December 28, 2009

JOY

Many of you are hauling out the tree and pulling down the garland faster than I can say "it's still December." Trust me, I'm all about a good purge, but most years I like to hang on to Christmas as long as I can. I feel that way right now. Last year we had to clean it all up so fast because I was leaving on the 27th for my trip to Germany/Italy. This year I'm letting December linger. January will be here, and I will be ready for simplicity again, but for now I'm enjoying the fact that I can actually see my tree skirt. :)

How was your Christmas?
I learned yesterday that isn't as safe of a question as I once thought.

I spoke to an elderly woman sitting behind us in church yesterday. Trying to be kind and welcoming (not knowing if it was their 1st time visiting, or not) I smiled sweetly and said good morning. I was answered with a gruff, "hi." Not "well hey" or "good morning to you." A little southern etiquette had obviously not been taught at the NC welcome center on their way down from N.J. (no offense to any N.J. readers out there... just sayin').
Not to be thwarted, I put on my best southern charm and said, "did you have a nice Christmas?"
Her reply with a nonchalant shrug of the shoulders: "It was different."
Umm... I was totally at a loss. Truly, how do you reply to that? There's just no graceful way to leave that conversation.
Assuming we had never met I simply smiled and suddenly became engaged in the needs of my children. She decided that the candid conversation wasn't over and said, "did your mother make doll clothes for your girls again this year?"
"Oh, you knew about that?" I replied, smiling sweetly (again), realizing that she knew me.
Her answer: "Well the whole church practically knew about it."
Really? A church of 2500+ and everyone knew about the doll clothes. I think not. I'm all about going the extra mile and being kind to those who are bitter, but don't you bring my momma into this.
I didn't try wish her a happy new year, because I had a feeling it wouldn't be. And I couldn't handle another snide remark to which I had no reply.
Praise the lord for children who need my attention in the seat next to mine at just the right moment.

How was our Christmas? Glad you asked because I have a wallet full of brag-photos:
We had a ball. The kids are at such a fun age. This was the year of grateful hearts and a mother's heart swelling with pride. It's my blog, so just go ahead a roll your eyes at my shining moment. ;) My children were genuinely excited for each other as they opened their gifts. They were uber-excited when they opened their joint gift: a Wii (our first gaming system, evah).

Even after a 2-day gift giving, family visiting marathon, they were still full of joy. (As you can see on my son's face).
Having my brother home for a week added to the joy of the season.
Adding to the fun, he brought his "toy" home:
We let the kids try it, but since they couldn't handle Rock Band, the "grown ups" got to play to our hearts' content. (We may or may not have put the kids to bed early so that we could play).

I'm leaving my red and green up for a few more days and savoring the memories of Christmas.

What was your favorite moment of JOY from Christmas this year?

15 comments:

Ms. Witi said...

I am still thinking of the lady at your church...it would have been interesting to ask her more and see where the "gruff" came from...she probably didn't mean to come off that way but may have been hurt by some one. At least she was at church. ;-)

So my JOY? Going to church Christmas Eve. It always puts the season into perspective and the singing is wonderful.

Anonymous said...

I think my favorite moment of joy was was seeing the family with three boys two rows ahead of us at Christmas Eve services.

Let's just say there's another mom out there who should have a blog.

Tracey said...

LOVED the Christmas Eve Love Feast.

Favorite moment(s)...

1. Randy says, while unpacking Kyle's telescope on Christmas Eve, "I didn't realize we bought the Hubble." :D...the thing is HUGE!

2. On Christmas morning, Kyle walks right past the telescope to see his loot on the couch. Finds the accessory kit to the said telescope and says, "what on earth is this for?" To which Randy replies, "Son, what's that behind you?" Kyle turns around to find that he was the proud new owner of the Hubble telescope.

3. Later that afternoon, I saw Kyle hugging his Hubble. So sweet!

Sorry about crabby lady. Goodness gracious.

Jodee said...

It looks like you had a great Christmas! We got a Wii too! It has been sooo much fun!

Sheila said...

Grandchildren! Opening their gifts...that was my Joy!

Amy Kinser said...

Every year our three children sleep on our bedroom floor on Christmas Eve. We wake up on Christmas morning and before we ever leave the room, we read the Christmas story from the Bible. Then we go see what Santa has left for us. That has been going on since our first child was born seventeen years ago. I love it!!

The Buntens said...

Looks like a wonderful Christmas! The Wii is so much fun for family time. I am not that great at Rock Band but I can bowl like a champ! ;)

I had the joy of seeing my mom very surprised with the arrival of my brother on Christmas morning. They have not seen one another for about a year. She was excited to have all her kids together this year.

Joy for the Seasons said...

I love that you are savoring every last moment of the Christmas season. We had a live tree up since the day after Thanksgiving, so for my peace of mind we took it down the day after Christmas! Our family just enjoyed every big and small moment of Christmas this year. I know the kids did because they keep telling me how sad they are that it is over!

The Chubby Dove said...

Being with our families in FL was very joyous.
Seeing our boys faces when they opened their Wii from Grandma and Grandpa. There were about 25 of us there and the room got dead quiet when the boys started jumping, shrieking and rolling all over the floor in excitement.

Amber said...

I'm leaving Christmas up for a few days, too. Just not ready to let it go yet. I am sitting by my tree this morning, with only the Christmas lights on and feeling as happy about it as if it were Christmas Eve.

My kids made me so proud this Christmas, too. Genuinely gracious and thankful...and that makes my heart smile.

So glad that you had such a blessed Christmas!

Gretchen said...

I find myself reluctant to take it all down, too. I especially lurve having a quiet moment with Jesus, in front of my tree. I suppose my biggest JOY is that Christmas means more to me than ever, and each year my faith grows bigger. Sounds trite and churchy, but it's true. When I learned about Advent, I was excited about that. When I got to be part of a Christmas play, I was excited about that. You know? New and rich experiences. Some big, some small. All important. And lately, my heart's joy is seeing friends of mine glorify God in the midst of terrible circumstances. I'm learning so much from them.

Unknown said...

So glad you asked! Politely at that! (bless your heart! I've encountered that same woman at least a dozen times. Just keep smiling sweet thing, and remember hurting people tend to hurt people, so...)

At any rate, we had a splendid Christmas. Just the four of us...too far to travel home for the holidays, especially since my husband has to do a Christmas Eve service. But I too enjoyed my children. Don't apologize for your own glee in your kids. Precious moments deserve a little bragging. We mamas know!

Happy New Year to you! (and keep being friendly in church...it may mean more to some crabby lady than you'll ever know!)

The Quintessential Magpie said...

I just popped over from another blog, and I'm with you. I'm leaving my Christmas up... only I'm leaving it up until Epiphany which is in January! After all, the wisemen came later to worship the king! :-)

I think it's neat that your kids had such a great time with each other, and I'm sorry that lady tried to dampen your joy. It's possibly because she's joyless which is really a sad place to be.

I am still on a high from Christmas, and I enjoyed everything my godchildren did and said. I keep turning it over in my mind like a good book, so I know exactly how you feel.

XO,

Sheila :-)

Suz said...

My favorite moment of joy this year was hearing the kids talk so much about Jesus and watching them play with their nativity set. Over hearing the comments while they played was priceless and brought so much joy.

Unknown said...

Loving your posts! I could stay on here for hours. Your stories are very fun to read. Love the picture of you and Paul!