Oak Tree in an Acorn: Sharing Christmas with God's creatures

Friday, January 1, 2010

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.

No comments:

Post a Comment

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.