December 29 – “Our Christmas Day – Part One”

Yesterday was our family's Christmas Day.  Josh and his family didn't get here until Sunday.  Then Kel and Nathan had to work on Monday.  Well, Kel had to work.  Nathan was sick as a dog.  So yesterday was the first time we could all get together.  And we definitely made a day of it.    Josh started the day off by filling Kel and Nathan's stockings up with coal.  Then he took a picture with his and sent it to them with the caption, "Looks like you two were on the naughty list again this year."  He didn't hear right back from them, so he posted it on both of their Facebook pages.  He said it was only right that their friends know so they could "encourage" them.  Nathan finally responded by saying that since Josh said he wasn't getting anything, then he wasn't coming over.  He relented, though, since he was Cailyn's ride.  Ah, brotherly love.   Zakary did some heavy duty pacing while waiting for the cousins to arrive.  He knew there would be presents, but I honestly think he was more excited just to have Jachin and Micah to play with.  That was helpful, because they got here before Nathan and April and Cailyn.  Since there was playing to do, though, the time didn't seem quite so long.  Except maybe for Kel.  He was pretty excited about presents.  My older brother Jay and his wife Fran even came this year.   Last year we tried to open gifts one at a time so everyone could see each gift and ooh and aah appropriately.  That took forever and really didn't go over so well with the little ones.  So this year I decided to try and speed things up a bit.  We got the kids to open their gifts first (for the most part).  That helped, since it gave them some things to be playing with.  Then when they got another one, it was a surprise all over again.    When the gifts were done and the kids were outside playing, I pulled out the now-infamous "Dad gifts."  These are special presents that I get together on my own for each of the "adults."  I try to take some particular event or stag of life they are going through and get something to match up.  For instance, since Josh and Christi just moved to San Antonio and Christi is dealing with learning how to get around in a different town that has a totally different culture than Mansfield, she got her own personal explorer guide to the city – a Diego doll (From the Nickleodeon TV series).  They have to read out loud the introduction I write and tape to the package.  Then as it's being unwrapped, everyone tries to guess what it could possibly be.  It's a lot of fun for me, and they seem to like it as well.    This year Chris had some extra gifts for our daughters-in-law.  Her Mom left each of them a little piece of jewelry, so it was a poignant moment for us all as Chris made the presentations.   1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."   Father, thank you for the special bond that exists between our children and their families.  Amen.