A Very Merry Christmas

Christmas for every family is full of traditions. Ours is no exception. Every year it's baking with Bing Crosby playing in the background, an open house on Christmas Eve where sometimes almost 200 people show up, Dad reading the Christmas story on Christmas morning to all of us in our PJ's, Mom overdoing herself with gifts (EVERY YEAR),Grandma's for brunch...the list continues. 

This year we lost friends and loved ones. The mood was a little more subdued. It wasn't about who bought who what, but that as a family we were together. That was all that mattered this year. The traditions continued, with a little more thought, a little more appreciation and a little more love. This was one of my best Christmas' because it was about family and what we have today. I hope you enjoy a little glimpse into our Holiday season, and I hope yours was merry and bright!

Christmas Eve started before the crowd arrived exchanging gifts with friends...

My little Santa Baby all ready for the occasion 

I'm amazed that it was 5 Christmas' ago that we had just gotten together. I'm so much more in love now!

 Christmas Morning--dad reading us the Christmas Story 

Cheerios and presents--what could be better?

My dad LOVES big T-shirts. Well, "Big" would be an understatement. More like huge.

Love the little faces on Christmas morning

 An ornament to celebrate the love of frappes...

I got a GORGEOUS new camera bag from my man!

 ...and quite a shock to me, a laptop! (Which I am using right now!)

Stockings are the best Christmas tradition ever. 

The aftermath!

At Grandma's for brunch. Every year it's egg casserole, biscuits and gravy, sausage, potatoes and french toast sticks. Yum!

Christmas just wouldn't be complete without the "gift chair" and each person taking their turn to "open". Oh, and grandma yelling at everyone to sit down. :)

A little shy about presents with so many people watching 

And lastly, a family picture of us on Christmas day! I hope you all had a wonderful season with your family and friends this year! After all that food, I'll be working on my New Years Resolutions...how about you? ;)

The Family Christmas Picture

"I am NOT wearing those shoes".
 "Seriously? THIS red shirt?"
"Does this make me look fat?"
"My hair is not working. At All."
"OH MY WORD. You need a haircut. Yes, I know we have to leave in 15 minutes. Just go."
"I will say it again. I am not wearing those shoes. No. I am not."
"NO FLIP FLOPS!"
"Your shirt has a hole in it. OK, it's fine, we'll just make sure it doesn't show."
"Ummm....are you planning on ironing that?"
"Don't forget the chairs! And the bench! YES WE NEED THEM".
"Organize everyone!"
 "The camera timer is starting!"
 "HURRY UP IT'S BLINKING! 10 seconds!"
"OK, only a few more."
"I'm moving because you insisted I wear these shoes and they aren't even showing."
"SMILE! STOP TALKING! LOOK AT THE CAMERA!"
"Are we done? This is taking forever".
 "Once more..."

 And........
 Waa Laa....

It's the Family Christmas Picture.

Wishing you a Very Merry Christmas from our Family to Yours! Family is especially precious to us this year. Enjoy every moment together! We love you all!

The Christmas Spirit

This year it's been hard to get into the "Christmas Spirit". Hearing "Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas" in the grocery store only makes me sad thinking of those who are hurting and won't have anything close to a jolly day. There will be a huge void left that holidays only remind them of what they are missing.

 And then I look around me. On Sunday night I stepped off an airplane and into the arms of my family and friends waiting for me. That night I stayed up until 4am talking and laughing with my sisters. Yesterday we baked cookies and ate dough, played our favorite Christmas songs and watched home videos from our past, much dorkier stage of life.
 We are all safe and Lord willing we will be spending our Christmas together this year. I know that life could change in an instant. If there is ever a time I realize that, it's now.But we have today and that's what I'm living for. Enjoying every moment-- loving more, hugging more, laughing more. Yes, we have all been left with a void this holiday season and it's very fresh on our minds. We are not immune to the grief that others--and ourselves--are suffering.
 But we must enjoy the moments that we do have together. And that is what I aim to do.

Even A Vapor...

On Monday, I got a call from my Mom telling me that a cousin of ours who was only 19 had died suddenly. Her husband (also 19) came home on Saturday evening at 11pm to find that she had passed away in bed. The cause was a seizure. The news was devastating. While I didn't know her well, she was family. She was married this past year and I remember seeing her wedding pictures. So young. So beautiful. So happy.

On Tuesday morning I woke up to hear news that my old Pastor's brother had died suddenly from a heart attack. Again, another person I didn't know well, but a friend of the family and only in his 50's. He left a wife, 2 daughters and sons-in-law and grandchildren. He was a faithful member in his church and lived for the Lord.

Within an hour of that news, I got more bad news. A very close friend of our family, husband and father of 8 had been hit by a car. He had stopped on his way to work to help someone who had slid into the ditch and while he was out of the car, another car spun out of control and hit him. The weather conditions were treacherous and he lay there, unconscious, in the snow. At first the news was grim but not life threatening. He would be in ICU for 2 weeks, but the Dr's were calm.
 And then a turn for the worse. Internal bleeding was discovered and he was rushed in for emergency surgery. 24 hours after being hit, he was ushered into Heaven. He was one of the best guys I've ever known. Always funny, smiling, singing and soul winning. He was a great testimony to all who knew him--a hero. He left a wife, 6 boys and 2 little girls who absolutely adored him--and many, many friends who looked up to him and loved him.

 Needless to say these have been some of the most sober days of my life. Are poopy diapers, runny noses, whining and little disagreements really that big of a deal? What if that was the last time I changed a diaper or wiped a nose or kissed my husband? What if the words I just spoke were my last? Would I want them to be my last?

 Laura's young husband didn't know when he left for work that he would never speak to his beautiful wife again. Larry's wife didn't know that when they turned off the light to go to sleep her husband would never wake up. Ken's wife didn't know when she looked into the eyes of her husband that morning that she would never see them again.

 Would we live life differently if we knew the day the Lord would call us home? Perspective is everything. The things that are a big deal to us wouldn't be if we knew they would be some of our last. The Bible tells us that our life is a "vapor...that appeareth for a little time and then vansisheth away." That little bit of steam coming off your coffee this morning? That's you LIFE. That's IT. A tiny little vapor. Here today, gone tomorrow. What are you--what am I--doing to make it count?

 Go squeeze your children tight. Kiss your husband when he walks in the door. Hug your friends.

And most importantly, go make your little vapor matter.