hard concept to understand for a little one.

Following week back at the doctor - DH and Lizzie have sinus infections.

Had a quiet Thanksgiving at home alone.

Bekah was a big help with the green bean casserole and the stuffing.

She also set up our "centerpiece" for the table.

She was excited to eat at the "fancy" table but....

did not find a single item to her liking and didn't take one bite. (Perhaps all that work tired her out!)

After her nap she was more than willing to take a bite of pie! :)

Two days later had Lizzie's birthday party. It was great fun, noisy and quite enjoyable. Quite a few were not able to come as it was a busy weekend but we enjoyed the fun and fellowship with those that could.

These were made by my friend Amanda -- check out her baking blog.

Lizzie received this tea set which Rebekah immediately took over ...

and convinced the boys to join her in her tea party.

The Party girl with my Goddaughter ... seems just yesterday we were celebrating her first birthday!

We got our first big snowstorm. We had about a two foot drift in our driveway that DH had to shovel through before he could go to work. Bekah "helped".

We had Rebekah's third birthday party. Her birthday isn't until the 22 of December but after talking to some of those we wanted to have come it was just too busy a time of year so we decided to do it earlier. We had it at our local community center which was fun but not sure I would do it again. If I did I would do it differently.

The night before I made her banner - good thing I rolled it out to check it - had done the whole thing backwards ... had to take it apart and redo it.

She kept closing her eyes so I told her "Big eyes"  - this is what I got...big eyes! :)

Her big Minnie Mouse balloon - she certainly had Big eyes when we brought this out!

A big cupcake for the birthday girl!

We have also enjoyed walks around our neighborhood - before it got super cold! Many of our neighbors decorate for Christmas so there are a lot of lights to see.

Now we have Bekah's b-day coming up; Christmas shopping to complete, crafts to make, Christmas cards to go out, packages to ship and a few other things that I am sure I am missing as well as all the daily "stuff" we need to do each day. Not a lot of time for boredom around here!

Hope you all have a very blessed CHRISTtmas!

I got this from Amanda and wanted to share it with you.

C, the first letter in Christmas, stands for the person who alone gives any day eternal significance: Christ our Lord. It is easy to shove Christ aside on this holiday, but we should celebrate the birth of Jesus, whose very name means “the Lord is salvation” and whose title, “Christ,” points to His role as the Redeemer of humankind. If Jesus is not Christ in your life, celebrating the birth of an obscure Jewish carpenter’s son is meaningless to you.

H stands for history. The birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ are not myths or fantasy, but are historical realities.

R stands for rejoice, an appropriate response in recognition of what Christ has done.

I stands for the Incarnation, describing that glorious event in which God became man.

S stands for St. Nicholas, the fourth century bishop of Myra, a Christian whose story — embellished by years of telling — nevertheless exemplifies Christian faithfulness and charity. Christmas should remind us of the faithfulness of God, without which we have no hope of redemption through His greatest gift, His Son (John 3:16).

T stands for tradition, the stories and customs associated with Christmas.

M stands for the magi, or wise men, directed by God to find and worship Christ. We shouldn’t forget that no one is wealthy enough, powerful enough, or far enough away that he or she should not bow before Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords (1 Tim. 6:15).

A stands for advent, a word referring to Christ's coming. Christ came once in Bethlehem — as an infant who grew to manhood, died for our sins, and rose again the third day. Christians eagerly look forward to His Second Coming — “the blessed hope” (Titus 2:13).

S stands for salvation, made possible by the coming of Christ. The gospel story is so simple we often forget it, but so profound it affects every individual. We are all sinners, separated from God, with absolutely no way to reach God except He reached down to us through His Son. With the coming of Christmas comes recognition that because He came, He died, and because He died and lives again, we also may live (Rom. 6:8; 8:11).

Christmas is not primarily a celebration of human life, although each human life is valuable; not primarily a celebration of peace and love, although peace and love are noble. The center and circumference of Christmas should be the celebration of the birth of our Lord: “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11).