Family Christmas

I love the Holidays don't you? Everyone gets more cheery ( probably thinking about the presents they'll get) and all the Christmas lights make everything so bright (please not when I'm trying to sleep though set those timers for 10pm at the latest).
One very important thing has been ..... missing. Peace.

You remember that feeling of peace don't you? Maybe when you were walking your dog alone on the back roads at midnight during a snowfall the silence was brilliant and you couldn't help but feel calm and smile. Or maybe it's just after you send your kids off to school for the day, Hubby off to work, baby down for a nap and there it is again...silence. Or occasionally and I have witnessed this myself and been in awe of it. When someone mentions Jesus Christ of course His name in a humble manner. Silence.

We, as a family, have decided that TV is too loud, computers are too annoying and time consuming and are doing an experiment with spending time together this December. We have some G rated movies the occasional PG set aside for every Sunday and Monday for the next couple of weeks and the week of Christmas nothing but Christmas movies but we prefer nothing at all. We prefer longer dinners to sit around and talk. We prefer reading out of books about how others celebrate their Christmas around the world. And we have found since we started doing this a couple of weeks ago that it works. We spend a lot of time together. We have found a humble and peaceful silence.

There was an awful lot of arguing going on beforehand. This experiment is totally worth it. My kids not only do their chores but offer to do more around the house without complaint. WITHOUT COMPLAINT. You don't know how wonderful that makes me feel that my 2 oldest children have finally had a chance to notice how busy I am with the baby and the household. They never would have seen it without the silence.

There is the most beautiful voice singing Silent Night on my music video side.
This Christmas season, to all my friends and family, turn off the tv and read together. Spend hours in delightful conversation and silliness. Find peace.