Christmas Secrets

Now that I have gone out and read some of your blogs, I feel much better, and I'm ready to post. Thanks for helping me unwind. Here's a post I started a few days ago:

Since this was going to be our first Christmas alone, Steve and I decided it was time to start some of our own traditions. I pirated an idea from a friend's blog (thanks Megan). (Incidentally, we had a happy surprise, and my parents are coming for Christmas! My sister and her family will be passing through, too. Yeah! We'll still start some new traditions, though!)

During Family Home Evening, we talked about the Christmas story and discussed how doing kind things for each other is like giving gifts to Jesus. We decided to do secret kind things for each other as often as we can until Christmas. Each time we do something, we can put a piece of "straw" (crumpled up construction paper strips) in the manger with baby Jesus. Here is a picture of our "manger." Yes, it does look strangely like a Moses basket, doesn't it?



Melissa has been busy making my bed and helping Megan and Lacie do kind things. She's really been doing a good job. I know she likes putting "straw" in the manger, so I thought I'd help her find some things to do. I got an unexpected response:

After folding laundry tonight, I walked slowly past Melissa with a stack of her folded laundry in my arms. I said, "Hmmm, I have some folded laundry here. I wonder what I should do with it. I wonder if someone would like to do something with it."

Melissa said, "Maybe you could do something secret, Mom." Then she said, "Have you done anything secret yet, Mom?"

I don't think kids get that everything Moms do is "secret service." No one ever notices, so that makes it secret, doesn't it? :0] (Dad's do secret things, too. Thanks for going to work every day, Honey!)