Merry Christmas from the Seitz Family!
The Holiday season is here and we Seitz’s are gearing up for
our favorite time of the year. The
perfect tree has been selected and decorated, the house has been lit “Clark W.
Griswold-style” by Scotty himself, the kids have written their letters to Santa
and circled items in the Toys R Us ad just in case there was any confusion, and
the theme for this year’s Christmas letter has been decided on. It’s time for Christmas!
Getting ready for Christmas for our family comes with lots
of traditions and “can’t-wait-to-do’s”, one of which is going to look at
Christmas lights. We pack everyone in
the van in their jammies after dinner and we drive around a few of our favorite
neighborhoods, listening to Christmas music, and deciding who has outdone
themselves on lights this year. There’s
just something about Christmas lights that fascinates our kids (and who are we
kidding…it’s still something Scott and I love to do). They’re bright, they sparkle and twinkle,
they’re colorful and they make ordinary houses and yards become beautiful and
magical. And how amazing it is that what
you don’t even notice in the daylight becomes such a spectacular display when
the sun goes down (at 4:30 in the afternoonL).
I have been thinking a lot about light in the last few days
and maybe it’s a blessing that our Christmas letter hadn’t been finished and
sent out yet (even though it’s much later in the season that it’s usually sent),
because it has given me a chance to think about what I really wanted to say this year. With the terrible things that have happened
in the last few weeks in the news and with some of our very closest friends
going through some very tough times, I’ve begun to wonder why all this darkness
during a time that is supposed to be filled with joy and love and light. And although I don’t have a good enough answer
for why, I know that we need to focus on BEING the light in the darkness.
With Christmas just a week away, my family and I believe with
all our hearts that God is the light of the world and we’ll be holding our
candles high on Christmas Eve while we sing Silent Night at church to celebrate
that Light. But I also want to make sure
that my kids know that they’ve been blessed with a light as well, we all have, God
given gifts. They have the ability to
shine in the darkness for all those around us (you know, like the song “This
Little Light of Mine”) and that’s what I want to share with you today. I want to tell you a little bit about these
lovely lights that shine in our lives every day and to tell you why we’re so
thankful for them.
Our ten-year-old daughter Jolie is brilliant. I mean that in the way that the British say
it, to mean the most fantastic, amazing, and charming. She is brave and adventurous, stubborn and
creative, witty, hilarious and beautiful.
Jolie and Scott have been learning guitar together this year, along with
her continuing to play the violin, and we are amazed at how musical our child
is. She rocks out like she’s been
playing for years, she’s writing songs of her own after school and she’s
fearless about playing for an audience.
She also discovered basketball this year and she plays with
determination and she loves the challenge of a new sport. She is afraid of nothing, she will try new things,
and this light of hers is so bright that we don’t doubt that she’s growing up
to accomplish great things.
Ella turned eight this year and she is growing into a
beautiful, sensitive and generous middle sister. She is quietly independent and fiercely
smart. She adores her big sister and she
protects her younger siblings and teaches them well (most of the time…Maggie
may or may not have learned the word “butt-head” from her this summer, but because
of all the good stuff, we’ll let it slide).
Ella is passionate about reading and you will rarely find her without a
book or her Kindle and she loves to act out the stories in the many plays that
take place in our basement. Ella is an
amazing friend, she is gentle and sweet and she takes good care of those around
her. She had the best time with her
soccer team this spring and fall and even scored her first goals, but I think
her favorite part of soccer was having her Dad as coach. Ella’s light is kind and nurturing and
steady. How blessed we are by her.
Cameron is our rambunctious, eager and snuggly five-year-old
and the only boy in the house of so many girls.
Cam will one day make a fantastic husband because he will be able to
tolerate all the crazy that girls bring.
This boy of ours brings us so much joy because he is free with his
feelings, he tells you that he loves you all the time, he loves to entertain,
and because he has a love of learning that could only come from his DadJ His best days are spent outside building a
fort or construction site with his big orange cones, Scott’s scraps of wood,
our neighbor’s left over rope and bits of recycles from our bin. He is happiest when he’s helping me cook
dinner (apron, chef hat and all), when
he’s researching the moon with Scott before they take the telescope outside, or
when he’s running down the soccer field doing just what his big sister Ella did. Cam’s light is evident in his ear to ear grin
and his big belly laugh that we love to hear because it’s a good measure of
something really funny. Our boy is one
big ball of light.Maggie, our last baby is now three! She truly is the best ending we could have asked for in our family. She is silly and sassy, she knows what she wants, she takes in everything that the big kids do and say, and her mischievous personality makes every day more interesting. This baby of ours soaks everything in, she reads back to us what we read to her, she retells stories and jokes that her big sisters and brother tell her, she sings all the songs that they teach her, she tells her Daddy all about what she and Mommy did that day (even when it would be nice to keep it quiet that we went out for lunch and spent a little too much at Target). Her light is her infectious smile and in her wonderment of everything around her. She marvels at how things work, what will happen next, how the dog is feeling on any given day, and she teaches us every day to watch the world through a child’s eyes.
These sweet babes are the lights of our life. Scott and I are thankful every day for the
health and happiness of our kids and of our family. We hope we’re teaching them well, encouraging
them to shine bright and to stand up for what’s right and to be an example. We hope they know that although they may feel
ordinary in the daylight, when the sun goes down they twinkle and shine like
Christmas lights and that people will stop to admire them, like we do, with
wonder and awe. We hope that even when
times are dark, we can BE the light for someone else, especially during
Christmas, and every day after that. We hope the same for you and your family
too.
Merry Christmas! With
much love, Scott, Jamie, Jolie, Ella,
Cameron and Maggie Seitz
Matthew 5:14-16 You
are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do
people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand,
and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light
shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father
in heaven.
