Christmas musings

I should be writing my talk for church. My body woke me up at 4:47 this morning, reminding me that I had something important to do. Right now I'm having spiritual overload, so I thought I'd blow off some writing steam by coming here and letting you take a sneak peek at my Christmas experiences/thoughts.

This year at my house (well, technically my parents' house), Christmas wasn't anything huge or special or fancy. It's so cute to see everyone working on little projects for everyone else, scrambling to get them done behind closed doors without anyone suspecting what they're doing. Covert texts and whispered conversations. Signs on bedrooms that read "STAY OUT!" or something similar. Trying to finish quilts at breakneck speed while someone's at work so she won't have a clue what she'll be opening on Christmas morning.

This year was kind of strange...I'm so used to having my little brother around to: a) be the goof-off during our live nativity re-enactment; b) eat most of the sweets the neighbors bring and that adorn the big counter in the kitchen; and c) insist that we wake up at freaking 6:00am to head downstairs and see what Santa has brought. And he was there for none of it. Since he's a missionary, we get two phone calls a year from him--one on Christmas, the other on Mother's Day. This was our first phone call from him. We got to talk to him for about an hour and a half...and as each minute ticked by, I found myself missing him a little more. Best part: he started quoting Johnny Lingo, and it was spot on. We were laughing so hard. He told us about his spiritual experiences and getting to baptize someone in the rainforest. He explained the food and the living situation. He told us about his shoes and how they were completely worn out from all the walking he does. He kept asking about boys in our lives (my sisters and mine). We put him on the speaker phone in the living room and just sat gathered around it. He sounded so good. He hits six months next week; I guess you get to burn a tie at six months, and he has already chosen his sacrificial offering.

We also got to talk with my sister who's living in Uzbekistan. She told us about the trampoline their family got, and how it showed up in the yard, but none of her boys noticed it for awhile. We got to hear about how their living situation has been these last six weeks, as she hasn't been able to really contact us in the meantime. She hasn't had Internet for six weeks...I can't even imagine. They've already made friends there (she's really good at just digging in and finding people to befriend), and she's been to parties and had parties. True Snow--always doing the party thing. They had a great Christmas over there.

As some of you know, I was a quilting fiend this Christmas. A little less than three weeks ago, I decided to make two quilts, one for my sister and one for Lacy. It was easy to keep the secret, because when I was around Paulie, I could talk about Lacy's quilt and vice versa. Neither knew they were getting one as well. And after many hours of cutting, sewing, quilting, clipping, being frustrated at stupid thread, breaking needles, and then finally finishing the last seams, I had two beautiful quilts, ready to be wrapped and given away. Both receivers had perfect reactions. I love surprising people with something I've worked on like that. I had a friend visit me while I was amidst all the fabric and chaos. I told him that he was walking in on "Quilt City," and he said he didn't care, that he was the mayor of Quilt City. Ha! Well, Quilt City has temporarily shut down until I make a baby quilt for Natalie's baby.

Santa Claus brought me two things I've been wanting: a guitar and a printer. Remember how I said I wanted to actually learn to play the guitar? Now I can! And I've been needing a printer for heaven-knows-how-long, so this is a welcome addition. Man, Santa is great.

One of the cutest things about Christmas was my 7-year-old nephew. He gets so excited about things, and it's great to have that childlike wonder around at Christmas. On Christmas morning, he wanted to give all of us aunts and grandparents a gift that he had bought with his own money. My sister and bro-in-law give him a little change every time he keeps his c-pap (a medical device) on all through the night. He saved bit by bit and purchased each of us a cute little gift from Bath & Body Works. You should have seen his face when he handed each of us our gift bags. Sarah said he wanted us to open them individually so he could see the looks on our faces. What a sacrifice it was for him to spend his meager allowance on something for each of us when he could have just as well kept the money for something for himself. True spirit of Christmas, right there in action.

All in all, I've enjoyed the season. I've gotten to spend time with my family (and we haven't had any fights!), rock out to Christmas tunes, and really think about the spirit of giving. This year, I'm so grateful for my Savior and all He's done for me--I couldn't have made it through these past twelve crazy months without Him or His sacrifice. As we were performing the nativity this year and my niece kept stealing the Baby Jesus, I was touched with a feeling of gratitude for that baby who grew up and atoned for us, for ME. I love those sweet, tender moments where I can feel God's love so strongly, and this Christmas has been full of those.