Traditions

One of my good friends told me a few weeks ago that she was doing something called a Jesse Tree for her family. It's sort of like an advent calendar, but it has devotions you can do with each day, and an ornament goes with each one that we have been putting on our tree. It's so cool! I got the devotions from a website http://www.rca.com/ and it even has a link to get templates of the ornaments (they're symbols from the days devotions, and we just colored them and had them laminated)... we've really enjoyed doing it, and each day the kids take turns of who gets to put the ornament on the tree. I hope to make it a tradition that we can do each year, and it will be fun as the kids get older to break out the same ornaments that the kids colored this year. So fun! I wish I could be more intentional about everything I do. I'd like to be better about that- ok, new years resolution right here- be intentional, make special holidays more special, be more organized! Here's a picture of our tree (sorry you cant really see the ornaments very well on it), with our regular ornaments on it, and also the jesse tree ornaments too.

Also, each year my grandma gets all of her married grandchildren a piece for our Christmas village. It's so fun to put it up each year, and each year it grows! Zach put ours up the other night, and I'm not sure if I want him to take it down this year, it's just so warm and cozy to look at! It's in the kitchen above our dining room, in a little nook. Its the perfect spot for it! And at night, we can light it up, and the lights turn on in the little houses. The kids love it too! Thanks grandma and grandpa for creating a tradition like this for our family!