It’s still Saturday, December 7, right? Whew!
And Christmas hasn’t come and gone yet I don’t think.
Good.
I’m safe … well …. kinda.
You see, it’s my turn on the 12 Days of Christmas Holiday Home Tour to wow you with my wonderful holiday decor that I’ve worked tirelessly on for the last two weeks.
Assembling. Nailing. Gluing. Sewing. Taping. Wiring. Winding. Primping. Poofing. Fluffing.
You know how it goes. The thirty-some -odd Rubbermaid containers that have been hybernating through Spring, Summer & Fall have finally made their way out of storage and everything inside is screaming, “GET ME OUT OF HERE!”
But then the Wednesday before YOUR DAY comes …
and the daughter says, “Mom, I don’t feel so well …”
(no biggie … it’s just one extra person at home … in her bed)
And then Thursday comes,
and the hubby says, “Honey, I’m not feeling so good either …”
(its okay … I can add 20 other things to my plate today)
And then Friday comes,
and the little guy (who’s really not that little, but he’s the youngest) says,
“Mom, my stomach really hurts!” … yes, with a few tears … yes, you can stay home
And then Saturday comes,
and hubby feels better and can take care of everyone else so you can finish what
you were supposed to do Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
And you do it! You get it ALL done! And you’re so excited because it’s everything you dreamed it would be.
You pull out the camera and you start taking pictures.
You stand on the bed.
You lay on the floor.
You climb on the ladder.
You stand on your head.
You creep into the farthest corner and cram your head back as far as it can go and tuck the camera under your chin to try and get the full room shot.
Your sweet college boy says, “Mom, are you hungry? I’m going to McD’s. Do you want anything?” Yes! You stop for three minutes to scarf it down. Go back, take a few more pictures.
Done!
Now to transfer all those pics to your computer, pick ten of the best pictures, edit them a teeny bit, watermark them, load them up, write a fascinating post, publish it, and call it a week.
Easy, right?
There’s only one itsy bitsy, teeny tiny problem.
EVERY SINGLE PICTURE IS HORRIBLE. I’m not just talking about a couple of blurry shots. Its more like every bloggers worst nightmare … something is freakishly wrong with the camera and all the pictures look like they were taken on an old Kodak Instamatic Disposable Camera … and it’s nothing like the cool retro actions from Instagram. The colors are all off and they’re grainy like they’ve been overlayed in grits.
So here I am at 8:30 on Saturday night staring at the computer, possibly shedding a tear or ten, wondering what on earth I’m going to do.
And it hits me … go back ,,, go back to Christmas past.
And so, today, you aren’t going to get a “Home Tour,” per se … instead I’m going to share our last Christmas with you … a Christmas we will never forget … our first Christmas here at Sunnyside Manor.
The decorations were incredibly simple, mostly because I was having a really hard time trying to figure out how I wanted to decorate this house. After having decorated the same house for over 20 years, it was hard to switch gears.
The kids insisted that we have a real tree. We’d had an artificial one for years, and we had promised them a real tree for our first Christmas here. It really was a gorgeous tree.
The stockings were hung by the fireplace …
But the magic of Christmas really began on Christmas Eve. Our oldest daughter and her husband were in the process of adopting a precious little boy, and it was the first time we got to meet him (they live in California.) All I wanted to do was take pictures of him … all day and all night. The look in his eyes when he looked at the tree and the ornaments … the wonderment … the awe … the reverance.
Dad made everyone a huge Christmas breakfast. I love how they all gathered at the island … brothers and sisters … talking and teasing.
And then it was time to open presents. And yes, at least a third of those are for the little guy.
Talking, laughing, tearing, ripping … boxes, paper, tissue and toys … EVERYWHERE!
All that work was exhausting! Time for a movie …
and some uncle/nephew snuggle time …
The next morning brought a beautiful weather surprise for all of us … freezing rain. That was something we’ve never experienced before. The word “ice” is not part of the central California weather terminology.
As I was going back through these pictures, it was such a sweet reminder to me that no matter how beautifully decorated our houses are, when it really comes down to it, what really matters is that because God gave His Son to us as a gift, we can share His gift of love with others and enjoy and cherish the memories we create with those we love the most.
The real meaning of Christmas …
“For God so loved the world,
He gave His only Son,
that whoever believes in Him will not perish
but have eternal life.”
~~John 3:16
I’d love for you to share a special memory of a Christmas past, won’t you?
(please don’t forget to visit the other
home tour hostesses as well.)