Christmas Eve

I am sitting here on Christmas Eve feeling very content and very peaceful.  Normally I wouldn't write a blog post on this night but I needed to make sure I wrote down what happened in our home tonight.  All year long I try my hardest to teach my children about their Savior.  I take every opportunity I can to teach them and talk to them about Spiritual things.  When Christmas time comes I feel an added amount of pressure to make sure my kids aren't too focused on Santa.  I love all the commercial parts of Christmas but I want to make sure my children feel the spirit during the holidays.  This year I have felt a different kind of peace.  I feel like I was able to simplify our holidays in a way I haven't done before.  I didn't let myself stress too much about all the traditions that I HAD to do.  I let my kids set the pace and we had a great month.  This morning we went ice-skating instead of our usual movie.  It is what the kids chose.  We came home and I went for a run while the kids went shopping with Dave.  We had a huge Turkey and Ham dinner with some of our favorite people.  We joined the neighbors in the cul de sac for a fire.  We do the fire every year and we love it.  I was feeling a little guilty because we never got to the acting out the nativity part of our night.  At about 9 O'clock we had the kids come in to open their jammies.  Cameron became very anxious about family prayer and asked if he could say the family prayer.  We have our kids say their personal prayers and then Dave, Cameron and I take turns saying the family prayer.  Cameron NEVER wants to say the family prayer so I was surprised when he began asking when we were having prayer.  He got a little anxious about it and kept asking if he could say the prayer tonight.  I was getting a little irritated because he was obsessing over saying the family prayer.  When we all knelt down he asked Dave if he could say the prayer.  He then proceeded to offer one of the most beautiful prayers I have ever heard out of the mouth of a child.  He thanked Father in Heaven for our Savior and for this beautiful time that we have to celebrate His birth.  He went on an on and not once mentioned the commercial part of Christmas.  He prayed for us to have the Spirit.  He prayed for us to serve others. I wish I would have had a recorder on because I can't remember all that he said.  He finished the prayer by praying for those who didn't have much that they could improve their economic situation.  I always wonder if my kids are "getting" it.  I wonder if they are gaining testimonies of their Savior.  Then my 9 year old offers the most tender, heartfelt and sincere prayer and I know that somewhere along the way he is gaining a very powerful testimony and I am at peace.  That prayer made my whole Christmas.  It filled me with such a feeling of gratitude to be a Mom to my sweet, special little boy. Merry Christmas!