It's Christmas night. The last two days have been hectic, but among the best I can remember. I have been blessed with an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for the blessings in my life.
Yesterday was fairly quiet, with the weather as it was, there was no going outside or getting out of the house, so we stayed in, made eggnog, and other preparations for Christmas dinner. The kids sat at the kitchen table and made these cute little Christmas crafts from kits I'd picked up a couple of weeks ago. We watched a movie. They got along. I kept finding myself just watching them and feeling grateful.
Even Tony got in on the action and made an ornament. He played with the kids. We had an impromptu birthday party for Kathleen's friend Marina who turned 18 yesterday. She's another one of our "adopted" kids. We love her.
This morning, of course, we woke to the pitter patter of little feet....pounding up and down the stairs as they ran back and forth reporting to each other that it wasn't time to get up yet, and no, dad was not giving in and getting up. We made hot chocolate and had family prayer before opening presents, and once again I was overcome with gratitude for my life.
The blessing of Christmas, the chance to focus on the birth of the Savior and our gratitude for his life and example for us, even when everything isn't done perfectly, is something I am so grateful for. I find myself wanting to somehow capture this feeling so that I can pull it back out for future use when the stress of "daily life" begins to take over again, and I start to forget....
Brothers On Maps
1 week ago
