Our Fairytale Continues...

As a child raised with all the excitement of Christmas I find myself wondering... will my son have that same excitement and joy through Chanukah? Of course, I love Chanukah and all it stands for... just as I love all that surrounds my faith... but then I was an adult before really settling into a more Jewish lifestyle. I suppose it's different when it is your choice... somehow one seems more excited aboiut it when the choice was theirs... and so it is with me. So, how do I bring that excitement into the life of this small child and help him to see the joy that is there?
This year, that question was answered, not in words, but by the excitement in Ethan's eyes. The excitement as we lit the candles each night and said the blessing. The entertainment of watching him slowly peel open each gift... made even slower by his frequent trips to the recycling bin to dispose of each new torn piece of wrapping paper. The joy of opening a new gift every evening and most important playing with each new gift. The wonder we shared with each other those 8 nights and the great love that came from it. All of this showed me that while I will not be able to recreate those magical Christmas mornings... instead I can share with him my joy, the story of Chanukah, and all the great traditions surrounding it. Yes, that includes adding the most Western of Traditions... Presents... after all, what would the story & celebration of the gift of a miracle be without a few gifts being shared ?

Ethan received many wonderful gifts... I'm sorry I don't have pictures of him with each of them, but I will say he loved everything he was given and plays with all of it most everyday.

From Great-Grandma Elsie... his dump truck... which doubles as a riding toy... which I might add makes some of the most obnoxious sounds and as a result Ethan thinks it's the greatest thing!


The great riding horse from Grandma & Grandpa Martin... which also makes an amazing amount of noise... OH! and did I mention that it makes even more noise when it hooks up to the TV learning part? I'm starting to think that grandparents look for the largest loudest toys they can find... or in Sean's words "do they hate us?"


He also got lots of new books, his very cool Little People Farm, clothes, his own laptop (to hopefully encourage him to leave daddy's alone), and his own camera (which has worked great at getting him to leave mommy's alone). The last gift he received was from our friend Jenn, who is another of our amazingly talented friends. She made Ethan his robe... it is a great flannel with little dragons on it... he loved running around in it!