The Christmas Story--Starting New Traditions

Kyle and I have really wrestled with what "traditions" to establish within the Farnham household, especially regarding holidays. We tend to ask, "What makes this day so special? Why should it be different from every other day?" While we both were "raised on Santa," we both feel like it distracts from the real meaning of the Christmas holiday, Jesus' birth. After stepping back and considering options, here were our conclusions.

1) Instead of a Christmas tree, we purchased a nativity set around which we place the presents. "Since Jesus was our gift from God," we explain to David, "these presents are our gifts you." Also, to remind us of the "reason for the season," we made a birthday cake for Jesus.

2) We read the Bible Christmas Story version the week of Christmas.

3) No more pictures with mall Santa. Instead, it's David in front of our yard Santa, who is kneeling and praying to Jesus.

Merry Christmas! E

Santa REALLY Does Exist!!

Who knew he was at the mall?? This morning David and I had our first picture with Santa. No lines, no hassle; just pure fun! David loved him and kept giving Santa high-fives! Afterwards, we went to The Great American Cookie Company and enjoyed a tasty frosting-covered chocolate chip cookie!

Cheers, Emily

Thanksgiving '08

Well.... it has been an exciting few days around the house. We have had two Thanksgiving meals, countless leftovers, and I go back to work on Monday. My parents and Andrea came down Wednesday evening and stayed through Thursday afternoon. David enjoyed having the company over and spent a lot of time showing off his toys and learning names. He loved his meal (of course!) and kept asking for more. After Thanksgiving lunch we bought a new Christmas tree and put it up in the living room. David seemed fairly impressed with the spectacle of it all, but he definitely enjoyed the box a lot more. The rest of the day was spent following the usual Thanksgiving routine: eat, sleep, and repeat!



Friday was spent recovering from all the food and getting ready to go over to Emily's grandparents for Thanksgiving with her family.  After all of the greetings and meeting more family, we took David down to the pond to play.  He loved the bridge and looking out over the water.  He also had his first real opportunity to play with his cousins, McKenna (5) and Annie (20 mths).  While McKenna was a great help and David mimicked most of what she did, I think he only saw Annie as a rival for the toys.  Eventually we had to separate him from the toys for a while as he was getting a little too stingy.  David also had the chance to play in the leaves (an American classic).  It was a good day.

The rest of the weekend was spent getting ready to go back to work and going to church.  David did extremely well and only got wiggly towards the end of the service.  The last few weeks have gone by really fast, and while I am ready to see my students again, I am not ready to miss all of the little moments with David that we have had.  Talk to you guys later.

Kyle