Friday, December 23, 2016

Five Things I Love About Christmas




Part 4: Giving and Getting Gifts



Christmas is a time of giving. Most people rich, poor or somewhere in between give and receive gifts at Christmas.

When it is time to start shopping for gifts for Christmas I like to try to find something meaningful for my family members. We, like many families have our lists. But I try to find at least one thing to give them that says, “I know you. I’ve thought about you. I love you.” Sometimes the gifts are small, like the yearly ornament, sometimes they are big, like the ridiculous ski hat that was way too expensive for a hat, but Will wanted it so badly. Or the insane number of Barbie dolls that Hannah wanted when she was little.

Now the gifts are usually clothes and books but each thing bought with that person in mind. I love seeing theirs smiles when they open something that they really like because it is personal to them.

I also like getting gifts that clearly say: “I know you, Kat.” “I thought of you when I saw this.” “This is for you, Mom, because I love you.”

Giving and receiving gifts are an expression of love that says the receiver is known and loved.

5 Things I Love About Christmas Plus my Favorite


The Five Things I Love About Christmas

Part 5: The Anticipation

There is such wonder in knowing something good is about to happen. The anticipation of Christmas Eve and Christmas morning is awe-inspiring, as we put all our frantic activity on pause for a few hours to wait. The longing to know if the gift we wanted is under the tree, the excitement of going to see family, the hugs and laughter that come when families are together, the stories of loved ones who are no longer with us, all of these are what we wait for. Knowing this… it’s only a few more days, a few more hours, until Christmas.



My Favorite Thing About Christmas



All of the things I have written about are a picture of what God fulfilled that very first Christmas;

The anticipation, the years of waiting for the promised Messiah. The longing for Emmanuel, God with us, the Son of God who would save His people from their sins.

I love that God’s path to saving His children was so personal. He sent His one and only Son to be with us, Emmanuel. He is the perfect sacrifice and perfect gift to a world desperate for salvation and meaning. He went to such extravagant lengths to bring us into His family. Because of Jesus’ coming, living, and dying for us, we can truly be Forever Family with God. Through salvation we are drawn into family with brothers and sisters across time and across the world. This is a great family reunion and we are reminded of our family connections as we celebrate the birth of Jesus. We give gifts because God gave us the best gift, His Son!

5 Things I Love About Christmas


Part 3: Getting Mail





I know this one may seem silly and old fashioned, but I love getting mail. And this time of year we always get some Christmas cards in the mail. It is always fun to go to the mailbox and find a Christmas card or two when I open the box. Sometimes they are a simple greeting, sometimes an elaborate gold or glittered card. Sometimes they come with a letter and sometimes a personal message. The best thing about the cards is the ones that have a hand-written message.

It is easy to miss how important our handwriting really is. We live in a world that is so digital; we rarely see hand-written notes, letters or cards. Christmas is the exception.

I came to realize the importance of a persons’ hand writing two and a half years ago when my Mom died. I have always loved my Mom’s handwriting and I can still see her long, thin, piano-playing fingers as she wrote. The day after the funeral my sisters gave me a Christmas present that my Mom had forgotten to send. It had, “To Kat, From Mom and Dad,” written in her hand-writing on the tag. In that moment I realized it was the last time I would get anything with her hand writing. Since then my Dad has sent me a couple of recipes that my Mom had written out. They are both framed and on the wall in my kitchen.

Hand writing is still important. It is uniquely yours. It will be a testament of your place on earth. So, don’t forget to sign your Christmas cards and maybe send a few handwritten letters or cards this coming year. It could mean more than you realize.

Five Things I Love About Christmas


Part 2: Baking




I always make time during the Christmas holidays for baking. I love the smell of cinnamon, cloves, oranges, lemons, sugar cookies, breads, and the pot of spiced tea that sits on the stove.

I love the together time with my children. Although it is just me and Noelle now, her love for baking is infectious. I’m fairly sure that part of her love for baking originates from memories making snowmen, wreathes, snowflake and gingerbread men cookies with me and her other siblings. Or maybe it’s the laughter, the tasting, the flour fights and being all together in the kitchen with her family. For both Noelle and me it is thinking and naming the family and friends that will get to eat all the things we make.

Baking is a traditional Christmas activity that brings thoughts and memories of fun family times that I will always treasure.

Thursday, December 22, 2016

Five Things I Love About Christmas


 Part 1: Decorating the Tree

 

The long, arduous process of climbing to the attic and pulling out all the decorations is worth the amazing memories of each ornament that I put on the tree.

Decorating for Christmas has always been my “job.” Gene loves the end result but finds the process of decorating tedious. Not me. Every decoration, every ornament brings a smile. Not so much because of what the decorations are as the memories these bring.

After Gene and I were married, our first Christmas was a comedy of errors. We were in seminary then and had very little money so our first Christmas tree was a four foot artificial tree from Kmart. We purchased glass ball ornaments because they were cheap and there were 18 in a box. We added a string of lights, icicles and a few miniature candy canes. It was not very pretty but it was ours. I had to put it on a table by the door to our apartment so that we could see it from the window.

My first mistake was unwrapping the candy canes to hang them on the tree. By the end of the first night I was cleaning the glass balls because the candy canes had melted on them and the table.

The next mistake was putting the tree on that table by the door. Every time Gene came into the apartment, he would slam the door shut and knock our tree to the floor. Because I really wanted the tree by the door, it had to get knocked off the table about four or five times before I got frustrated and took the tree down. It went right back in the box it came in, along with a few ornaments that had not been shattered.

It was that first Christmas together that I decided that my children would have Christmas ornaments for the first Christmas trees. So every year since my son was born, I have purchased ornaments for him, then my girls. When Kim joined our family, I started by one for her every year.  Next came our grandson, and this year we added a son-in-law. Every year for whatever their interests, or whatever circumstances in their lives, they get an ornament. So we have homemade ornaments, Baby’s first Christmas, Elmo, Star Wars, Transformers, Legos, Cowboys, Cars, ballet, gymnastics, football, softball, Sushi, “Our First Home” and tractors. There are also violins, saxophones, flutes, guitars and violas. There are also many ornaments that we have been given over the years.

Ornaments have become a family tradition. Every year new ornaments and new stories are added to the tree, except that it isn’t just our tree now. Will, Kim and Jaxon have their own tree. Hannah and Alex have their tree this year.

I love decorating because the decorations tell our family’s story. It tells of our past, stories of our present and stories that are still to come.