I never had a doubt that my parents loved each other.

And their bond gave me security. I felt safe in my family because I knew it couldn’t be splintered. Their love for each other was an example of their love for me.

Now as a mother, I see that letting my children know I love their father is a gift to them. Having a relationship with my husband that is real, true, and deep helps my kids feel secure in our family.

But now I also realize how hard my parents must have worked at having a good relationship. Marriage is not something that comes naturally just as parenting doesn’t come naturally.

{Read my full post at Motherhood Your Way}

This week of advent activities have been pretty tame until today–we played a Joseph obstacle course! Who’da thunk an obstacle course as a lesson in Christmas, huh? But, the kids had so much fun and wanted to play it again and again when we were done.

First, I let them get on some costumes. A big towel around their middle tied with a scarf and a handtowel on their heads. Then Lydia remembered her walking stick and thought that would be appropriate, too. They were to lay on pillows until I (Gabriel) told them what to do.

I read Matthew 1:20-21 to them and then they were allowed to get up and find Mary. There were actually TWO hidden Mary’s. One looked remarkably like Snow White and the other like Rainbow Bright. Asa was appropriately horrified of holding a girl doll.

Then they had to go on a trip to Bethlehem. It was basically just a run-in-between-the-pillows-hop-through-the-hula-hoops-and-crawl-under-the-table but they loved it!

When they arrived in Bethlehem, a giant container of stable animals met them. 23 to be exact! How do we know that number? We counted them all. You know, like a census!

Finally, we made our way to the manger of baby Jesus. We sang “Away in a Manger” and “Happy Birthday”.

We ended by talking about how much Joseph loved God, Mary and baby Jesus. We talked about how he was a good father and how our Heavenly Father is even better because He sent us his one and only son, Jesus!

So, all in all? A Christmas obstacle course? Love, love, love it!

See all our 2010 Advent Activities!

Our first week of advent activities was so fun! We’ve got new Christmas candles, a giant box under our tree, a scripture verse picture banner on our door and a gift for a NICU baby in the car! I’ve been impressed to hear Lydia talk about “hope” and “light” and Jesus this week.

This second week (days 8-14) begin tomorrow.  The theme is LOVE. I’ve printed some heart papers off with our activities for the week. Ready to get to it?

1. Candle

We’ll light our first candle and review the word “hope”. Then we’ll read John 3:16 and I’ll ask the kids to listen for a special word–a word that tells us something about God. A word that tells us how God feels about us. I hope they’ll catch the word “love”. Then we’ll light our candle.

I really like that we began last week with Isaiah 9 about Jesus being the light. I think it will continue to be reiterated with each candle. It’s almost as if with each lighting we’ll find a new attribute of Jesus. This week, I pray my kids know the LOVE that Jesus has for them.

2. Joseph

I want to focus on Joseph this week for several reasons. The first is that he is highly overlooked in the Christmas Story. Secondly, because I think He really illustrates love. His ability to marry Mary and follow God’s commands shows a sense of love and loyalty that many do not have. Finally, there is going to be a “Father” theme this whole week. And I’d like to tie Joseph into it. So, we’ll read the Christmas story and focus on Matthew 1:18-25.

Then we’ll do a little obstacle course/role-playing. I’ll let the kids dress up like Joseph. Then they’ll hit the following stations:

1. Lay down on a pillow and wait until Gabriel (me!) tells them to marry Mary. They will have to locate a hidden Mary doll and carry her to the next station.

2. The next station will be the journey to Bethlehem. I’ll set up a simple hop-scotch, jump-thru-the-hula-hoops or something for the kids to run through while holding Mary. When the get to they end they will be in Bethlehem.

3. Once at Bethlehem, they’ll have to locate the inn that will have room for them. I’ll set up a few stuffed animals and let them count them. (Get it? Counted?) Once they counted it, they can go to the final station.

4. Now we’ll go to Lydia’s baby doll bed and lay down baby Jesus and sing a lullabye or Christmas carol.

Then we’ll talk about what it must have been like for Joseph to love God, Mary and Jesus. And then hopefully lead it into the love God the Father has for us.

3. John 3:16

This is our memory verse game! I’m excited about this one! All you need is some identical boxes–we’ll use 6. You could do full size 12×12 boxes or small jewelry boxes. Or if you don’t want to do boxes, you could always do paper.

So, print off the memory verse (you can download them here) and then tape to the front of each box. Set them up in a pyramid shape with one box on top and  3 on the bottom (reading from top to bottom). If you use green paper or green boxes (or just your imagination), your pyramid should look like a Christmas tree!

After you’ve read the verse a few times, have your kids knock down the tree and then on your “go” have them put the verse in order! If you’re kids are little like mine, there is no way they’ll be able to do this in a tree shape–so you can have them do it in a straight line. If you have some competitive little guys, let them race each other and see who can do it in the shortest time.

Be creative and see what fun ways you can use your Memory Verse Christmas Tree Boxes!

4. Craft

I’ve got two crafts in mind for this week. We may make both of them because I wanted to do a craft that went along with John 3:16 and the gift of Jesus. But also, I wanted to do a tree to go along with our Tree activity (below).

The first is a cute little baby Jesus in the manger made from socks. I found it at Danielle’s Place and love it! You’ll basically just need a pink sock, brown sock and a few other scraps of material plus some poly-fill or some other type of filling.

The other craft is one I found in Lydia’s Clubhouse Jr magazine. It’s the cutest flower pot Christmas tree. All you need is 3-4 clay pots and some paint! Don’t you love it?!

5. Daddy

Our special “service project” this week is going to involve the dads in our lives. I’m still a little unsure on the specifics of what we’re going to do but I want to do something special for their Dad, their Papa and their Grandpa. I’m thinking we might make breakfast for Daddy. Meet Papa for lunch and bring Grandpa a coffee. Or we might make 3 of our crafts and give one to each.

Whatever we do, we’re going to talk about how great the fathers are in our lives. And then compare them to God the Father. How God is the true and best Father. How He loved us so much He would send His Son to us. My kids have been blessed with incredible grandfathers and a father. I hope they can make a good connection between these godly men and their Heavenly Father.

6. Tree

The Christmas tree is an odd tradition. There are all sorts of legends behind the tree but more than likely there is nothing more to the tree than an odd pagan tradition. But one of my favorite Christmas books is about the Christmas tree, The Pine Tree Parableby Liz Curtis Higgs. I’ve reviewed it here before and highly recommend it as a staple in your collection. We will be reading and discussing this book.

Then we will also be reading a new book–well, new to me. I read it once a long time ago and forgot about it until today. It’s called the The Legend of the Three Trees. Three trees dream of becoming wonderful items—a treasure chest, a magnificent ship and something that pointed to God. Each got their wish in a way they never understood–as a manger, a lowly fishing boat and a rugged cross. It puts tears in my eyes just thinking about it! I’m hoping our Christmas tree will be a reminder of God’s love for us–through his birth, his life and his death.

7. Movie

We’re going to pull out another Veggie Tales’ movie. This time it’s The Star of Christmas. It’s not really about the star (we’ll get to that soon!), it’s really about learning to love each other and showing real love on Christmas. The kids have already watched it once but I’m excited to watch it and discuss it afterward.

So, there you have it! That’s what we’re going to do next week! If you’re doing any of these advent activities, I’d love to hear about it! Leave me a comment here or on facebook. It will be fun to see what you’re doing!

{Oh, and here’s the full supply list for all these activities with links to the free downloads!}