We have
been trying to keep our gifts to each other as simple as possible, primarily so
we can give more things to our kids and grandkids. That’s the fun part of the season for
us. Not saying I didn’t appreciate the
gifts I did receive, mind you. Chris
always has my best interests in mind. As
I type I am wearing some of the new black socks she got me. See, I have some black socks that have become
kind of dingy gray. I didn’t think
anyone noticed one way or the other, and I certainly don’t spend my day staring
down at my socks, but Chris noticed. She
was especially concerned that I look sharp when I “suit up” to do things with
the fire department. She also gave me a
new pair of black jeans. She said that
way I didn’t have to wear the same pair to church every Sunday. Well, OK.
And the new belt will put my old one to shame as soon as I switch it out
for a smaller size. Are you sensing a
theme here? I never was good at dressing
myself.
I didn’t
go as much the clothing route this year for her, although I did get her a
hoodie to wear on her forays into seedy areas of town. Nah, just kidding. It for wearing back and forth to water
exercise. Besides, it’s pink. With that and her white hair, there’s no way
she could be incognito. I did manage to
find her a new novel by Ted Dekker that she hasn’t yet read. Oh, and her desk calendar made its yearly
appearance under the tree as well.
OK. On to the carving this year. That is something I have done for her for
years. I have carved animals of all
kinds, and several years ago I started a little nativity scene. That’s where I went with this year’s
carving. See, I always wanted to have an
angel in there, but I never could quite figure out how to make it work. I wanted it to be … majestic. Problem was, I have never been good at
physics, or geometry or whatever it is that helps you figure out how to balance
out the height and width and base so something won’t just tip over when you
stand it up. All too confusing for
me. But this year I was determined. I experimented with a few different tactics, and finally decided
to just give it a go and hope for the best.
This way would involve some wood glue for the first time, but I figured
that would just help with weight as far as the base piece was concerned. If nothing else, those wings would be, well,
majestic. I think it turned out OK. At least as far as I was concerned it met the
two key criteria. You won’t confuse it
with Joseph or Mary or the donkey. And it
stands up on its own. I’ll take
that. Chris seemed satisfied as well, so
I guess it’s officially a keeper.
While we
were opening our gifts Chris started texting our kids to wish them a Merry
Christmas. Happy responses from
all. And then a strange one came across
both of our phones from Kel. It was a
link to a Youtube video. Chris was
hesitant to click on it, so I bravely took the challenge. It was a video someone had put together to
that goofy song, “Text Me a Merry Christmas.”
Perfect. Sure added some chuckles
to our quiet Christmas morning, Kel. Thanks.
But that
wasn’t the only Christmas morning message we received. Later Chris came over beside me with her
phone on speaker. We listened as an out
of breath, incredibly excited little girl did her best to invite us over to her
new house to see what Santa had left her.
It was “the biggest gift ever,” she assured us. So we grabbed a jacket (Hey, it was a
blustery cold Christmas morning … at least 56 degrees) and drove over to the
house Nathan and April are in the process of buying. Seems Santa had put a key in Cailyn’s
stocking, and it opened the front door of the new house. Now that was big
enough, right? Even Nana said, “I never
heard of a little girl getting a new house for Christmas.” (Um, Hey, Nana. Can you say, Miracle on 34th
Street?). But that wasn’t at all what
Cailyn wanted to show us. She was in the
back yard trying out … her new trampoline.
Wow. What a gift that was. And yes, I jumped. How could I not when my granddaughter asked
me so nicely? I tried to do it while
Chris was on the phone with Noa, but she saw me. And she videoed. I just hope she stopped before I was so worn
out that I had to just lie there and catch my breath. Whew.
It’s been a long time.
We did
manage to make a quick trip to LaMarque to check out the troops at Kel and
Christina’s house. They had to show us
their video games and slippers and masks and books and transformers and doll
strollers and underwear and spiderman hoodie and … well, everything new that
had made its way into their abode. And they
did it all at once. Four kids – four excited
kids – all talking at once and vying for the best angle to catch Nana and DadDad’s
eye so they could see … right now. Jachin
got so excited while he told me a story that this came out, Then Dad mascara’d
my army.” Mascara? Thati would have loved to have seen, wouldn’t
you? We knew what he meant, though. Dads and massacres go hand in hand when you’re
playing battle games. It was crazy. Crazy wonderful. Gotta love that Christmas morning
excitement. Can’t wait until Josh and his
gang arrive later today so we can go through it all over again.
When we
made it back home Chris finished up her readiness cooking: pudding pie,
divinity, cookies. We ended the day on
the couch, watching some schmaltzy Christmas movies on the Hallmark channel. Ah, Christmas.
Matthew
2:1-2 says, “After Jesus was born in
Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to
Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We
saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.’”
Father,
thank you for uncontrollable excitement and out of breath explanations and Christmas
craziness. Amen.
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