After my family left, Logan, Weiss and I went to get a Christmas tree---a REAL tree. This is the first real tree for me--because Mom was so severely allergic to anything green, growing up, we only had an artificial one. It was always decorated beautifully, but I have always longed for the smell of a real tree in the house..... And now, we have a real, 8 ft, Fraser fir! Yesterday, we had to let it dry off, so the fan was on it all day in the house, and today, I overwatered it. Water was coming out of the tree stand from the screw holes that anchor the tree in place, so Logan was under the tree, in his church clothes, sopping up water. We've told Weiss not to touch the tree so it won't topple over, and Weiss was telling Logan the whole time, shaking his finger, "Daddy, no no!" We had to correct him, but it was hard not to laugh.
Anyway, I got all "Weiss-proof" decorations. Everything is glass-free, and Pottery Barn had a tree in the catalog that I fell in love with! It had white lights, red and silver balls of various textures and sizes, and red and white oragami paper cranes of all sizes. I ordered the paper from Pottery Barn to make the cranes, and Mom and Cinda got me the matching ornaments. (Thanks!) I have been folding TWENTY FOUR paper cranes of all sizes, and it is not a quick process. However, Logan and I are going to decorate the tree Tuesday night when he's home from Austin, and it should look so pretty! (I'll take a picture so everyone can see!)
Anyway, I also made a gingerbread house this afternoon that Weiss is fascinated with. (Well, I bought the assembled house, and then I decorated it!) I wish Weiss was big enough to help, but at this point, he's still just a bit too young.... He says "house" over and over; he LOVES his gingerbread house. Tomorrow, Weiss gets to open the first door of his Advent calendar and eat a chocolate, a tradition I looked forward to every year as a kiddo.....
Anyway, I love this time of Christmas! Logan and I are trying to stress the true meaning of Christmas to Weiss---not the commercialized version. (Okay--he has one Santa Claus book.) I went to Calvary's Road and Lifeway and loaded up on any book that could better help me explain the birthday of Jesus. To do this, we have a Christmas book with lift-the-flaps, with hand motions for parents and children, with big, bold pictures, with an accompanying song CD, with light-up stars above Bethlehem, and even one that plays "Silent Night" with baby Jesus surrounded by miniature LED lights. (Yes, they really do make such a thing...) Weiss also watches a DVD of the Christmas story, with little 3D characters. The cutest thing is his Veggie Tales nativity scene, which he LOVES.
Anyway, the point of all of this craziness is that we want Weiss to understand the true meaning of Christmas: it's all about Jesus. Without Him, there would be no Christmas, no family, no giving, no joy, no love. And yes, I'm a little obsessed with Weiss learning this at an early age, but he can already point out baby Jesus and say "Jesus," and he'll point out the star and the shepherd. Although he's such a little guy, he is learning. He's beginning to sing "Away in a Manger." To see my child putting together the pieces of the ultimate story at his young age is the best gift I could get this year for Christmas.
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