Christmas 2009

Said the night wind to the little lamb, “Do you see what I see?”

Christmas Eve was full. Full of food, full of laughter, full of happy children, full of decoration, full of music, full of cookies, full of family, full of fun, full of presents. Christmas Eve was full.

The cousins came from out of state to visit. They are great friends. All of the kids were too excited to nap, too excited to eat, too excited to listen. Someone convinced them, when it was present time, that there was a contest. The cousin who was sitting the quietest would be chosen to open gifts first. That was rough…the shiny wrapping, the beautiful bows, the mystery of the gifts made them all giggly and jumpy and wiggly. It was almost too much to bear. The 3 big kids (big as in almost 7, 5, and 4) managed to pull it off for a few minutes. The two little ones didn’t even try.

Then it was bath time. Each family of kids went to their own bathroom. There was a contest to see who could be bathed, pj’d, and brushed (as in teeth), first. The out of towners got a head start, but my girls came from behind like champs. In the end I think it was a tie.

Next it was a rush of thank yous and good-byes and hugs and kisses. The cousins and Gigi and The Norwegian were off—trying to get “home” before Santa. My little ones didn’t argue about bed. They, too, needed to get to sleep before Santa came by—because we all know what happens if Santa comes and you aren’t asleep! (I still have to lie down with Joy for her to fall asleep. Fortunately, it only takes her 10-15 minutes. Unfortunately, I only need 5-10 minutes to fall asleep myself! An hour later I emerged from her room…only to find Hubs sound asleep on the couch.) Hubs jokingly said, “What if we had stayed asleep and the kids woke us up on Christmas morning?” That’s not funny.

Said the little lamb to the shepherd boy, “Do you hear what I hear?”

The house was quiet once again. Silent night. Holy night. All is calm…just not at my house. First, Hubs and I cleaned up the kitchen, washed the dishes, put all the food away, swept, vacuumed, and mopped. It almost didn’t look like we hosted Christmas Eve. After the cleaning was done, “Santa” had to get all the gifts wrapped and under the tree. Finally, Hubs and I could crawl into bed, knowing that in a few short hours two excited little girls would be waking us up to see if Santa had made it.

He did!

It’s been a rough couple of years at our house. We work in the real estate industry. Times are tough. We have tightened our belts and tightened our belts and tightened our belts. We are going to have to make new holes if we have to tighten them any more! We know that things are going to get better. They always do. We know that there are worse things than telling your kids, “Not today, we don’t have the money for that right now.” We are healthy, our kids are wonderful, we are all together. All I can say is thank goodness for Dollar Tree and Big Lots! Our girls will never know that this Christmas was meager, that it was a huge struggle for us. We pulled off the magic of Christmas for them and that’s all that matters.

We went to Hubs’ grandmother’s house to see more grandmas and uncles and aunts and cousins for the day. The girls got more gifts, we had a delicious dinner, and we left tired and happy. It was late when we got home so we gave the girls a snack and got them into bed. (They thought no baths on Christmas was a great gift!)

Said the shepherd boy to the might king, “Do you know what I know?”

In the hustle and bustle of the holidays it’s easy to forget what’s important about the season. I was surrounded by the people I love the most. I got to see pure joy on the kids’ faces as they opened up their gifts. I am so grateful. I am so grateful someone was willing to send their only child to save the earth. I don’t think I could give up either one of my girls for any reason—even one as miraculous as saving the human race from hell. I am so grateful that God’s gift to mankind is the perfect gift…it’s the right size, the right color, the right everything. I am so grateful. Christmas was perfect this year.

I see a star, dancing in the night…I hear a song, high above the trees…I know a child shivers in the cold. I am so grateful for what I have in my life, what I am able to provide for my family, for what I am able to protect my children from. Christmas was perfect.



Posted by The Editor for Busy Body