Christmas Morning 2013

Here is our Christmas tree with plenty of gifts underneath. The girls loved decorating the tree. They proudly displayed all the ornaments they made at preschool. And we only broke two balls in the process! The girls understood the real meaning of Christmas which made this season all the more special for me. They were excited for the gifts, but knew that we were celebrating Jesus' birth. 

We gave the girls each a Lolaloopsy doll. They had seen it awhile back at the store and really wanted their own. 

The girls got the gifts they asked for from Santa -- Barbie dolls for Karis and a sparkly tray for Makena.

Kyle got some cars, a train set and legos. Lots of new boy toys (but he still likes playing with the girls' fairy dolls)!

We spent most of the morning on Facetime so relatives could see the kids open their gifts. It enabled us to spread out the opening of gifts instead of having it a mad free-for-all. Karis didn't like having to wait until we contacted the next family member. She asked, "Why do we have to call them? They already know what's inside!"

I was very impressed at how the girls shared their new toys. Makena received an electric guitar and a keyboard. She gave the keyboard to Karis. Karis gave one of her Barbie dolls to Makena. Such sweet sisters!

Later in the day, we made Christmas cakes for Jesus' birthday. I hope He likes sprinkles!!

  

I love the innocence of kids

I ran across a reminder note to post a blog about a conversation I had back in mid-January. It was meaningful... unique enough to post... but it was lost in the fatherhood adjustment and general busyness of life. I suppose like many other "I should have posted" posts. But I wrote a note on this one... that's the only reason I am remembering to write about it.

That being said, it has been a little while and the details have become a bit fuzzy. Anyhow, I have been trying to keep in touch with the guys I built into for their two years of Junior High. They're now Freshman in High School. I had an opportunity to watch one of the guys run some quarterback drills with the starting Senior from his school. That story in itself is pretty cool... this Senior kid, on his own, has decided invest into this Freshman. The Senior has several football scholarship offers from which to choose (good schools with good programs, too). This Freshman guy has a lot of athletic talent. But he is also a very gifted leader. It was a blessing to spend two years with him.

While sitting on the side of the field this particular hot, Sunday afternoon I decided to sit with this guy's little brother... I think he's 9. I had seen him on occasion when big brother was getting dropped off during those two years, but never spent time with him. He didn't readily remember me. He was playing a handheld video game (something I used to greatly enjoy). He was good at including me by explaining what he was doing and how hard it was and the strategies involved. Out of the blue he asks, "Are you a Christian?" It caught me off guard. I responded "Yes" to which he said, "Good. So am I." Then he immediately began working his magic on the handheld game.

I am amazed by his... innocence I guess. He had no inhibitions at asking. I thought it was incredible. In retrospect, I wish I would have asked him what it meant to him to be a "Christian." Back to my amazement, I wish I was more bold as he is. I have been burned in the past by a friend (I was severely chewed out by simply inviting him to church; yes, too bad for him but it still left a bad taste in my mouth). He won't know what an encouragement he was to me, but I hope to keep that experience in my mind to prompt me to be a little braver in my conversations with people whose beliefs I do not know.