"Different" Gingerbread Houses

This month, instead of doing the normal Come Follow Me stuff at night, we have been focusing more on the baby Jesus, His life, or what Christmas traditions have to do with Him.  Last night our Family Home Evening had more to do with the latter.  I found this super cute video (CGI Animated Short Film:  "The Real Santa" by Philippe Tempelman) on YouTube about the young Santa Claus and how he was different from all the younger kids around him.  It caused him heartache but in the end, it is what made him who he was:  kind, understanding, and inclusive.  

"It's a gift to be different."

Hyrum let me use him as an example in his Autism.  There was a time when Hyrum came to me and emotionally expressed that he could not find anything good about being on the spectrum.  After letting him know what I honestly love about his being on the spectrum (my favorite being that he is honest.  He has a problem with ever being dishonest) he now realizes that while being Autistic does not define him, it absolutely has influenced his life... and believe it or not, there is good in it.  This is the same with everyones life struggles.  It does not have to define us but is sure can be a great learning lesson and benefit to others if we allow them to be.

We played a game on some symbols of Christmas and then build gingerbread houses.  Levi made this super simple house.  He asked me to take a picture and then to record.  Mind you, the following day he turned 20.

"I call this my teenage years...now I say goodbye to my teenage years!"

He then smashed his gingerbread house!  I had no idea he was going to do that!  His brothers thought it was HILARIOUS!

Mine and David's gingerbread house.  Every year I get a kit with enough houses for everyone but me.  I just focus on them and taking pictures.  And I've loved that!  But this year I made one and you know what?  It was really fun!