Merry Christmas

Today was a glorious day. Today is the day the Lord gave us His son Jesus. There are as many traditions as there are families when it comes to celebrating the birth of Jesus.

I didn't grow up in a spiritual family. I knew about God and Jesus but I lacked the personal connection with God. Christmas was a time for presents, eating, gossip and family. I loved being at my grandparent's on Christmas Eve. There were tons of family members in a small place and laughter filled the rooms. I never wanted to leave. From time to time we would play cards and stay up way to late. I loved having family around.

Since I met my husband and became a military family I haven't been able to make the trip home for Christmas much. My grandma has passed away about a year and a half ago but everyone still goes to see grandpa on Christmas Eve. All the aunts, uncles and cousins pile in the small house to have dinner and be a family. If there is any one thing I miss about my family's traditions it's Christmas Eve.

Having a husband that is deployed during the holidays is hard. The kids are more on edge and I am missing my husband. I realized this year, as I do on a daily basis, my kids are not getting any younger. Before I know it they will be grown and out of the house. Our oldest is almost ready to drive. Even though my husband isn't here I felt a sense of urgency to start our own traditions.

This year we prepped the house on Christmas Eve as we not so patiently waited for Santa to arrive. This morning the kids were allowed to open their stockings without me downstairs. That usually keeps them busy for a couple hours while I wake up at a decent hour. This year the excitment couldn't be contained for more than about 30 minutes. Although the stocking tradition has been in place for a few years my husband and I never get much sleep after the children wake up. They are all to excited for the day.

One of the new traditions I started this year was to take our time opening presents. We didn't need to get anywhere in a hurry so ww shouldn't be in a hurry opening our presesnts. The kids and I opened a few presents and then played with what they got. Then a few hours later Parker, our youngest, remembered that there were more presents to open. When we left for a friends house for dinner at 3 pm we still had presents to open. I thought for sure that they would want to rush through dinner to get home and finish the ripping of wrapping paper. To my surprise they had such a good time playing that they never asked to leave. I had to round them up and head out.

Once we made it back home we finished unwrapping our treasures that Santa and family had given us. I was overwhelmed at how blessed and loved we are. Being a military family for over 10 years I know that your military friends become your military family. I'm thankful for my military family that is here with my at Fort Bragg, my military family that has been scattered all over the country because of the needs of the Army and my traditional family. How can God love me so much? He has given me family in so many ways.

Over the years I have grown in my faith just as I have in other areas of my life. I am always amazed at how much God loves me and meets me right where I am. He knew I would need someone to spend Christmas with and gave me my good friend Dawn. He also knew I would need to be with my good friend Ashley and brought her closer to me so we can visit for a couple days. The Lord has also brought me closer to Ashley's family and I will also get to see them when I see her. The Lord's love is amazing. As you celebrate the Christmas season with your family and you carry out all those traditions remember that there is a God that loves you.