all things christmas

by nance In Pictures, Writing 3 Comments

Last week was a surprisingly busy week.  Work-wise, babies were making all sorts of early and surprising and, in some cases, l o n g arrivals.   We also had several social gatherings over the weekend – including our 6th annual Christmas Fondue party with our community group, complete with a “12 Days of Christmas” sing and dance a-long (it’s not pretty!).   And I’ve been working to wrap up all the gift-making projects so that this could be a week of rest before we head to California for the holidays.

Isaiah doesn’t really get Christmas yet, being 2 and all.   He likes our tree and the lights ok.  The gingerbread house-making and cookie-decorating are all fine and good.  But they are neither here nor there for him.

But Gryffin?  The kid is over the moon excited about all things Christmas.  The caroling and the ornaments and the decorating and the advent calendar and the gifts and the treats are almost too much for him to bear.  Every part about the season is so magical for him this year.   Last year, like his brother, he didn’t have a clue, and we were starting to think that maybe we’d just skip over the whole Santa thing.   Who needs Santa, anyway?  But this year is so different.  The thrill Gryffin feels at the very idea of Santa Claus, a magical man who flies all over the world, delivering gifts, is palpable and for two folks who thought they were above the Santa Claus hoopla, Jason and I have been completely swept up in the excitement.   Jason helped the boys write (lengthy) letters to Santa last week while I was at a birth and I seriously made some personalized videos from Santa for the boys at Portable North Pole yesterday.   There are probably only 1 or 2 years of this, this unabashed all-out enthusiasm and we are milking it for all it’s worth!

So many folks I know really worry about making sure their kids understand the true meaning of Christmas and fret over Santa and consumerism and such.  And for good reason.  I’m not sure why exactly but I don’t feel too worked up over it.  Not yet anyway.   Growing up, I was well aware of why we celebrated Christmas and I’ll admit that I usually felt guilty for being more excited about presents than about Jesus.   But every passing year, I see and experience more sadness and sorrow, more heartache and pain, in my own life and in the life of others and I long more and more for the day when the kingdom of God will come in full.   So I’m ok if it takes my kids a while before they feel this way.   They will know searing anguish and deep grief soon enough.  For now I’m content to let them delight in the joy of the giving and receiving of gifts, the eating of good food with good company, and hopefully marvel a little at the wonder of Immanuel, God-with-us.

Jason took the boys to the Christmas potluck at our church while I was working and they got to make these gingerbread houses.  Apparently Gryffin ate more than double what ended up on his house.
Isaiah never looked at his house again. But G-man gets up close and personal with his every single day. He REALLY wants to eat some of it but so far he’s managed to restrain himself.
Our family lit the advent candles at church a couple weeks back and it was the most “dressed up” the Rusts have been since… well, maybe ever. Jason and I were ridiculously excited about a chance to bust out the Goodwill blue corduroy suit.
Strutting his stuff
Jason took a LOT of pictures that afternoon. Zeebo was a really good sport!
For comparison-sake, here’s Isaiah in the suit, aged 2.5
And Gryffin, aged 1.5 back in June 2010.
This is probably one of my most favorite things that our community group has ever done – we threw a fake wedding for Brian & Nicole (their REAL wedding was in 2007) but that’s a story for another day.

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I mentioned in a previous post that I was hoping to make at least 75% of our gifts this year and I managed to pull it off.  Here’s a look at some of the stuff I made.

Lip balm made with honey, coconut oil and beeswax. I ordered the tins online and the stickers are from Target.
I tried my hand at painting ceramic, which turned out to be harder than I anticipated. I used ceramic paint and then you bake them for an hour, which apparently makes them microwave and dishwasher-safe.
Ric Rac Rings. These were simple to make. I found a tutorial online and after purchasing the blue ric rac and some ring bases online, I was good to go.
Lotion Bars made with beeswax and oil, scented with vanilla. I kept a couple of these and I really like them. They go on a little… oily, but it soaks in quickly
Pants! This was my first attempt at making clothes. These are seersucker pants for my nephew, Caleb (2.5).  I  also made a pair, in the fabric seen below, for my new nephew Peter.  He’s set to come home from China in January and I can’t wait to meet him.
The pants turned out much harder than this skirt, made for my niece, Mary (6).
I decided to make matching ones for her sisters, as well -Hannah (10) and Emily (8). The fabric for these came from the curtains that used to hang in our guest room. How Maria Von Trapp of me! 
And of course, the oyster crackers. My friend Shane call these “pandemic” after watching The Wire. It’s fitting. They are quite addictive. And they always make me think of my grandma Ed. It’s her recipe and our family has been eating these at Christmas for as long as I can remember. I asked her for my very own batch when I turned 16 and she showed up to my birthday with the BIGGEST tupperware container full I’ve ever seen. Think Costco-sized popcorn container. But bigger.
We also sent out Christmas cards for the first time in… 9 years, I think?
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Like everyone else, Jason and I are, of course, reeling from the events last Friday in Newtown.  I was in the car with the boys when I heard the news on NPR and I felt like the ground fell out beneath me.    After putting the boys down for their naps, Jason and I sat and talked for awhile.  We both feel heartbroken and fearful.  I considered blogging about it, about our reactions and our thoughts, but I think I’d rather just sit with it.  This post and this post have both been helpful to me in processing.   And I think I’ll take the wisdom from the second article linked and try to “…be silent before the Lord,” says the prophet Zephaniah, silent and still in the presence of the horrified God, the nauseated God, the grief-stricken God.”   Join me?