More of Christmas

Christmas Time is Here

I have talked of my grandad passing away from cancer on here before. He had surgery in February to take the cancer out....unsure as to whether he would survive the surgery or not. Once he came out of surgery doing well....I let my mind go there. I pictured him with Lucy .....especially during Christmas since we thought she would be home by then.

Fast forward to Christmas....grandaddy not with us and Lucy not home yet. I thought I was prepared but apparently not. As I put the tree up after Thanksgiving....it was a sore sight. I would hang an ornament...then cry a little. Put some ribbon on the tree....cry a little. It hit me then that Christmas would be a little different this year.....that my heart would be missing two precious people. In some ways....reality hit that day. Russ suggested that I stop putting up Christmas decorations and just not decorate this year.

I...being just a tad stubborn....told him I could handle this...that Christmas was my favorite time of the year....and I just needed to grieve that day and then I would be better.

And I did. I grieved all day for the loss of my precious grandad and the loss of Lucy not being with us yet.

But also on that day I decided that I would have joy. Christmas celebrates our Savior's birth and I WOULD be joyful about that. His birth is the BEST news and this year I was going to celebrate HIM. It was that day that I felt God calling me to be still and be PRESENT with Him....to truly anticipate His birth.

During the Christmas Eve service at church....I thought about Mary like I never had before. Having a child...not knowing the circumstances.....all the unknowns yet an angel telling her not to be afraid....I had empathy for Mary......the way people must have talked about her...how she did the right thing no matter what others said....how scared she must have been....and most of all how she believed and had faith before she even knew what she was believing in.

Yes during this season we experienced some sad moments...moments where I just couldn't muster up the strength to be joyful. BUT this has been the most meaningful Christmas I have ever experienced. While the circumstances were not as I would have wanted them....the tenderness and faithfulness God lavished on us was simple amazing.

We decided early in the year we would stay home Christmas Eve. We thought Lucy would be here and we wanted to stay in our house as a family. Once we realized she wouldn't be here we decided that for the first time we would stay at our house Christmas Eve...just us. Russ and I cooked steaks, watched A Christmas Story, played Scrabble (which I won!!!), opened our gifts to each other and read from Luke. An amazing night.

We then went to bed and woke up to THIS!!!

Such a fun gift!!! A WHITE CHRISTMAS!!! Icing on the cake....my friends...icing on the cake.

"Because of God’s tender mercy,
the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us,
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
and to guide us to the path of peace.”

Luke 1:78-79

couch, three friends, and reindeer pants

Margaret, Jessica, and Me ....oh, and three pair of matching reindeer pj's.

What a fun night!!  I love these girls!!!

Christmas Party Number 465

Russ and I have had so much fun going to different Christmas parties. It is so much fun to spend time with people that you love. I hate that we don't make quality time with the people we love more of a priority during the rest of the year. These are a few pictures of a party we went to with my friends from high school. I don't get to see these people too often but it is so much fun when I do. These girls have known me my entire life and have seen me through good and bad times. It means so much to have their support in all that I do. They have been there with me through elementary, middle, and high school, family issues, trips to Ghana and China, and now as we plan to adopt. They even surprised me with money towards my China trip in October.

They accept that me and Russ are a little "strange" but love us anyway! I love them so much and cannot wait to see what God does in their lives.

Surprise, Surprise

Russ and I always take a night before Christmas to spend with each other. The holiday's can get crazy and we love spending time with just each other! So, this year we went to Pickwick to our friend's cabin. We spent two nights and did nothing but rest, eat, and watch Christmas movies.

We took our Christmas gifts and opened them on the first night. Russ surprised me with a new camera!!! I was shocked...I had mentioned it but didn't expect to get it. He had told me that we were just going to get each other a little something. So, I followed that rule. I got him a t-shirt from his favorite tv show and a book. Then, I open the camera from him. He is so sweet and I am so thankful for the husband that he is. While we love gifts, we are mindful that this time is to celebrate the birth of our Savior.

Season to love

Christmas season is officially here! Wal-mart is crazy...traffic is everywhere. But, I have really been thinking this year about the true reason for Christmas. When I look around me, I become sad about how much STUFF we buy. I say we because I am the world's worst. I mentioned earlier this year to my family about not buying so much STUFF. I tried to come up with a RULE...mostly because sometimes I like to be in control. Okay, a lot of the time. But, I have realized that it is not even about setting RULES. It is more about just having the realization that Christ is the only reason we celebrate this season. It is about putting HIM first and giving to others. It is about love. I am still struggling with how to balance this all. I was reading this blog and found this video. Please take a minute to watch this.