The Jesse Tree

Looking for an AMAZING way to share the real meaning of Christmas with your children? Then buy the book...The Advent Jesse Tree: Devotions for Children and Adults to prepare for the coming of the Christ Child at Christmas. It is a very simple book with 25 devotions taken throughout the Bible that ultimately lead up to the birth of Christ. Each night you do a devotion, an ornament is hung on the tree to symbolize that particular message. For example, when we talked about Noah's Ark, I had found a miniature Noah's ark ornament. Some ornaments are homemade...some bought. I started this about three years ago, when Carlie was only two. This year truly has been special, because the girls are older and have really gotten into it. You can simply read the devotion and hang the ornament...or go further with games, songs, drama, etc. In years past, we have actually set up a tent in the living room to describe when God called Abraham to leave his country...to turning out all the lights and using flashlights to describe the creation story...then God said, "Let there be light."
Here are some highlights from this year:
* The first devotion is creation, and last year I actually found a "globe" ornament. A few days after the devotion, Mollie was carrying around the globe ornament...singing, "He's got the whole world in His hands..." SO PRECIOUS...then CRASH! Apparently, Mollie didn't have the "Whole World" in her hands. LOL The ornament crashed onto the floor in a million pieces. Here I come Hobby Lobby.
* Then one night we decided to make Joseph's coat of many colors. We got out clear contact paper and tore all sorts of colored tissue paper and stuck it onto the contact paper...then put another piece of contact paper on the back (sealing it somewhat), and cut out the shape of a coat. It looked really cool, but the amazing part was when we hung it on the tree. The colored lights made the tissue paper almost translucent...really beautiful! Then Carlie made several paper doll dresses. LOTS of FUN!
* The funniest was two nights ago, when we were talking about David and the ornament was suppose to be a slingshot. I didn't have that ornament so I found a rubber band. After the devotion, I got the rubber band and some cotton balls. We pretended like Travis was Goliath and practice shooting him...which lead to wrestling...a BLAST. But perhaps the funniest was watching Ellie get excited watching them. She started talking and kicking those legs...almost like "Let me have a chance. I can bust ole Goliath up, too."