Oak Tree in an Acorn: January 2010

Friday, January 1, 2010

Banister Family Christmas Lights Contest

Another new Christmas tradition we are starting this year is the Banister Family Christmas Lights Contest. Normally, one night in mid-December we drive around different neighborhoods to see how families decorate the outside of their houses for Christmas. This year we have added a twist by buying four prizes, one for each member of our family, to give to the households of the four light displays that we like the best. Since we knew it would be a late night, the girls dressed in their snuggliest pajamas, brought a stuffed animal along, and wore their Santa hats. It was lots of fun listening and singing to Christmas carols as we drove around and looked at the displays. Each person got to choose only one house to win his/her first place prize. Two prizes ended up going to friends and the other two to people who we didn't know. It was fun leaving a surprise prize (an inexpensive can of Tootsie Rolls) on someone's doorstep, and it sure made us feel the Christmas spirit. Next year, we would like to figure out how to bring my mom with us because I know she would love seeing all the lights with the girls.

Sharing Christmas with God's creatures

This year we made a wildlife Christmas tree for the birds and insects that live near our home after we read the book, *Why Christmas Trees Aren't Perfect* by Richard H. Schneider.

We dried sliced apples and oranges and threaded popcorn and frozen cranberries on yarn.

Even Brian had fun stringing oranges. Then, the girls hung the edible ornaments on the tree in our front yard, and we had enough left for several trees in the back.

The red yarn was supposed to attract birds, but the birds seemed to be scared off when the ornaments blew in the breeze. The popcorn disappeared the fastest, and we saw several butterflies on the oranges. It was fun sharing Christmas with God's creatures, and I think we might make this a Banister holiday tradition.

Why the title, "Oak Tree in an Acorn"?

Well, really it's all about perspective when raising the girls. It helps me to think about the grand scheme of parenting and remember that what we do now affects how our little acorns will grow. Like an oak tree, we want them to be strong in their words and deeds, be able to withstand life's storms, set and reach their goals, and be people that others can lean on and trust.

We have an oak tree planted in our yard that came from an acorn my dad planted in a pot. This acorn came from a huge oak tree that was planted in the backyard of my dad's childhood home. My dad's father also planted this tree from an acorn he found on his hunting lease in the early 1960's. Our tree is thus a family heirloom, a "family tree".

It was the year of Olivia's birth when we planted our little sapling. It looked so very sad that winter with no leaves; it was, basically, like a stick rooted in the ground. Five years later, though, it stands 9 feet tall, and we continue to nurture it and watch it grow. We hope one year it will produce acorns of its own, and we can continue to pass on this family heirloom. We hope to remember it's example of how each acorn has the potential to be an oak tree, and how our acorns, Olivia and Genevieve, will one day, with help from God, become mighty oak trees themselves.