For today’s advent “activity,” we opened our home to many friends from church and hosted a Christmas party with a white elephant gift exchange.  Naturally the kids enjoyed having other children and many adults with whom they could play, and interact.

 Two highlights for us:

1) Our typically shy and timid Calissa was all smiles for quite a while without us in the room!  She happily sat and played with a few of the party attendees, and was a joy to them!

2) During the gift exchange, Matthew got his hands on a very nice looking toy Hummer.  A couple of times, a few adults almost “stole” the toy on their turn, but held back noting how much he liked it (naturally).  But finally, another boy decided to steal it on his turn… and Matthew very easily let it go!  I was very proud of him, for I knew that even though he liked it, he was willing to let it go, partly because I’d warned him before the party “not to get too attached” to anything.  Still, it was quite an accomplishment for him.

I also appreciated the loving gestures of several adults doing some swaps at the end of the game with kids who ended up feeling disappointed.

Here are some photos of the revelry…

Calissa surrounded by admirers:

Me, explaining the rules of the gift exchange to the crowd:

More shots of the “crowd” in our home:

Distributing gifts (note the Hummer toy which was temporarily Matthew’s, in bottom right corner of photo):

Tonight we showed the children the art of making and eating s’mores (melted marshmallow and chocolate sandwiched between two graham crackers). They were full of wonder and excitement when we took out all the ingredients. The interest level went up several notches after they saw the portable gas stove on the dining table.

Daddy, the pyromaniac, showing the children how to toast a marshmallow. Notice the intense and focused look on his face.

Let the toasting begin!

The perfect s’more:

Enjoying the s’more:

We went to the “Fantasy of Lights” train ride where most of the park is decorated with light displays.  The miniature train takes us through parts of the park where we can see most of the light displays.  The children were mesmerized and had a great time.  After the train ride, we went on the carousel ride three times!!!  There weren’t a lot of people there so we were allowed to get on it for as many times as we like.

Mommy, Emmaline, and Calissa on the train:

Mommy and the kids in front of the train:

Some of the light displays:

Carousel ride:

We read Matthew 2:7-21 this morning for our devotion. The passage describes Jesus’ birth and King Herod’s evil act of killing all males ages two and under. To my surprise, Matthew asked me why God didn’t kill Herod before Herod killed all the boys ages two and under. He is essentially asking the “why does God allow evil?” question that we often hear. I was surprised by his question because I had underestimated my five-year-old’s ability to consider and voice a difficult question that has puzzled people for many centuries.

So, how did I answer? I told him that God works all things together for the good of those who trust Him. The phrase “all things” includes both good and bad things, including Herod’s wicked act of killing all the boys. [Funny note: At this point, my three-year-old side tracked and started to talk about his uncle's film, "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" because I had mentioned "all things" including "the good" and "the bad."] I proceeded to explain that even though Herod tried to thwart God’s plan by killing baby Jesus, God’s plan did not get thwarted. In fact, God remained in control and was still sovereign despite (and through) Herod’s wicked plan. Matthew expressed his indignation at Herod because he was so wicked as to want to kill Jesus even before He was a man. I affirmed his indignation and redirected him back to God who is still sovereign in all things. The God we trust and believe in is powerful and able. Even through all the evil and sad circumstances that have occurred (and will continue to occur) in history, God remains all powerful and we should rest in this truth and be comforted when we face trials.

I came away from this morning’s devotion encouraged because we strive to teach our children about God through our daily lives. My son’s insightful question – which also reveals his simple faith in the sovereignty and goodness of God — tells me that he is catching and understanding little by little all that we have taught him.

An Unexpected Reminder

Several nights ago my grandparents invited our family to dinner because they missed seeing the children. After dinner my grandma said to me that it brought her so much joy interacting with the children, and she also went on to say that there must be even MORE joy for me to be with my children every day. I don’t normally get comments like this and I also admit that sometimes I don’t act like my children are a blessing even though I truly believe that they are. I was encouraged and blessed by my grandma’s comment.

My grandma’s comment led me to reflect a little on our culture’s view of children. It is no surprise nor a mystery that our culture, generally speaking, doesn’t have a high view of children. Many do not want to be burdened with having children because of the physical and emotional work that ensued, nor do they want to lose the freedom that they enjoy.

A friend just returned from an one-month-trip to Asia, and she said one thing she noticed while there was that people don’t have children. The norm is not having any children, and those that who have children only have one. Most child-bearing age women do not desire any children. Rather, they find pride and joy in working in the workforce as children get in the way of obtaining wealth and status. The government of Taiwan is now paying people to have children. This is also true in Japan, France, and other European countries. Yet even with monetary incentives, people are still unwilling to have children. Many analysts fear that with this childless trend, these cultures will soon vanish in just several generations.

A Jarring Contrast

I remember a shopping incident at a local Target about a year ago where I was pushing a double stroller and carrying a kid on my back in an Ergo carrier. There I was, with three little ones (my husband was somewhere in the store with our oldest) moving about inside the store, and then I noticed a lady pushing a single stroller staring at me. Her look was very telling, and it seemed to say: “You have too many children.” The story doesn’t end here because with a cursory glance, I noticed her single stroller was smaller than average. I didn’t think much of it until the lady got a little bit closer to me that I noticed the passenger in the stroller was not a child, but a dog. This lady was pushing a stroller designed for a small dog!!! I thought the look she gave me was ironic because one would think that having three children with me was normal rather than pushing a small dog in a stroller. And she’s not alone! We live in a day when many people would rather have pets than having children (after all, no college costs!). Pets are the new family members and they are the “children.” We see this trend in Seattle, nearby San Francisco, and other major metro areas, where there are more people with pets than with children. It was simply more fashionable, less committal, and less work to have a pet than to have a kid.

What are the root causes for these trends? Why are we different? I think the dominant secularization of many urban areas is no coincidence. I’m just guessing, but I think it’s a reasonable guess that many of regions of the world that still have theistic demographics are more likely to have children than otherwise.

My Conclusion

But the secular vs. religious divide is not the only answer, nor is it the primary answer for I consider children to be a blessing, and am thankful for the many God has given us. Ultimately, it is the Bible’s teaching that children are a blessing — not merely subjectively so, but objectively so!

As I think of all the differing opinions that I’ve encountered about children, it only reinforces my conviction that I need to constantly treasure my children each day and count them as a blessing from above.

We’ve been busy so we skipped several Advent activities. My oldest knows exactly how many days we’ve missed and reminds me often that we need to make up for the lost days. Today we did a craft together and made paper ornaments which we hung from our dining room ceiling.

Matthew helping to measure the exact length of each paper strip:

Andrew holding a finished paper ornament:

Paper ornaments hanging from the ceiling:

This evening, for our advent activity, we went to see a reenactment of Jesus’ birth. This particular event has become our tradition for the past three years and as always, we enjoyed the experience. The church that sponsors this reenactment transformed their facility into significant locations in the town of Bethlehem where there were Roman soldiers, live animals, wise men, and shepherds. Below are pictures from tonight’s event:

A Roman soldier announcing Caesar’s new law of taking the census:

Daddy and the boys signing the census:

Mary and Joseph entering the city of Bethlehem:

Angel appearing to the shepherds below, proclaiming the birth of Jesus:

Shepherds coming to see baby Jesus:

A wise man descending from a camel:

The wise men paying homage to baby Jesus:

Daddy chatting with a Roman soldier who is much, much taller: