Saturday, December 18, 2010

That Special Time

Yes, it's that special time of year. The time of year when everyone seems a bit more friendly. The time of year that people give to others freely, or at least used to do so. I think the commercialization of Christmas has gotten out of control, but as long as some of us remember to keep things in perspective, I don't think it's meaning will be totally lost.

I do love this time of year. Christmastime is a special time in my family, and always has been. We use it to spend time with each other as a family, and really remember what this time of year is about.

Some of our traditions include the following:

1. Reading of the true Christmas story (from Luke's perspective) on Christmas Eve by candlelight
2. Making gingerbread houses with the family in some fun competition
3. Having a couple of nice meals together on actual Christmas day
4. Opening gifts one at a time, so that each of us can see the excitement of that person opening the gift. (Thankfullness abounds)
5. Going to see A Christmas Carol at a local theater, New Stage Theatre.
6. Singing Christmas carols on Christmas Eve, also by candlelight



No, not all of these things point to the birth of our Savior, but they do bond us together as family...and keep us centered.

Something smaller we do as a tradition, and we took this from my parents, is that we use the same tinsel on the tree...every year! Yeah, you heard that right...we reuse the tinsel. My dad's family did not have enough money to buy new tinsel every year, so they took it off of the tree each time it was time to take all of the decorations down. My parents have done this every year, even though they are now able to buy new tinsel, for their forty years of marriage. It helps them remember humble beginnings and to really be thankful for what they have. We have continued this tradition in my household. My wife never used to put tinsel on the tree before we met, but we decided together that this was a tradition that we wanted to continue. 

What are some of your traditions around this time of year?

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Not Completely Green

This is one of the newest additions to our yard, the Florida Flame maple tree. Now, when I say "new," I don't mean that we just planted it. It has had a bit of time to get established. We planted it two winters ago now, which is not very long for a tree.

It is not completely green...neither in color or age. I had hope that it would turn completely red, and stay that way for a while so that we might enjoy some difference of color for the Fall weeks. However, with some extraordinarily warm Fall weather, the leaves did not turn until about two weeks ago. Now, the leaves are steadily falling off of the tree, in preparation for the coming Winter. I do thoroughly enjoy the beauty that this tree brings to our yard.