Christmas dork. That’s what my family affectionately calls me. At least I choose to believe it’s affectionate and not mocking, anyway. I don’t believe anything is quite so magical as twinkling lights and I love the decorations in my house. I pick out coordinating rolls of wrapping paper and cover the floor under the tree in festive colors and ribbons. The music, the traditions, sweet movies and time with family all have me asking,
So hang tight while I relive the last 30 days. I’ll start with Christmas on 5th. My daughter was invited to Baylor University for a tour and meet and greet with other upcoming Freshmen. We decided to drive down the night before to attend the school’s annual Christmas tree lighting, concert and other festivities. Allie connected with a few friends who already attend school there and stayed the night in a dorm while I called an old friend and spent the evening with her and her family.
The next day we met students and professors at Top Golf for good eats, fun and networking. Baylor knows how to court students and I so enjoyed being at my alma mater and spending time with my girl. Afterward we rushed back to get her to theater rehearsal.
The Gift of Family
The first Saturday of the month we hung out with our nieces to give my sister and her husband a date night. Chuck and I took them and Shelby to a Christmas light drone show on Main Street. You may not know this, but I live in the self-proclaimed Christmas Capital of Texas. Pretty fitting, I know. We played games and tried the new peppermint Frosty at Wendy’s. And all the while Allie delivered singing Christmas cards with her jazz choir.
Speaking of choir and nieces, we went to see two of mine sing in concerts at their school and enjoyed both nights of Allie’s Winter Wonderland themed concert at her school. So many family and friends came to support her. The hubs and I could not be more proud of her talent – among other things. And at the end of the weekend the jazz ensembles from her school entertained at the annual party for the senior citizens from the city recreation center where I work. Same songs. Equal enjoyment every time. And in between all these shows I got Shelby to see Santa Claus. She was struggling with some seizure activity so I didn’t get a great photo, but she still lit up at the prospect of seeing her “Claus”.
A bigger seizure kept me from being at a Life Group brunch on time a few days later, but she recovered beautifully to attend a Best Buddies party with her sister. Where she again got to visit “Claus”.
Mid-December
About mid month I tried to separate my pinkie toe from the rest of my foot on a piece of furniture in the middle of the night. This had me hobbling and elevating for a few days. My supervisors at work were kind enough to allow me to wear house shoes for a shift. It was Christmas sweater day and my holiday slippers did match the reindeers on my sweater. So there’s that.
We ate BBQ and opened gifts with my family on the 21st since I was hosting my husband’s family the 23rd and 24th. In between I watched my Baylor Bears play a disappointing bowl game. And that’s all I’ll say about that.
Chuck’s brother and sister-in-law plus their 3 year old Dylan stayed at our house and my father-in-law stayed close by. Unfortunately, Chuck’s mom got sick and had to stay home. My other brother-in-law and sister-in-law came over with their kids on Saturday and we ate, played games and enjoyed each other’s company. We also snuck in a Christmas Eve service. I always love our church but service always feels a little more magical on Christmas Eve.
The Pinnacle of December
For the second year in a row we spent the entirety of Christmas day in the car. Not fun, but my bonus son and grandkids are on the end of that drive. So it’s well worth it. The girls and I only got to stay in Colorado for 2 days so we could get Allie back home for the Passion Conference. Chuck stayed the rest of the week to help his son with childcare and flies back home tomorrow.
Tomorrow evening we host PJ New Year’s Eve. It’s a semi annual tradition for us and some friends and neighbors. None of us really want to go out on NYE, but neither do we want to do nothing. So we all wear our pajamas, eat, play games and call it a night early. Can’t wait!
I pray you have something to look forward to soon as well. And I want to offer my deep gratitude that you have shared your time with me this year. You will never know how much it means to me that you take the time to read. As always, I thank you, I love you and I hope 2023 treats you well.
And now for this week’s featured post from the link up!
Just in case you set a reading goal for the new year, I wanted to highlight Grace and Truth’s own Lisa Burgess. She gave us her 20 favorite books of 2022. 10 fiction and 10 non-fiction. So there’s something for everyone!
The Link Up
1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.
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We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.
MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
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LAUREN SPARKS
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LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
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TAMMY KENNINGTON – Restoring hope. Pursuing peace.
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