Christmas Eve in the Barn

It's once again Christmas Eve! The one magical night of the year--presents are under the tree, Santa is on his way, and the kids are tucked in bed awaiting the morning of fun! Weston has been a bit of a toot today. It started off this morning when he and his sister were arguing. She was asking him to give her something of hers and he wasn't cooperating, so Kyle went and got on to them. Well, Weston has developed just a bit of attitude in the past few days. He looks up at his Dad and says, "I hate you." Talk about a blow. Kyle spanked him and put him in time-out for awhile. I was furious...it makes me mad because you want to do for your kids, but at the same time they have to know that it's not acceptable to act that way--so, do you take presents away being that it is Christmas Eve? I didn't...yet. But I got on to him pretty hard and told him that Santa will not tolerate that behavior. The rest of the day progressed with only a few squabbles.
We went to my parents' house this afternoon for lunch. We went to church with them too and the sermon was really good! There was a Christmas theme but the basic message centered around truth and grace. Are you a truth-focused person or a grace-focused person? I can honestly say I didn't know what a grace-focused person was until a couple of years ago. But when you aren't shown grace in a time of need, you soon realize that truth isn't the only thing to use to reach people. A truth-focused person isn't a bad person--it is just a person that is so focused on justice for wrongdoings and sin that they miss an opportunity to share God's grace with others. However, a grace-focused person must also learn to use truth in their message. What happens if you only show grace? A person comes to believe that there is no recourse for their actions. There is a perfect balance that none of us can achieve--we all try, but only God can provide that balance we need.
After church we ate roast, potatoes, and all the fixins' at my parents' house and then opened presents. I got an awesome laptop briefcase for my travels! It's a gorgeous brown color with a few zip pockets that are perfect for carrying my computer and books for class as well as when I travel for work. I am up to about 4 trips per year, so it will definitely come in handy. I was wanting a case on wheels so that I could save my arm from carrying all of my bags! The kids got several goodies such as Nintendo DS games, however "Santa" is bringing their Nintendo DS players tonight, so they weren't very thrilled with their games. But I know that tomorrow it will make more sense to them. Weston got his football he has been longing for--he was ecstatic when he opened it up. They also got roller skates from my parents which they didn't take off until time to go! They are ready for us to get the skating rink up and running!
Then, it was off to my grandparents' house for dinner and presents. The kids got some great things there, but Kylie's face when she opened up her Razorback cheerleading outfit was priceless--that moment is exactly what Christmas is all about. She screamed and jumped up and down. Then, she ran and gave my grandparents a great big hug.
For some reason Weston isn't as excited as I would expect him to be. But, I went back and read myblog from last year and now I remember maybe why that is. I forgot that last year he was beside himself with nerves over the presents, Santa, and all of the hooplah. He just doesn't handle all of the excitement very well. However, that doesn't excuse his attitude. He was warned that he WILL wake up in a better mood tomorrow!
Well, once again, it's time to set out the presents from Santa and get tucked into bed. It's raining here, so the sound of the rain on the metal roof is nice and soothing.
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!