Day 12: Nativity

Merry Christmas Eve! Writing these posts has been really beneficial to me. I hope that I’ve been able to help reignite the Christmas spirit not only in myself but to those who have journeyed down memory lane with me. For my last post I’ve saved an important one to remember.

My grandmother loved to do ceramics. I’ve mentioned this in a previous post. She made this really neat nativity that my mom now has. My mom would put it on the piano and we would look at it. Unfortunately we were not so good at looking and not touching. The set now looks a little banged up. I think my mom has had to glue baby Jesus’ leg back on a couple of times. The donkey has lost at least one ear and I think the cow may be missing a horn. I’ve thought about replacing these items but it wouldn’t be the same because my grandmother had made them (Although if any of my siblings are wondering about a gift next year the name of the exact nativity is Duncan nativity). I’ve wanted a nativity to put under my tree for a while. Corey surprised me and bought me one earlier this month. It’s not the same as my mom’s but it reminds me of why we celebrate the season.

With this being my last post I thought this would be an appropriate ending. We need to remember the very first nativity. The night Christ was born. The true gift of love that was given to us by our own loving Heavenly Father. What an amazing time that would’ve been. To have seen the star. To have heard the angels and to have seen the baby lying in a manger. To know that someday he would be our salvation. He would be our ticket back home to our Heavenly Father. I pray that this Christmas Eve we remember Him and the wonderful gift he gave us. Have a wonderful evening and a Merry Christmas!

Day 11: Christmas Magic

You may be wondering what I mean by Christmas Magic. It’s that excited feeling you get. That extra glow you see in your tree, lights, and people you love. If you still don’t understand google it and look at the images. As we get older it gets harder and harder to have that feeling that extraordinary experience. I remember when it started to fade for me. Corey and I were newly married and travelling home for Christmas. On Christmas Eve my mom had to work. She handed me the stockings and goodies that go inside them and said “You’re in charge this year”. I guess a little of me still wanted to believe. I still liked to wake up Christmas morning and see the stockings full and the presents under the tree. Now I was in charge and there was no guessing how those things appeared on Christmas. It’s not that I believed in Santa or didn’t know where they came from, I guess I just liked how they just happened to be there the next morning. Since I’ve started my own family I’ve become Santa. I’ve had to come up with creative ways for me to keep that Christmas Magic alive. For example, writing this blog and reliving the memories has helped me capture some of this magic.

One year not so long ago I decided it was time.( if you’re reading this with young eyes/ears around you might want to stop) Time to tell my oldest the truth about Santa.  He was about 11 years old and kept asking all sorts of questions and saying things I didn’t want him to say in front of his little brother and sister. I took him aside and I told him how there was no Santa but there is the spirit of Santa. The spirit of santa is really the spirit of giving. I told him that we keep that spirit alive by serving and giving to others. I told him that he now has that responsibility to keep the spirit alive. Since, he has been super great at doing special things for his siblings in honor of that spirit. I wrestled with the feeling that I might be ruining that Christmas magic for my son by telling him about Santa but now I think it only strengthened him. He has asked if he could do the stockings. I said no! He’ll have plenty of years before he has to do that. This way he still gets to wake up on Christmas day and wonder a little.

I still struggle from year to year to have that excitement about Christmas I once had. I realize it doesn’t come that easily but it is achievable. We can find it in our memories. We can find it in our children. We can find it in serving one another. I think it is so worth the effort. Don’t you?

Day 10: Owyhee Toffee

This memory has a special place in my heart. I’m sure that all my brothers and sisters and cousins on my Fogg side know what I mean. You see my grandpa Fogg had a tradition of sending us this toffee in the mail every year. He had a special way of packaging it and even typing our address on the package with his type writer. He passed away when I was only 12. The interesting thing is his toffee still came each year after he passed. Wrapped in the same packaging typed with the same type writer. It was even signed with his handwriting. I loved this little reminder of him. I loved the idea that maybe just maybe he was still having fun with us. Later I came to realize that most likely it was one of my mother’s siblings who was sending these candies. My grandpa was a pharmacist and had a stamp with his name on it. My mom couldn’t remember who it was that inherited his typewriter and stamp and it became a sort of game to figure it out. The toffees did eventually stop coming I can’t say why but it was sad when we no longer saw that familiar package under the tree. I am glad that I have the gospel in my life. I know that despite my grandfather passing away I will eventually see him again. I know that he will be smiling and he’ll recount those fun times we had together. I often think of those that have passed before me and wonder how they feel I’ve done in life. I guess this is a way I keep myself in check. To help me do the right things. This season is hard for many who have lost. There is hope in the very reason we celebrate Christmas. There is hope in Christ! May you find peace and hope in your heart this season.

Day 9: New traditions

Corey and I have been married for 16 1/2 years now. Along the way we have started many new traditions in our family. One is the tradition of watching the Polar Express. This is my new favorite Christmas movie. I love the music and the message. We pick a night before Christmas and pop some pop corn and we all watch it together. Another new tradition is that of the Elf on the shelf. I know cheesy right? I saw this on pintrest a few years ago and thought how fun it would be to do with my kids. Preston is of course too old to believe but he likes to help play the part of moving the elf. Our elf doesn’t do mischievous things he just watches. We move him from night to night and the younger kids love to try and find him. Last year my mom sent us another elf. This one is a little plush soft elf. I let the kids take turns hiding this one. The original elf has one rule you can’t touch him. It is nice that grandma sent this new one that the kids can hug and touch. I wonder when my kids get older what traditions are going to become most important to them. What are they going to remember and what are they going to carry on with their own families? I guess for now I’ll just enjoy the moments we have now.

Day 7: Wrapping paper

So my family, when I was young, were not rich.  We weren’t dirt poor either but I do remember one year we ran out of wrapping paper.  I had a couple of gifts that I needed to wrap for friends and family. I asked my mom for some wrapping paper. We couldn’t find any. My mom remembered that we might have some scraps from previous years in the burn box.  We had two fireplaces in our home and we used to collect any paper and put it in a box so we could use it to start the fires. For some reason I can’t remember, I had to go out to the garden and grab some paper. I think my dad must have been burning some weeds or something but when I got to the paper of course it was all crumpled up and smelled like smoke. The funny thing is I still used it. I wrapped my presents in wrinkled old smelly paper. The ones that stayed in our home and went under the tree smelled horrible. It seems my family wasn’t really great at stocking wrapping paper (or maybe my mom just used everything we had on the door) because I can also remember wrapping things with the Sunday funnies or brown paper from a grocery sack. Have you ever had to come up with a creative way to wrap a present? Since that experience I try to have wrapping paper in our home at all times. It is good, though, to remember the lesson we learn from the grinch “What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.” So no matter if you have wrapping paper or even presents remember the season and what it is really about. We don’t need fancy paper or presents to have a wonderful Christmas season.

Day 6: Christmas Lights

Only 6 Days left! It has been really difficult to find new things to talk about. Now, I know that I had Christmas lights on my original Christmas memories posts but this time I’m talking about lights other people put up not me. I’ve mentioned before that we as a family like to look at lights on Christmas eve. I remember my mother pouring over the newspaper and planning out our route to look at the best lights in town. When we moved to Grants Pass Oregon when I was 16 she found a house that had a truly wonderful display. They had a huge lot and filled it with Christmas scenes. One scene I remember was a real  pond with an ice skating scene. They also had a santa’s workshop scene, a nativity, and so many others.  We would park the car and walk along the fence line and see all the cool lighted scenes. It had a magical feel to it. Even at age 16 it still gave me that magical Christmas feeling that sometimes as we get older we lose touch of. While looking at the lights the people who owned this property would come out and hand out candy canes and wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

We still try and find the best displays to see on Christmas eve.Many of the our favorite displays are those homes that are coordinated with music. I do so appreciate the spirit those lights provide for us on Christmas eve. It still helps me feel the magic.

I love the effort that people make to hang lights up for others to enjoy but I want to remind everyone that we also need to let our own light shine. If we do, than others will appreciate the blessings that come from you. How do you let your light shine? Unselfishness and charity. Find something every day that you can do to serve someone else. It doesn’t have to be big it could be a simple smile or holding a door open for someone. I promise you that if you do you will feel a wonderful light grow within yourself.

Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven.