Bad Logic of Santa

Call me a crazy, a scrooge, whatever but the whole Santa thing just isn't for me. Because I don't want to lie to my kids or give some made up dude credit for the presents I bought, I choose to tell my kids that Santa is not real and just stick to the true meaning of Christmas. My fear is that one day after dreaming up and playing out Santa, I will be asked by my kids "So is God/Jesus fake too"? That is not a risk I'm willing to take, even for fun.

This month Theo and I started a conversation about Santa. To my delight it has been hilarious. We've come up with a list of items that just flat out bring justice to the bad logic of Santa. So here it goes...

The Bad Logic of Santa

1. Reindeer's don't fly or have red glowing noses.

2. How can a fat guy go down a chimney (let alone anyone?

3. How does Santa know if people are being good or not (he's not God)?

4. How can Santa travel in one day around the whole world, its impossible?

5. How can Santa eat cookies at every house and not get sick?

6. How does Santa get funding to buy presents & pay elves?

7. How come Santa never died, he's old?

8. Could you really fit a present for every kid in the world, in a sleigh?

9. Elves are not real?

10. What the heck does Santa do the other 11 months out of the year?

If you can answer these questions logically for me or provide evidence to prove me wrong, please do. I'm all for having fun but I hope that as much effort as you put into the story of Santa on Christmas you put that much or more into telling the story of Jesus. Bah, humbug!

Count Down

This year we are trying something new for our count down to Christmas. In the past we've done small gifts each day until Christmas. I wanted get a way from that for a couple of reasons; 1. I don't like all the extra junk 2. I don't like encouraging the "what am I getting" attitude.

This year we are doing more of a reflection on Christmas with a line up of stories. Each day has either a Christmas story, bible story or Christmas poem that we will read each night. Theo seems pretty pumped about it, this might be the start of a new tradition.

Grilled Chicken Sandwich

Ingredients

• Chicken Breast




• Olive Oil




• Spices (I use garlic salt, thyme & paprika)




• Whole wheat bun




• Cheese




• Tomatoes




• Spinach Leaves




• Condiments (we like to use chipolte ranch dressing)

Put your chicken breast in a zip lock bag, drizzle with Olive oil. Seal bag and pound chicken flat (I use a rolling pin), then spice it up. Put chicken on the grill for about 7 min per side. Grill bun. Add chicken, cheese, tomatoes, spinach leaves and condiments to the bun.

Quick, healthy dinner, Fredricks style.

Cone Cakes

Last year at Christmas my sister and I thought it would be a good idea to make cake balls during our annual cookie making day. After that day, I said that I would never make them again. The process was way too time consuming and not so rewarding for me. Since then a little idea has been brewing in my head.

I've loved cone cakes since I was a kid, so I came up with a little twist. Make the inside just like a cake ball and dip it just like a cake ball but it will be way quicker and much more rewarding. Now this I can handle. I got my first customer too, my sister wants these at her wedding, so I guess my little experiment went over well.

Herman

When I was a kid, every Halloween my BFF and I would decorate her house and build our friend Herman. This was the first Halloween that Theo and I build our own Herman. We've had him around for the last couple weeks and its been really nice. He's low maintenance, positive, good company and a great listener. My kind of people. I might just keep him around all year long.

This is me and Amber with Herman, we were probably in junior high here. I don't know why we had to dress up like old ladies, its was just the thing to do. I have a feeling that Theo and I will be building our friend every Halloween. It gives me a great excuse to have my friend around again. Happy Halloween Herman.

1 Year Old

Just one year ago we added a beautiful daughter to our family. She has been an awesome addition and has brought a completeness to our family.

One of the things we've wanted to give our kids a verse. We gave Theo his early on and Jacob knew exactly what he wanted to give him (Proverbs 2:1-9). For Cadence, a verse took us a little more thought, it seems a bit more of a challenge to raise a daughter and I think that the both of us wanted her verse to be one to reveal beauty and character in her, so today for her birthday...

1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12: 1-2

Happy Birthday Cadence Lucy Michelle, we are committed to tackling the challenge of raising you. You are an amazing girl, we love you.

Keep It Forever

I hate clutter, but I love my son, so when he started bringing home a bunch of paperwork from preschool, it was all so special and I couldn't just toss like I normally do. After a pile started to build and I could no longer fit another piece of it on the fridge, I remember something I saw a long time ago.

So, one day while he was at school, I lined up all his school work and took a picture of it, then thew it away. This worked perfect! I got rid of the clutter and it still gave me an awesome way to keep the memories. And if he asks what happened to all his stuff, BAM, I still have it.