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| WHITE CHRISTMAS! |
Grace's picture is having trouble uploading.
The kids were very grateful for their gifts and took their time opening each gift. I liked that. No rushing through and wreaking havoc, thus forgetting what they just opened ;). Grace helped Noah John open his gifts and ooh'd and ahh'd over his gifts which thrilled him lots. It was sweet.
The whole day was magical, like it should be.
We celebrated with Robert, Amanda, Callie, Isabelle, and Clark on Christmas Eve. Callie and I decorated the tables and mom cooked the food. We put an extra big spoon at one place setting and whoever sat there, unbeknownst to them, had what we called the 'big mouth.' The 'big mouth' shared a memory from a Christmas past. Amanda was the lucky one to get the place setting w' the big spoon and she talked about how she and her family used to go out to her great-grandmother's land and cut down a tree each year. Every family member shared a story. Some shared 3 or 4 memories. Some stories spurred questions and then more stories poured. When it was my turn, I just sat and cried. It was a meaningful Christmas for me because it was the first one that I had ever celebrated with my dad since he quit drinking. He quit 2 1/2 years ago but I hadn't been with him the other 2 Christmases. My tears were sheer joy and relief and thanks to God for pulling us through. And for being faithful b'c when dad turned away, God shined his light on him and delivered him. It kind of hit me slowly then gushed out like water from a faucet. It started when dad prayed over the food. I'm abbreviating, but he said thank you to the Lord for piercing his heart with 2 little eyes (my oldest niece, his 1st grandchild) that saved his soul. He went on to say that one day he looked and saw 2 little eyes watching him and now there are 5 sets of little eyes. In other words, well there are no words more that can really pay tribute, accurately and thoroughly describe, the things that were said or the emotion that was felt, or the honesty that was laid out like a quilt ... a quilt that had patches and patches from years and years of toil, work, tears, but finally it's complete and now we can all just sort of cover ourselves with it and know that God's redemption is what kept it together then so that we can enjoy it now, and only we know where we've been and what we've seen...and only God could erase all of that. He is a redeemer. You know, the kids never asked (Callie, Isabelle, or Grace) why I cried so. They just sort of took it for what it was, as if there were nothing unusual about it.
So, to close, I'll say this was a Christmas that goes down in history for many reasons-the kids, dad, being 'home', the snow....it was a slow, un-rushed time. I'm so glad we strive for that each year! I often hear about people getting caught in the hustle and bustle of the season but that just never tempts me...I tend to slow down and pull back at Christmas and enjoy what really matters: my family and friends.
