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Oh man, I’m sorry I waited so long to blog this. I’m afraid I’m not going to do a great job elaborating on what a fun and special time it was to have my sister here with us for Christmas. I love this girl! And she is such a good Tia to my kids. We can’t wait to have her back in June!!! There is something truly wonderful about being a grown woman and getting to hang out with your grown woman sister and mom. A lifetime of memories, experience, and shared blood. It’s so fun!! I’m getting all nostalgic and seriously excited for summer as I look through these. So grateful that Mimi lives in town. Wish so much that Kristy was closer. But at least we’ll have her back in the states within a few short months!
I did an awful job taking pictures while she was here (mainly because December was my break from the business, and much-needed break from the camera in general.) Determining right now to not make that mistake again. Be ready for some serious snapping when you’re here this summer, sis. Most of the pics I have are from one day we went Christmas shopping at the mall to visit Santa, the kids FIRST visit to see the big man from the North. I never understood the tradition of photos with Santa until I had my own kids and starting noticing the yearly Santa photos of other people’s children. Neither of my kiddos screamed for Santa this year. We even managed a fake smile out of our eldest. I’m looking forward to making this a yearly tradition from here on out and seeing how they end up reacting to as the years go on.
I believed in Santa when I was little. I vaguely remember putting out cookies for him and grass and carrots for the reindeer on Christmas eve for a few of my youngest years. And I remember being little and knowing that Santa wasn’t real but still pretending that he was. It was fun, but not a huge deal to me. I don’t remember the moment when I found out he wasn’t real. I definitely didn’t have a traumatic experience when the revelation hit. My parents became Christians when I was about 6 years old and from there on out, Jesus became the central figure in our holiday season. That’s my experience.
Of course I believe that Jesus should be the focus of Christmastime. It goes without saying. I’m not sure that precludes a little Santa fun. I’ve always said I was NOT going to lie to my kids about things like Santa and the Easter bunny and the tooth fairy. But the longer I’m a parent and the more I witness first hand the way that children develop, their imaginations, the way they can pretend something is real – almost believing its real, but still know it’s not – the more I feel like it’s not quite as black and white as I used to think. We didn’t give Adela presents from Santa last year. But we did the whole Elf on the Shelf thing. And we visited Santa at the mall. I guess I’m kind of riding the fence, not lying, but pretending along with her, still trying to make sure that she knows Jesus is the reason for the season. And I feel right in my spirit about it. So I guess we’ll ride the fence for now, unless I hear differently from the Lord. I think we can pretend about Santa, have fun, form some family traditions based on folklore, and still keep Jesus the focus and the reason.
After the mall, we stopped by a local Palm Desert park to take a few more just because I had my camera on me and we were thinking about it.