The Magic of Christmas

The sights, the sounds, and the music fill my heart and life with so much love.  I begin listening to Christmas music before Thanksgiving, because it's only around for a short time.  After a fabulous weekend with family, I felt it necessary to add Joy To the World to this post.    Saturday, as well as any other day our family is together, my heart and soul took an instant vacation to a land of laughter, joy, and celebration.  What we thought would be a Christmas celebration turned out to be filled with surprises and my head has been spinning with words as we drove home last night from our early Christmas.

We arrived at my parents and were greeted by my sister's family, all waiting for us so they could EAT!!!  After lunch, the grandkids posed for the obligatory Christmas photo.  From there it was opening gifts, the kids first, and then they were off to play with their new-found toys!!!  Addy and Austin received shovels to help me out this winter when Andy is traveling:)  Whenever a big snowstorm hit last year, he was out-of-town!!!

It was games, resting, and more eating until we headed to my Grandparents' Homestead that evening.

As we gathered around, sharing all our family happenings, I learned of an important gift that would happen later.  I immediately put Andy on said photographer duty, since I left my back-up battery/charger at home:(  I'm learning!!!!  My cousin Tiffany, would be opening a very special present indeed.  Now, this was the worst kept secret in the room.  Aunts, uncles, grandparents and more were conniving on how to get her to choose the "special" present.  Once the plan was laid out, the rest happened flawlessly!!

Tiffany opened a series of nesting boxes, one-by-one.  But when she got to the last box, she thought her present was a triple set of boxes with little in them but tissue paper.  After much coaxing, (with cameras and camera phones focused on her), she found a little black box at the bottom.  The little kids were guessing and yelled, "I think it's earrings!"  As she opened her box, her boyfriend walked to the middle, got down on one knee, put the ring on her finger, and asked the all-important question.  "Of Course!!"  What began as a simple gift exchange and Christmas celebration, morphed into a celebration of two lives embracing a new journey together!! 

Through the years, my grandmother has always written.  She writes daily, as a keepsake for the family.  So when she learned of our family's plans to adopt Sarah, she began writing her thoughts and memories from when my aunt and uncles adopted from another Eastern European country. Included are pictures, dates, and answers to prayer.   She shared this with me last evening, and I can feel the same emotions and thoughts as if I were there.  My two cousins were only in the states one day before they made their journey to Grandma and Grandpa's house for Thanksgiving!!!  Some frustrations and celebrations are similar, but every international adoption story is unique for every family.  A piece of history, for sure.

 

To My Grandparents who began this family's legacy many years ago...

Merry Christmas and God Bless Us Everyone!!!!