Day 23 - Mary's Boy Child

As you all know, from previous posts, my kids and I have been doing a lot of baking. The majority of this baking is given away to teachers, neighbors, the mailman, CAP and Scout leaders, and friends. Yesterday, Joshua and I went to the houses of the neighbors we have met, and we delivered our bundles of yumminess. Our neighbors' responses were all pretty much the same...dumb foundedness and questioning looks, followed by what Joshua described as "odd moments of silence", where upon Joshua would back away and say "well..Merry Christmas." When we described this scene to my husband, he laughed and said "that's New Jersey for you"... or something to that effect. These neighbors all have Christmas decorations up...Christmas trees in their front windows, Christmas lights on their houses, Christmas wreaths on their front doors...and still the Spirit of Christmas escapes them. How sad! Christmas history, just like so much of World and American history, has been lost in the shuffle of self-interest. I am so thankful that our family has not forgotten that this is the time of year when the greatest gift of all time was given to mankind - Jesus! In my husband's family, when he was growing up, a birthday cake was made for Jesus every Christmas. I am thankful for this family tradition - stay tuned for pictures of our birthday celebration. For now...