That's what Christmas is all about.

It has been a very Bangsund Christmas this year.  We have experienced it all.  Six year old tantrums.  A sweet mother-son piano duet.  A lesson in grace.  Super cool gifts from the World Vision catalog.  Lots of Legos.  And two very special fish.  Read on for all the details and lots of pictures.

Christmas Eve day was mellow here.  Erik had already been off work since Friday, so we were feeling pretty relaxed.  In fact I was in my pajamas until some dear friends stopped by with their daughter whom we had not previously met.  She works in Alaska.  That's far away.  I digress.

Our first commitment for the day was meeting Grandma and Grandpa at church for the 5pm family service.  The boys put on their fancy clothes without the customary battle of the wills.  Sidenote:  my mother is a genius.  She made Paul a pair of brown corduroy dress shorts and bought him a pair of long argyle socks.  No more arguments over pants.  Beautiful.

Sadly, Paul and I had a confrontation over a different matter right before we went out the door.  I was trying to get his picture in front of the tree when he LITERALLY bounced backward into the tree, tilting it backward into the window.  Every single one of my grandmother's antique glass ornaments, placed on our tree for the first time this year in memory of her, clinked and clacked as the tree tipped and uprighted itself.

And I gasped audibly.  Paul doesn't like it when I do that.  I didn't yell.  I just gasped and then got really quiet.  He knew I was mad.  He doesn't like it when I'm mad.  So he got mad.  He did yell.  It was a little bit of holiday insanity.  All of my grandmother's ornaments were nearly destroyed and I'm being yelled at by an irate six year old child.  Eventually I did let fly with one very ugly comment.  Something about not ever having beautiful things because someone is just going to break them.  Gross, I know.

I know what you are thinking.  This isn't very Christmas-y, Amy.  Can't you just skip all this and get on with the church service or the time with the family or the presents?  Anything, but this.  Stick with me folks.  Because I honestly believe that this IS what Christmas is all about.

I'd like to say that things were much better at church.  They weren't.  Paul behaved, but my attitude stunk.  Ever done that?  Gone to church with a poopy attitude?  No, I'm the only one?  Didn't think so.  At one point I actually leaned over to Erik and said, "I don't want to be here."  He smiled lovingly at me and didn't say that he could tell.  But he could.

I'm going to skip ahead to the final tantrum of the evening.  It was Paul's not mine.  Shocking, isn't it?  While we were at Dave and Lynne's for dinner and gifts, Paul was repeatedly whiny, ungrateful, and demanding.  He had multiple timeouts, during which he SCREAMED at the top of his voice for all to hear.  In the condo there is really nowhere you can hide from that volume.  It was pretty bad.

By the time we got home, I was SO ready to skip everything the following morning.  Give them more presents?  No way.  Maybe we'll do it the 26th if they can pull their act together.  And that's when it hit me, hard, like a punch in the stomach.

God did not wait to give His Gift until we had our acts together.  Jesus came and was born as a baby, God in the flesh, when nobody had their acts together.  We were (and still are) sinners.  But Christmas happened anyway.  God gave His best perfect Gift, His Son, Jesus Christ, despite our being undeserving, whiny, ungrateful, demanding, and sometimes having poopy attitudes.  And when we accept the gift, we are given new life, delivered from all that un-Christmas-y stuff into the realm of true joy and peace.  And that's pretty Christmas-y, isn't it?  (I told you I would get there!)

Wanna see the pics?  Okay. You've endured the sermon, so I'll reward you.  Yes, I'm aware that many of you scrolled past the sermon.  I'm cool with that.  I write it mostly so I can remember the lessons I'm learning, anyway.  :-)

So cute...moments before he bounced the tree.

With the Tomten at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

A family shot looking fancy.

 Luke and I played Away in a Manger as a duet.  It was far from perfect, but I think everyone enjoyed it anyway.

Grandma opening the nativity scene we made for her.  It was pretty special.

Wow.  I'm struck by how sweet all those pictures look.  You would never know looking at them what was going on in our hearts.  I'm thankful we have a God who does not look at outward appearances, but looks at our hearts.  I need Him to look there because nobody else can see it if I choose not to reveal it.  And it needs to be revealed so that it can be cleaned!  (End preaching.)

Segue to Christmas morning pics:  I forgot to take pictures of our birthday cake and World Vision catalog time, but it was good.  Sticking to tradition we sang carols, ate cake, and picked birthday presents for Jesus first thing on Christmas morning.  The boys picked lots of good stuff, but the items that were the most fun were solar lanterns for kids.  In the third world, it can be really hard to do homework by the light of a kerosene lamp.  Having a solar powered lantern enables students to do homework without incurring eye and lung damage or risking fire.  The boys also gave backpacks for orphans, some ducks, and seeds for farmers.  Erik and I picked a goat and three more ducks this year.

Then it was time for Lego.  Okay, the boys actually had to be called in from the playroom when it was time for gifts.  They were playing contentedly with the things they got from Dave and Lynne.  But I was so glad that we were a bit extravagant in our gifts to the boys this year, especially with Paul.  We bought him a Lego set that he has longed for, but that was beyond our normal price point for gifts.  I found it on Amazon a few weeks ago priced well within our budget, along with a set for Luke similarly priced.  So I got them.  And now I know why.

They were the perfect example of extravagant grace.  Paul's behavior warranted coal and lots of it.  He got the Lego set of his dreams.  This is exactly what God gives us!  We deserve punishment and death.  We get eternal life and all the riches of heaven - love, joy, peace, etc!  I know.  He's six.  Does he really get it?  I don't know.  But as many times as I can paint this picture for him, I will.  It's worth it.

Hard to believe the Rancor Pit from Star Wars can be a picture of God's grace to the world in Jesus Christ...but it is.

 Luke liked his set as well.  It's an AT-TE from Star Wars.  Um...it's technical, folks.  Only eight year old boys really understand it.

Let the building begin!

And quiet descended upon the house.  I think I will save the fish for the next post.  Don't miss it, people.  Coming soon - Uncle Bob and Aunt Cindy's awesomeness.