Suddenly, a large family was standing on our porch singing ,We Wish You A Merry Christmas. They stood in the cold and sang four lovely hymns to us while Zion and Simeon watched curiously. They gave us smiles and loves and some Christmas treats. Then they hurried off. Just then, Ephraim, Havilah, Asaph and Zuriel came in from the animal care. "Where did you get those treats?" they asked. "Oh" I responded "didn't you hear the Christmas carols?".
(To be fair, I should tell you that this wasn't the actual December 25th. We moved Christmas Eve and Christmas one day forward this year to fit in better with Leon's work schedule. So the carolers were actually visiting on Christmas eve.)
After our surprise snack we assembled in the living room.
"God", Asaph prayed, "I haven't remembered that today is for celebrating you being born".
It was then that we realized we had not surrendered that day to God. We had been trying so hard to give the children and ourselves the best Christmas we could. I could only put my head in my hands and remember how pitiful and weak my own abilities had been.
I asked Asaph to sleep in our room that night as a comfort to me. Havilah read me to sleep and I was sure the next day would be better.
After a few sweet hours of sleep Elsie woke and I went to her. After I nursed and comforted her I laid her back in her crib. Just as my own covers got warm and comfortable I heard Elsie fussing again. Again I nursed and comforted her and laid her down. This time she slept until 4:30am when Zuriel brought her to me and we snuggled under the covers.
December 25th- a better morning dawned. I, The Mama, remembered the Lord as I began cleaning. I didn't get farther than moving a few glasses from the living room to the sink when two small faces came looking for me. "Mia and Naphtali you should go back to bed until 7. Here, wrap up in our new quilt." Mia thought I meant snuggle together and he crawled into my lap. His face was bright with anticipation for the snuggle time that he thought I had just offered him. I wouldn't resist him. "Alright", I said with a sigh and a happy smile. "Let's snuggle a little while. Come on Naphtali and read a book with us. Let's read about Shaggy."
This concludes the story of our Christmas. What should I right about next?
3 comments:
love your christmas story. espacially when asaph shared that he'd forgotten about christ's birth. every year, we attend a candlelight service for the purpose of focusing our hearts on the real reason we celebrate. it helps us just stop and reflect. i love that time with chris and the kids. so special. and being a mommy is so sweet.
Write about how you keep your family healthy in flu season and how you care for the ones when they do get ill without contaminating the whole family. Then you could write about your chore system and then your shoe system...Thanks for sharing Christmas, I loved the long version too!
I like those ideas...and I love the new look!
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