Joy To Her World
I snapped this yesterday, during a quiet Sunday afternoon where Haven was having her yuletide world rocked.
This year she’s all about The Polar Express. She calls it the “Magic Train.” When the opening credits roll, she gets excited. When the train appears for the first time outside of the boy’s house (didja ever notice none of those kids have names?), she starts bouncing. When they hit the North Pole, she goes ballistic.
“Elves, Daddy! Look!”
Everything about Christmas this year has been exciting for her. The tree. Christmas lights around the neighborhood. The music. We have several nativity sets sitting around the house, and she takes great delight in putting some of her own babies in the place of Jesus. Last year, she kissed Baby Jesus every night before going to bed. Except for that one time where she kidnapped him.
Last year I started the tradition of buying her a special Christmas book. 2011’s was Room for a Little One, which had a particularly poignant subtext for our family in the year of her adoption. This year it’s Song of the Stars, a new classic by Sally Lloyd-Jones. She looks forward to those every night as part of her wind-down routine.
Seeing Christmas through the eyes of a two year old has helped our entire household see Christmas with fresh eyes. So what’s your favorite Christmas memory from your childhood? Or better – what’s your favorite tradition with your kids today? Comment below.
Precious! A book that she will enjoy when she’s a little older is The Story of Holly & Ivy. It also has an adoption theme running through it. I loved it growing up. My favorite Christmas memory was making Christmas ornaments with my Mamaw Letha to turn my pink room into the scene from Twas the Night before Christmas where they say that “visions of sugar plums danced in their heads.” I had my very own christmas tree with victorian doll ornaments, pink ice cream cones, pink lollipops, and gumdrops strung from one part of my ceiling to the other. It was magical. I better write my Mamaw today and tell her how much I appreciated that. Thanks for the reminder.