Wifey Wednesday - To Give or Not to Give

Jeff and I have been going back and forth the past few weeks about whether or not to exchange Christmas presents. Of course we always exchanged when we were first married but then Sophie came along and we put all of our effort into her at the holidays. Plus, we have always been fortunate enough that if we needed something during the year, we were able to get it rather than wait for Christmas. 

We both fill as though it is very important that Sophie experience us exchanging presents with one another. We want her to share in that excitement and joy with Mommy and Daddy and understand the importance of giving to others. Last year we knew we were heading to Disney for the Spring so all of our effort went towards the trip. However, this year we are truly stumped! I don't want to spend money on things we don't want or need just for the sake of having a gift under the tree but we both feel as though we need to do something.....?!

Thanksgiving holidays are easy to explain with little room for confusion - we give thanks for all of our many blessings. However, as Sophie gets older, Christmas becomes more challenging. We NEVER EVER want her to lose sight of the real reason that we celebrate CHRISTmas and that is for the birth of our ever loving Jesus! We want to teach her the importance of thankfulness when receiving gifts from our loved ones while enjoying the fun and excitement of giving to those we love and never losing focus of our Lord and Savior because at the end of the day that is all that matters. Not the decorations, money spent, presents, or yummy food. It is all about celebrating our most cherished gift of all and that is Jesus. How loving is our Heavenly Father that he has blessed us with so many ways to express and show our love to others. In today's world of social media, the peer pressure of Pinterest, and holiday decorations being set up in September - we must never lose sight of the real reason for the season. The reason for it all, not just at Christmas but every day.  

As we begin this magical and exciting holiday journey this year, we pray every day that God will help us as parents to never lose our focus. We pray that we can instill in our child the core foundation of what the holidays are really all about as we enjoy and celebrate all the fun!