It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

Happy Black Friday!
If you are like me, you stayed nice and cozy in your bed all night and got the same deals online.  We actually didn't have much to look for this year, but Mark and me try to score the same deals without leaving the couch or our pajama pants and hot coffee.  Either way, I hope your day was full of fun memories, like ours.  We celebrated Christmas today at our house with my parents and my sister and her family.  I mean, just our immediate family (including my grandparents and Maygen, Josh, and Jaxson), is 24 people.  It was loud and fun.  But, before you can celebrate Christmas, you have to decorate for Christmas!  We love the WHOLE KIT AND KABOODLE... decorating, tree, mantle, Christmas movies playing, hot drinks in our hands and glitter in every crevice and cranny of the house everywhere.  Even Mark loves it. Remember, we were the family BLARING Christmas music in the guesthouse in Ethiopia first thing in the morning on November 1 (nevermind that Christmas isn't celebrated in Ethiopia until January 7th).  It is just hard to be in a bad mood when you are hanging up 7 stockings for 7 people who will be home on Christmas morning.  New Perspective.

Just before Mark hauled 1,400 tubs of Christmas décor up the stairs brought up all the Christmas decorations, he looked at me and said, "THIS year this is going to be fun!"  I knew what he meant... last year had been so difficult.  The tree decorating had been quiet and methodical. It wouldn't have taken much to convince me to not do any of it.   The mantle was full of stockings for every person who was staying here Christmas night (varies from year to year).  Tyson had a stocking, but hanging a stocking (again) for one you just KNEW would be home "next year," but wasn't... it's frustrating.  And heartbreaking.  And just plain hard.  Even yesterday morning when I woke, I was immediately grateful for our being home for Thanksgiving.  But, my next thoughts were immediately for those still in seasons of wait.  Those who aren't where they thought they'd be this Thanksgiving.  Those still waiting for adoptions, pregnancy after infertility, jobs, relationships... the list is long and the wait can be excruciating.  The emotions of last year were just all so fresh on my heart as we opened our boxes of Christmas lights, garland, and stockings.  I remember thinking when we packed it all up at the end of last December, "next time I see this Tyson will be home."  AND HE WAS.  I decorated the mantle and hug up all 7 stockings... a first for our family in more than one way.  It will be our first year to have us all home and for it to just be the 7 of us on Christmas morning.  Circumstances like cross-country moves and jobs are keeping our "regular crew" from coming and staying Christmas Eve night  this year.  When Tyson first saw the stockings he had the funniest look on his face, saying, "a sock shoe?"  I guess if it's all new to you, it does seem a bit strange. As I made final touches on the mantle and plugged in the lights, Tyson's face lit up!  He smiled from ear to ear.  While I was working on the dining room table, Mark was putting up the tree.  Tyson let us know he had heard of Christmas trees, but he had never seen one.  Well, here ya go, sweet boy... 9 feet of artificial, pre-lit goodness. 
The next day we decided to do the tree in the playroom because I can't seem to handle doing two in one day.  This is the room where we do all of our Christmas morning traditions like gifts, reading the Christmas story, having prayer, etc.  The tree down there is one that is lit with colorful lights and all the ornaments the kids have made through the years.  We top it with a Santa hat and call it beautiful.  My tree the upstairs tree is white lights, red and gold ornaments only preferably, and wide red burlap stretching down from the gold star on top.  So, we get to do fancy and we get to do fun.  As we prepped for the fun tree, we opened all the boxes of ornaments, just like always.  We knew the kids would know to get "their" ornaments out and put them where they wanted on the tree.  As I stood back to make sure the tree was ready for ornaments, I noticed Tyson sitting on a gaming chair playing with his Discovery laptop oblivious having no clue what to do.  I quickly went over and showed him how to hang ornaments on the tree.  He smiled and said, "Me do."  He walked over and picked up an ornament and as if it was all happening in slow motion to me, he perfectly hung that snowman sitting atop a white cotton ball  snowball. The only other time I have felt like time was standing still in this same way was just three days earlier as I stood and watched him as 23 people stood around singing "happy birthday" to him.  I was there and I was watching, but I couldn't sing.  Tears stung in my eyes as I watched him grin from ear to ear with the glow of his 6 candles reflecting off his face.  I knew if I sang, I would UGLY cry.  Rather, I stood and watched with tears and a smile.  Fast-forward to fun-tree decorating and here I was again.  I found myself watching in slow motion and taking it in.  His first Christmas tree.  EVER.  His first chance to know the joy of Christmas and all that being a kid means this time of year.  We explained that just like he had just had a birthday, Christmas was Jesus' birthday.  He must've understood, as yesterday he said, "Mommy, tomorrow Jesus' birthday?"  I realized he'd overheard me talking about having Christmas with my family today and he didn't want to miss if it was Jesus' birthday!  I don't want to miss it either.  I want to sit in grateful adoration of the One who came, knowing all of our flaws, faults, and sins and choosing to put on flesh and blood for us anyway.  Surrendering fully to the will of His Father, Jesus came, making a way for all things to be made new.  Praise You, Jesus. 
As we walk by our fancy or fun trees, let's not miss Jesus' birthday in it all.  The birthday of all birthdays.  The One whose first breath changed everything for all of mankind.  Without this one birthday, none of our physical birthdays even matter, because they are temporal.  We are all here for just a short season... we have to live for what will outlast us!  As we lean into this joyous season, reflect on that Babe, in the manger, whose small hands and feet were going to grow and ultimately hang from a cross to give us freedom, grace, and salvation.  With fresh perspectives and new reflections on the small things in life, I am just so excited that it's (finally) beginning to look a lot like Christmas.  Jesus, You are welcome here. 

Grateful.
carrie