a trip down memory lane

I have not been this excited about Christmas in a long time. I think it has something to do with the last three Christmases we have been sleep deprived, but a big part of it is that Brett and Lydia are old enough that they are really enjoying all things Christmas!

My parents provide emergency foster care and this past week they had two young children in their home. My mom told me the little girl was excited because Mom and Dad had a Christmas tree up. The kids didn't have a Christmas tree in their home. I felt really sad to hear that - not that families have to have a Christmas tree to have a happy holiday season - but that there are so many children that don't have happy holiday seasons.

We've been celebrating Christmas in some way or another the whole month! Putting the tree up, reading Christmas books, singing Christmas songs, baking cookies, visiting Santa, going to Macy's Santaland, and we're just getting started! Why? Because we want our kids to have great memories of their childhood Christmases.I've discovered a truth about being a parent: we get the most joy out of seeing our children experience joy. Seeing them run ungaurdedly through 2 feet of snow and eat big sugar cookies from Mrs. Claus' Bakery at Macys Santaland and light up when they discovered Santa left them a few surprises has been far more delightful than experiencing these things myself!So I spent some time reflecting on my childhood Christmas memories. There are only a few about the gifts that I received. The gifts I do disticting remember receiving have more to the story. Around the age of 5, I remember receiving a teepee that was handcrafted by a friend - the reason I remember this is because I found it before Christmas hidden in a pair of my Dad's overalls (I also remember it because the teepee is now in my basement and my kids play with it!).

(Record-breaking total snowfall this December=33.5 inches so far!)

Another gift I remember was when I was about 4. The family was all in the basement when my Dad went upstairs. When he came back down, I asked him what he was doing, and he said that it was just Uncle Jim at the door. Later, I discovered Santa had left me a Care Bear under the tree. For the next few years, not only did I believe in Santa, but I believed Uncle Jim was Santa!

But most of my Christmas memories have to do with family gatherings and traditions. Every year, on my Dad's side of the family, Grandpa would have someone read the Christmas story and it was an honor to be chosen to read from the Bible. On my Mom's side of the family, we would sing Christmas carols from red songbooks before we opened gifts. Us three grandkids would be so eager to open gifts and then my Grandma would want to sing The 12 Days of Christmas. And then every verse of We Three Kings!

This week I made a special trip to the grocery store so I could make candy cane cookies and puppy chow with the kids - two goodies I remember from my childhood.I asked Bryan to think about what childhood Christmases stood out to him. He didn't think for even half a minute and told me two memories. His first memory was about going to his Grandpa and Grandma's and going sledding down their hill, and then Grandpa would pull them up the hill with the tractor. His second memory was about playing shake-dice...specifically, the year everyone won pantyhose and put them over their heads! (Lucky for me, this memory was caught on tape, so I have had the joy of watching it years later.)

I hope our kids have will have happy memories of family traditions and just having fun with cousins, grandparents, uncles and aunties. These are the memories we both cherish and strive to create.

Wishing you a Christmas filled with faith, family, and a little magic!