Most Christmases don't stand out for me in my memories.
I guess it's because they are all rather similar.
You do the same traditions each year with different people or slight variations thrown in the mix.
But for me, one Christmas really stands out in my mind as being extra special.
It was the year we were building our house.
We had been living in an apartment for a few months and I was SO ready to move out.
We were in tight quarters to say the least.
My girls took turns sleeping in a sleeping bag on the floor and using the one bed that we could fit in their apartment bedroom.
I didn't have all of my belongings and things were hectic.
We were due to move into our house 2 days before Christmas.
Since all of my Christmas décor and ornaments were in storage, we got a little creative as to how to celebrate the season while moving in the process.
Our girls made all of our ornaments that year.
Most of them were out of paper.
They cut and glued pictures and made designs.
A few were out of Popsicle sticks or a zipper pull that they found to embellish with.
We got a tiny little tree, put it in a bucket in the corner of the room and put all of the ornaments on top.
As a tree topper, my daughter put her little plastic princess crown on the top of the tree because as she said, "Jesus is the king.
" The tree was easy to move into our home two days before Christmas.
The ornaments weren't breakable.
And we sat on boxes on Christmas day along with our sofa so thankful to have that little tree and be in our new home.
We felt so blessed.
Not for one minute did I miss having a huge tree with beautiful ornate ornaments on it.
I loved what we had done together to improvise.
Not for one minute did I wish that my new living room was all decorated and put together with garland, or Christmas décor.
I was so thankful to be in a house.
My parents had arrived and everything felt so perfect.
That one Christmas stood out to me and it was the simplest one of all.
The most hectic because we moved two days before Christmas and didn't have Christmas platters or goodies everywhere.
We didn't have a big meal.
But we were together, we were happy, and oh - were we thankful! To me, that represents in just a small way of what Christmas should really be about.
Oh yes, it's about the birth of my Lord.
But I don't just rejoice in Him one day a year - I do it all year long.
No, it's about living in the kind of manner that I think He desires for us.
Seeing real beauty in each other and what we've been given instead of what we can acquire.
You know, God didn't come in a fancy manner.
He came simply and was born simply...
in a manger in a stable.
To me that says something.
It's not about the loud, the big, and the most lavish.
It's about the simple, the meaningful and the most cherished.
I guess it's because they are all rather similar.
You do the same traditions each year with different people or slight variations thrown in the mix.
But for me, one Christmas really stands out in my mind as being extra special.
It was the year we were building our house.
We had been living in an apartment for a few months and I was SO ready to move out.
We were in tight quarters to say the least.
My girls took turns sleeping in a sleeping bag on the floor and using the one bed that we could fit in their apartment bedroom.
I didn't have all of my belongings and things were hectic.
We were due to move into our house 2 days before Christmas.
Since all of my Christmas décor and ornaments were in storage, we got a little creative as to how to celebrate the season while moving in the process.
Our girls made all of our ornaments that year.
Most of them were out of paper.
They cut and glued pictures and made designs.
A few were out of Popsicle sticks or a zipper pull that they found to embellish with.
We got a tiny little tree, put it in a bucket in the corner of the room and put all of the ornaments on top.
As a tree topper, my daughter put her little plastic princess crown on the top of the tree because as she said, "Jesus is the king.
" The tree was easy to move into our home two days before Christmas.
The ornaments weren't breakable.
And we sat on boxes on Christmas day along with our sofa so thankful to have that little tree and be in our new home.
We felt so blessed.
Not for one minute did I miss having a huge tree with beautiful ornate ornaments on it.
I loved what we had done together to improvise.
Not for one minute did I wish that my new living room was all decorated and put together with garland, or Christmas décor.
I was so thankful to be in a house.
My parents had arrived and everything felt so perfect.
That one Christmas stood out to me and it was the simplest one of all.
The most hectic because we moved two days before Christmas and didn't have Christmas platters or goodies everywhere.
We didn't have a big meal.
But we were together, we were happy, and oh - were we thankful! To me, that represents in just a small way of what Christmas should really be about.
Oh yes, it's about the birth of my Lord.
But I don't just rejoice in Him one day a year - I do it all year long.
No, it's about living in the kind of manner that I think He desires for us.
Seeing real beauty in each other and what we've been given instead of what we can acquire.
You know, God didn't come in a fancy manner.
He came simply and was born simply...
in a manger in a stable.
To me that says something.
It's not about the loud, the big, and the most lavish.
It's about the simple, the meaningful and the most cherished.
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