Christmas

The forecast was for a blizzard; in fact, newscasters were calling it the biggest storm since the Halloween Blizzard of 1991 days before it was predicted to hit. Christmas was only a few days away and a Christmas blizzard was on its way!

The stage was being set… John and Liz were already here from CA, and Mike was due in the same time the blizzard was supposed to start.

Thank God for the blizzard warnings! Because of them, Bill, Chris, and I packed our bags, and headed to Woodbury with the intention of staying two nights – the plan materialized only because of the snow warnings issued. We didn’t want to travel home after our Christmas Eve celebration only to risk being able to make it back again for our Christmas Day celebration.

God created a Christmas cocoon for us. It was wonderful. We didn’t know it at the time, but the stage was being set for an amazing Christmas.

This was the first Christmas Mom and Dad had all four children home in a very long time (Mike thought it was at least twenty years). We were excited!

We were tucked away, safe and warm, as the snow swirled and piled up around us. We were almost oblivious to the outside world. It was priceless.

It seems as though everyone had a really special gift for each other. Chris was thrilled Grandma loved her neck pillow and Susan Boyle CD. I was equally as excited how much she loved the book of her quilt pictures Bill and I made her and the Joyce Meyer DVD set!

Mom may not have been able to go out shopping on her own this year, but she made sure everyone had something really special and thoughtful. Dad was put to the challenge to make sure her wishes were carried out, and dad met the challenge. I think mom’s favorite gift given were the three sets of suspenders they gave to Don. He loved them too. Mom’s eyes sparkled and danced when she saw how much he liked them. She laughed with joy.

However, the special Christmas did not revolve around material gifts, the mega gift opening frenzy only contributed to celebration and the greatest gifts of all – of our family spending special time together.

I think of the time after the gift opening when Chris, Ashley, Matthew, and Samantha were in one circle on the living floor playing Matt’s new game; Mike, Sandy, John, and I were gathered around Mom visiting on the other side of the room; while a third group gathered around the appetizers on the bar; and thinking this is Christmas and what Christmas is all about – family and being together with our loved ones.

It was an amazing Christmas. We did not get our Christmas blizzard. In fact, the snow turned to rain and petered out. We didn’t care what was or wasn’t going on in the outside would. We were happy to be together.

I thank God for the special Christmas and the special time together – for wrapping us up in His cocoon for a couple or remarkable days. I thank God for my family.