Posted in Holiday Traditions

Happy Hanukkah! (It ends tonight at sundown.)

Hanukkah has been wonderful this year! This year I felt so free. I was able to relax, enjoy my family and I didn't have any stress! My husband and my children also enjoyed Hanukkah and are looking forward to next year. I didn't have to stress about I truly feel about Christmas. I didn't have to worry about baking, cooking, decorating or any of the other things I don't like during this time of year.

We did go to my grandmothers house the weekend before Christmas and opened presents and did Christmass-y stuff. The kids enjoyed opening all their gifts from their grandma, great-grandma and aunt and uncles. It was an enjoyable time with family, but as far as the whole Christmas thing - I was not feeling it. I don't have or ever will have a Christmas groove.

On the 25th we all slept in.  We all did some chores. Then, for fun, we all hopped in the truck and drove around the city to see what was open. We made it more of a game for us - not much is open. It was a great day for witty, fun family sarcasm.  We treated the kids to Sonic to get slushies and snacks for lunch. We bought some drinks at 7-11 and then for dinner we ate at Panda Express. Oh, and we drove around car dealerships.
By the way - Have you seen the new Dodge Challenger? It's hot! I can so picture my mom in one! She used to have a Challenger back in the 70s. Oh, the fun memories of riding in the back seat while she drove.
I also got a call from my uncle whom I haven't seen or heard from in over 20 years. It was so nice to talk to him again. He's the kind of guy that tall tales are made of. I'll never forget watching my uncle wrestle with his horse. When I was a young girl he built me doll house. To my suprise, I was the doll! The dollhouse was a big as a shed. It was better than any tree house! It was my little home in my backyard. My mom and I painted it yellow and the shutters were blue with red stencilled hearts.

Then came the day after the 25th. We braved shopping. It was crazy wild, but we made it fun. I did find the Indiana Jones Monopoly game for $17 (normally $30).

We bought the children a few Hanukkah gifts and gave them to them on different nights. Candy, books, clothes, a new toy each and Djembe drums. We thought we would stick with the tradition of rewarding children for learning the Torah. (We are still reading and doing lessons from Exodus.)

Shalom

Posted in Holiday Traditions

Posted in Holiday Traditions

Posted in Holiday Traditions

Hanukkah begins tonight at sundown. We are all looking forward to this week! It has been a long time since I've last celebrated Hanukkah. I'm excited to celebrate it for the first time with my husband and children.

We don't have a menorah so we will be putting out 8 candles. Jewish Treats has a great post about candles and candle placement without using a menorah.

Check out these links!
Melisa at the Subruban Scawl is posting her Eight Crazy Posts!
Jewish Treats has some great articles. Very infomative.
Make your own Menorah and other Chanukah arts and crafts.
An Online Menorah
All about Chanukah as well as some recipes.
Fun and games for kids at TorahTots!
More great links and information at Biblical Holidays.

If you have or know of other great Hanukkah links or recipes, please share.

Note: I am not Jewish, however I do have Jewish roots. My great-great-great grandparents were Messianic Jews. The came to America from Prussia.
I enjoy celebrating Biblical Holiday's they bring joy, peace and freedom - an "at home" feeling to me.

Posted in Holiday Traditions

Robin at Heart of Wisdom blog explains "To Christmas or Not to Christmas?" much better than I can. She's more eloquent and graceful about it than I am. I encourage you to read it as I feel the same way she does.

Christmas time has always been something I have struggled with since I was a child. We celebrated Christmas when I was a child and I have fond memories. My mother taught me the truth about Christmas when I was a child. We still celebrated it because my dad was not a Christian and he wanted to celebrate it. We also didn't want to deny grandparents the joys that can come with Christmas.

---Mom, I know you read my blog. I am so thankful for you teaching me the truth and for telling me that I can believe in the Bible as truth even though dad didn't like it. Thank you for teaching me and then letting me form my own opinions as I grew older. I love you!---

When I was a teenager and I was learning more in depth for a school project about how other countries celebrate this holiday and I started seeing all the pagan idol worship that had been passed down, some even before Christ, it put a bad taste in my mouth. I started questioning how this "supposedly" Christ centered holiday could be so... heathen. Just because Christmas has "CHRISTmas" in it doesn't mean that Christ is in this holiday. Truth is, Christ has never been in Christmas.

Over the years Christmas started getting boring. I get bored quickly. Each year I would get stressed out because of the crazyness with family gatherings and feeling like I had to get people gifts. I would also get stressed because I have always felt convicted for celebrating this holiday while knowing its pagan roots. I honestly think that the Lord has made this holiday "boring" for me for a reason. I have always desired that He be in control of what I do, and I am very grateful for the conviction that He given me. If only I would of put it into action sooner... I'm a Christmas hypocrite.

I have recently learned that my husband never liked celerating Christmas after he became a Christian. He couldn't really put his finger on why until last year when I told him my feelings. I am so thankful for my husband and so grateful that we are on the same page now. No more pretending for the both of us.

Like I said in my previous Christmas post - Because I don't like Christmas doesn't mean that I will point fingers or judge anyone because they do. That is not who I am. I am simply giving more of my history as to why I don't like Christmas. There will be no debate.

This year as a family we have decided to celebrate Chanukah. I'm so excited about this. This will be the first time for my hubby and children to celebrate this beautiful holiday to celebrate a miracle. Not only are we celebrating the miracle of the oil lasting eight days when the temple was re-dedicated but we, as Christians get to celebrate the many other miracles that Christ did, still does and will do. (John 10:22-39)
Chanukah is a beautiful time to remember that G-d is the G-d of miracles.

NOTE: This is not up for debate as this is "what I really think." This post is NOTdirected at anyone, so please do not "read into it." If you have read this and you go through feelings of "being attacked" conviction then I highly encourage you to take it into prayer as most likely it is the Holy Spirit.

Links I like on the subject:
To Christmas or Not to Christmas
Should We Celebrate Christmas?
Biblical Holiday's

Posted in Holiday Traditions

How does a Christmas hypocrite celebrate Christmas? Begrudgingly.

It's that time of year once again. If you followed me last year then you might be able to recall that I admitted that I am a Christmas hypocrite. I admitted to pretending to like Christmas.

Nothing has changed about my feelings towards this Holiday. I've even debated with myself today whether or not to even post about this topic again. I won.

This can be a "thorny" subject for many, but what is important is that no matter how you celebrate this holiday season that you do it with a clean heart. For many this is the only time they focus of Christ. For others this is a time to show others the love of Christ. For some it's getting back to our roots. For some it's fun.

Just because I don't like Christmas doesn't mean that I will point fingers or judge anyone because they do. That is not who I am. I have met people or have had friends that have said harsh words no matter what side of the Christmas/Holiday thing they or I are on. To argue those things are wrong.
What is important is following the convictions that Christ has given you and not  to worry about what others feel led to do. We are all different, we all walk at different strides.

I'm not pretending at all this year that I like Christmas. I did away with that last year. I have been careful to hold my tongue at times as to how I approach things as they come up.

This year we aren't completely throwing Christmas out because we enjoy spending time with family members at their homes. Some family we only see once a year. This year we are not putting up a tree or decorating. This year we are celebrating Chanukah. I'm excited about this because I feel "at home" when it comes to my Hebrew roots. This was something that my husband and children asked to do. Who am I to argue that? I feel that this will be a beautiful time of family worship for us. I'm excited.

The number one reason I don't like celebrating Christmas is it's pagan roots. Don't worry, this is not a recent thing. I've hated Christmas since I was a teenager - a long time. I've pretended for to long. I'm done.

Places of interest to visit:
Heart of Wisdom - The links to her blog are not working right now. When they are working I will update.

Biblical Holiday's

Andrew Tallman Show - He has some reasons not to celebrate as well as other great links.

So, don't be supprised if you see any of my microblog updates on Facebook or Twitter to be "Scroog-y."
Bah Hum Bug! I will not be speading Christmas cheer.

Posted in Holiday Traditions

I am thankful that I don't have any company coming over this week. I don't have to cook a huge meal. I don't have to scrub every nook and cranny of my home in fear of what obsessive family members might find.

Instead, I get to enjoy the week with peace and little stress.

I have been reading "Pilgrim Stories" by Margaret Pumphrey out-loud to my children which I downloaded from Homeschool Freebies. You can still download them! All of their freebies from November 10th onward are still free! Check it out, there are a lot of goodies!

The children are learning about Abraham Lincoln.

I am also planning on implementing a new Thanksgiving tradition using five pieces of corn.

We will be going over to my aunt and uncles home for Thanksgiving, and thankfully it will only last a few hours. I look forward to seeing family. I'll be taking Egg Nog Bread and some veggies.

Sadly, it feels like Thanksgiving is being squeezed out of the picture. Christmas stuff fills the isles at the stores. Carol's fill the airways. It's rare to find anything Thanksgiving geared during Thanksgiving.

 

Posted in Holiday Traditions

While my hubby was on a short break from work today we were talking about something Christmas related. I do remember telling him that I think Christmas is boring and over-rated, but I let him and the kids celebrate it despite my real feelings for this holiday. I never have really told anyone how I feel about this holiday because well... I'm a hypocrite when it comes to Christmas. I pretend to be all happy, happy, joy, joy over this holiday, but in my heart I could care less about this time of year.

I started my dislike for Christmas when I was a teenager. It was boring then and 20 years later it is even more boring. Every year its the same thing over and over. The same songs, the decorations, the rude people, the "I wants", the going to house to house, the comercialism and even the whoop to do that goes back and forth about taking Christ out of CHRISTmas and changing it to "Holiday" stuff. *ugh* Oh "Bah Hum Bug!" This past Sunday at church they started singing the "Hark the Harold Angels" song in worship and I wouldn't sing it because it was just another reminder of how much I don't like Chirstmas. This isn't even a biblical holdiay. The Bible doesn't tell us to celebrate the birth of Christ. Christmas is just another traditon of man that I don't care to celebrate. I find putting up a Christmas tree to be hard work and the tree takes up space that we need. I hate shopping and I can't stand wrapping presents. I've always let my hubby and kids put up the tree and decorate while I sit quietly and take pictures. I'm not one to push my thoughts and spoil this holiday for my hubby or kids... even others for that matter. Hence, my hypocrite-ness. Well, until today anyways and boy do I feel better that I let it out. (I have stated Biblical reasons why I don't like celebrating this time on a message board once though.)

This year for the first time I even went to a womans Christmas ornament exchange at church. I even made a special ornament. I didn't really want to go, but I did... with a false "Oh, I love Christmas" attitude. The fellowship was nice and I enjoyed making the ornament. (My ornament was the only handmade one there.) But, as I sat there in the corner I was miserable because I was pretending to like something that I don't.

I make Christmas gifts for people because I enjoy making gifts and praying over them as I make them. That, to me is fun.

The kids made Christmas decorations which they painted yesterday. Our tree is "almost" all decorated. I still have gifts to finish making. This year we will probably follow our normal Christmas traditions, but now I can breath a bit easier because I don't have to keep my "Scroogy-ness" inside anymore. What a relief!

Hello, I am Dianna and I don't like Christmas!

Shew! I feel so much better now!

Posted in Holiday Traditions

It's late morning as I sit here sipping my coffee while pondering what to type.

Thanksgiving - ugh. It's next week. I enjoy this day when I get to stay home with my family. We don't always make a "traditional" meal, but this year.. who knows. We've been invited to go to my grandmothers. I love going over there and being around family, however I get stressed just thinking about it. I'm sure it will be fun, it usually is... its just getting there and enjoying it. At least I don't have to cook. I'll be baking some Pumpkin Bars though. mmmmm (I got the recipe from Jodi... years ago!!)

Learning - We are getting back into the groove of things again. Yesterday the kids started up their History scrapbooks. These are so cool. I love to see my children creatively learn. We'll also be doing American History, long division, learning about the OT Tabernacle and just enjoying our learning adventures. I've also started reading "Moby Dick" to the kids.

Crocheting - I'm keeping my hooks busy. I *think* I'll get all the gifts made before Christmas. I enjoy knitting as well, but crochet goes a bit more quicker for me. I am looking forward to being a part of the new Ravelry web site... I'm on the waiting list. Pick me! Pick me! (I'm jealous, my partne in crime, Jodi is a member.) (the site is still in beta).

Christmas - another, oh boy... it's almost here! I enjoy this time of year with my family... but like, Thanksgiving.. I don't like the stress. I've had so much stress thse past few weeks that I don't even want to think about what these holidays bring. Growing up we always had to spend the morning at one house, then the afternoon at another. After my hubby and I got married it was the same... except it was with spending time at my dads, then over to my moms... then to my dh's moms. Ugh. I'm so tired of all the traveling form home to home that I just want to stay home with my hubby and children. I'm very grateful that my side of the family has started having Christmas get-togethers on a different day. If only my mother-in-law could understand that our family wants to be alone on those days. *sigh*

I'm almost done with my coffee....

I'll get through all I need to get through by the strength of Christ. I probably sound bitter about the "holidays" ... which, in a few ways I am. I'm human. I'll get over it. I am thankful for my family, I love my family and I am glad that they all live nearby so that I can be around them.

 

Posted in Holiday Traditions

Resurrection Sunday Traditions

• Church (we don't dress up fancy for this, meaning there are no "special" frilly clothes.)
• Afternoon brunch at my grandmothers house. This is great family time.
• Relax after all the food
• The night before we make Resurrection Cookies.
• Instead of baskets, eggs, candy the kids usually get paper, pencils and other useful things.

Not much to it really as we don't get into all the pagan Easter traditions.

Like any other day, Easter Resurrection Sunday is just another plain ol' day to reflect, remember and be thankful for what Jesus Christ did for us so that we can be forgiven, to be free!

Posted in Holiday Traditions

One of the more fun Christmas traditions that we've started with our family is when we set up our nativity, the wise men and the babe are not placed in it.

 

The wise men wonder aimlessly around our home. I say aimlessly because I place them randamly around the house. One day they'll be on a counter, the next day they'll be on the top of the stairs, on another day they'll be next to the fish tank wondering what it was like crossing the Red Sea. You get the gist?

The kids love searching the house to see where the wise men are. On Christmas morning they are not in the manger scene, but they are close.

 

Baby Jesus appears on Christmas morning. Honestly, He gets put there the night before so mom and dad can sleep in, in the morning. The kids love waking up in the morning to see that the royal babe is there.

 

©Dianna A 2006

Posted in Holiday Traditions

Candy Making

 

I started making candy around CHRISTmas time when I was a teenager. I'd then wrap up the homeade goodies and give them to my friends and family.

 

Every year I HAVE to make Fudge, my husband demands it.

You see, the fudge I make is a recipe that has been passed down for six generations and is made in an iron skillet. When my mother first taught me how to make this fudge I was hooked on candy making. I have fond memories of standing by the stove while my mom stirred and then at the right time she would let me add the chocolate chips, butter and vanilla.

 

I also like to make:

Divinity

Caramel covered popcorn balls

Salt Water Taffy

Almond Roca

Peanut Brittle

 

Recipes to come so make sure you check back in a day. =)

©Dianna A 2006

 

 

 

Posted in Holiday Traditions

My buddy, JenIg did a wonderful CHRISTmas post. She totally summed up what my thoughts have been for years on the whole CHRISTmas thing.

 

Since I was a teenager I have never been big into the decorating and the "Jesus, is the reason..." thing. I could care less if I don't decorate my home. I can't stand CHRISTmas carols or songs. The repetition of it all year after year bores me! I hate shopping so I make gifts to give. I like to pray over those gifts as I make them and pray for the person that I am making the gift for.

 

Despite what I really feel about CHRISTmas we as a family still celebrate it as Christians. (Like JenIG does.) I enjoyed CHRISTmas as a child and thankfully my mother taught me that CHRISTmas is just another fun way to celebrate Him. We focus on Christ during this time just as much as we do on a daily basis. We use this time, like any other day or any other holiday, that Christ comes first. I do enjoy this time of year to create wonderful, CHRISTmas memories with my family.

 

When my kids are all grown up, I probably won't decorate my home CHRISTmas-y though!

 

Posted in Holiday Traditions

Decorating

 

Our family decorates our home together.

Our CHRISTmas tree has a plethora of old and new ornaments. From homemade ones that my husband or I made when we were little to the yearly keepsake ornaments my children recieve from their grandparents. Priceless ornaments from my great-grandmother hang on our tree as well her old star that tops our tree.

 

I put pine garland and red bows on our stair rails.

 

Presently, our decorations are still in their totes either in the garage or the 'hole in the wall.' Hopefully this weekend my husband can get out those heavy totes full of CHRISTmas treasures that we've collected over the years.

 

 

The only visible CHRISTmas related item in the house is this ribbon I bought the other day.

 

 

Christmas Tradition I   Christmas Tradition II

Posted in Holiday Traditions

Christmas notebooks

Every year my children work in their Christmas notebooks. Any Christmas related thing we learn goes into their 3-ring binders. Each year has it's own divider.

In previous years we've done Christmas symbols. Names of Jesus. Christmas ABC's.

 

Christmas Tradition I  post.

 

©Dianna A. 

Posted in Holiday Traditions

I guess the Christmas season is here...

We received our annual Swiss Colony gifts yesterday from my mother-in-law.

She sent us the Holiday Favorites package, the Christmas Breakfast package and

the Butter Toffee Tin.

 

This has been a tradition for her to send these. It has been our tradition to eat them! We like to graze on them on Christmas Day. Although, the butter toffee tends to disappear before Christmas... some how, not quite sure....

 

I will be sharing our Christmas traditions through-out the month.

To go along with that I'll add a Our Family Traditions catagory on my side bar.

*Note that catagory will include all the holidays we celebrate. =)