Packing up the Christmas decorations usually leaves me feeling a little empty. As Nathan says, "It looks so bare!" when the Christmas tree no longer stands in its corner of the living room, and our home returns to the normal routines of daily life. It's like you don't know what you've got till it's gone, in a way. After a few weeks, I won't really think about Christmas that much because I'll be on to the next thing, be it sick children or running or meal planning or the next holiday. But this year, I want to hold on to the peace and light a little longer. All but our advent candles have been put away. These slender flame-bearers have moved into individual candle holders on the mantle. There they stand, telling me the story of the eternal Light of the World that burns with a hard, gem-like flame.
We tell the stories of our family's Christmas celebration time, too, so the memories become etched in our minds. I'm all for looking back at the pictures and reflecting, but I think there is something about curling up on the couch and telling the story out loud, highlighting the best parts and leaving out the whining or road-weariness or upset tummies that might have been part of it, too. It helps me practice gratitude and makes me smile to focus my thoughts like that. I think the little boys love it, too. As often as I invite them to read a book with me, they ask me to tell stories...about "when we slept in the hotel," "the trip to Easy Banana (Louisiana)," and "when it snowed at Nanny and PopPop's house."
Here are some of my favorite visual reminders of the Christmas trip to Louisiana (more to come from the Cheraw visit when I have a little more quiet time to upload photos). They help a lot during the week of "returning to normal," when the boys are testing the limits and we clean the house and we come down with January viruses. It's good to tell stories.
Taking in the Mighty Mississippi River.
Post-gumbo at Aunt Amy and Uncle Cole's house.
Making ourselves at home at Gram and Gramp's house.
Uncle Cole's fire truck...Nathan has decided he wants to drive one when he grows up.
The beautiful 75 degree Tuesday when we sat by the garden all morning...I drank hot apple cider and watched the pine trees sway in the breeze and looked at ladybugs with Mark.
Nathan got a little tongue-tied and said "Let me think a minute" when Santa asked what he'd like to have for Christmas.
It has been a very long time since we've taken our own picture like this...date night in downtown Natchitoches.
