Christmastime is Here



I must say this is my favorite time of year.  I have loved Christmas my whole life.  No matter the situation it brought a smile to my heart.  As a kid I loved singing Christmas carols and I would dance around with my dolls pretending to be Mary.  I loved every aspect of Santa, up at 4am sneaking out to peek.  I actually was a firm believer until I was 12 and it was Christmas Eve and I had an older sister who spilled the beans....thanks Jen :)  As a teenager my focus became finding gifts for the friends or boyfriend, midnight mass if I could stay up that late, I am NOT a night person.  Watching all my siblings unwrap presents with me and as I got older the excitement of the older siblings coming home to visit.  Big family meals, we were Italian, putting on our fancy clothes to visit relatives.  Then it turned into a very pregnant Christmas in 1997, as my first born was almost here, a quiet year where I was on bed rest only weeks after almost dying and losing her. Randy and I sitting in the basement room of my parents house while he made a simple little tree of lights on the wall to cheer me up because I felt like I was missing everything.  I sent some family members out to pick up a few things for him for Christmas and he found some things for me.  

Then my Christmas became that of a parent first to one then two then four then seven then eight....like the Reindeer that pull the sleigh :) I got to embody the Santa spirit.  I found the gifts, planned the movies and cookies, cooked the meals.... being far from our original home by this time it was just our "little" group. As a newer Christ follower Christmas took on so many more dimensions.  It was just fun and exciting it was peaceful and holy.  Christmas kinda became our thing, our time of year.  As homeschoolers we spent all December doing Christmas themed things whether it was Christmas Around the World, Or the origin of Santa.  We watched all the Christmas specials with cookies and hot chocolate, we had an annual Elf movie viewing.  As time went on our kids would be willing to create goofy family pictures including the classic 12 days.... It was always topped off with Christmas Eve, started by tracking Santa all day on NORAD, baking cookies for Santa, dressing up fancy and going to church, followed by dinner at a Chinese restaurant (with this many kids this was rare occurrence).  Looking for Rudolph's nose in the sky on the ride home and everyone got to open a present, pjs and slippers of course!  Then a reading of the Night Before Christmas before having sibling sleepovers in each others room. The only night everyone went to bed without being asked multiple times...Waking up to way too many presents and way too much food!

Now they are grown.  Our first all adult (over 18) Christmas is this year.  We have added amazing son in laws and grandbabies.  Not all will make it home for Christmas, but I know the special piece of Christmas that was planted for all those years is sprouting in their own hearts in their own ways.  As for those who are here the traditions are somewhat the same, still church and Chinese food Christmas eve and presents and too much food on Christmas.  More talking and family games then setting up toys and getting batteries.  And so Grandy and I will transition, but like in all things we do we don't do it gradually we decided to explore Christmas Markets of the world.... first in London and Paris....  we kicked off the season in Nov with an amazing trip just the two of us.  After 25 years of marriage we know each other so well we visited what we wanted, we stopped and napped when we wanted and enjoyed the beauty of this Christmas spirit that isn't reserved for just my little world.

I know life can be hard, we lose people we love, we struggle with illness, we have estranged family, no money....we can always find reasons to be stressed, but I encourage you to take the next few days and rest in the beauty of the Christmas.  A time we celebrate Jesus coming to us to make us new, to bring us hope.  If that is too much rest in the love that just appears this time of year, sometimes it may not be obvious but if you look you will see it.....Merry Christmas

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