Another Christmas Past

Sunday - December 28, 2008

Another Christmas has come and gone and left us all with precious memories! I love Christmas - the decorations, the baking, family gatherings, and the celebration of Christ's birth. I love decorating the house, the outside, the packages, and even the shopping amongst all those who are in the stores because they "have to be." I remember the days when Mom and I would go to "town" and we would shop going from store to store. It wasn't a mall - all the stores had their own entrances from the sidewalk. The weather was cold, snowy, windy, but oh so warm when entering each of the stores. We had so many good times shopping for that special gift for all our loved ones. The decorations on the streets of Huntington were lit Thanksgiving evening - now they are lit the first of November which tends to take away the real spirit of Christmas. Two months in preparing for a holiday seems a little too long and no longer makes that holiday special as it is intended to do.

I tend to be a little sad when the time comes to take down the tree, decorations, and saying good-bye to family members who have had to travel to be with the rest of us and need to go back home. All the preparation and planning that went into this special day are over so quickly. I want that day to always be special for all my loved ones. Even though we have lost many members of our family the last ten years, I know that in my heart they would want those still with us to have a great Christmas with family and friends.

Presents are not what Christmas is about - but the fellowship we have with one another. I have seen many Christmases come and go and witnessed many people disappointed with "their" Christmas. When I see people feeling this way, then I know they are not remembering the real reason we have Christmas!

Bill and I are really appreciative of the gifts we received! We especially enjoyed our time we had with David and Jeni. The fellowship, the meal, stories of Christmas pasts, and the talk of Christmases yet to come are now part of our memories we will always hold close to our hearts.

I would love to keep the decorations up longer, but a new year is about to begin and we need to prepare for it. No, we are not going to have a a party -will probably do as we have in the past - stay home and sleep our way into the new year! :) I will probably start preparing for next year's Christmas - yes Bill, soon I will decorate the way I use too - a tree in every room. No, the trees were not big trees, but some of them did have a theme! We had a "Reds' tree" in the Reds' room where we watch TV; a Santa tree was in the dining room; the big tree in the living room; a homemade net tree in the study; a small tree with a variety of ornaments in David's room; and a poinsettia tree in our room to match the curtains and bedspread! I even had small ceramic trees in the bathrooms. Yes, a little too much for some people, but I enjoyed decorating and putting Christmas throughout the entire house.

As much as I love decorating - I really don't like taking it all down. But, as tomorrow gets closer, the time will be at hand for the decorations to go back in their boxes for storage until next year! We need to get read for 2009!

Here are some of our Christmas 2008 favorite pictures!

Happy New Years!