Merry Christmas!

Here's a holiday card featuring the little one. Hopefully, we'll get a good family picture over the next few days.

Santa...(not for little eyes)

I've been giving Santa Claus a lot of thought over the past week or so. It's something we'll need to decide by this time next year. I must admit, I'm leaning on the side of THIS. (for real click over and read) 

My friend Michelle said it really well. I'll keep you posted. We won't be in the business of ruining anyone's fun and fantasy, but I think we're going to focus on Christ's birth and let Santa be the mascot, not the omniscient gift-giver. There's only one of those.

We'll still learn about St. Nicholas, get pictures with Santa, and watch Christmas movies. And we're still deciding. Shepard has no idea about all the hoopla this year. There is just a shiny tree in place of his toy box right now. Most of all, I want him to learn about giving, grace and obedience in the context of scripture rather than fairy tales; and we want to create meaningful traditions.

UPDATE: Since I posted this this morning, I also ran across this blog. I'm inclining more and more to eschewing the over-materialization of Christmas. More for me to think about and consider.

Christmas 2011