Merry CHRISTmas

I want to wish everyone a blessed Jesus Christ birthday. This day means so much more than many of us give it, me included. My hope is that one of these years our only focus will be Jesus and His birth.

Every year we head out of town whether it's to VA to visit my family or to the Chicago area to be with the in-laws. Yes, we still spend the holidays with them even with the separation. Also, every year I want to stay home. It's so much easier.

I'm the only one to do nearly all of the packing, except for my teen daughters stuff. I have to remember the food, the gifts, the clothes, toiletries, activities to do in the car, get the tv set up for videos, etc. All stuff that used to be done in tandem. I get tired of doing it and as soon as we get into the swing of things I get weary of it.

Of course, none of the kids would imagine staying home. What's the holidays without spending it with our family? Until we get where we're going I can hardly agree. Some days (before we head out) I think staying home, cutting down our own tree, and having a relaxing Christmas is very appealing.

If we don't go to one of the families' homes they feel jipped because it's their year. Sigh...I want a year. :) The drive to the in-laws typically takes between 7-8 hours. This year we did it with our puppy. The drive to VA takes 3 days.

Then we arrive at our destination and I wonder what I was thinking. How could we not be where we are. As time goes on I wonder why we didn't take 2 weeks off instead of just 1. Yes, the cousins fight, people get bored, there's too much junk food, and so on. The fellowship isn't to be missed. All the craziness is what makes us our family.

3 families spending days together under one roof can get a bit cramped, but none of us would trade it for the world. We love being together and love being family. It's something I didn't grow up with and feel it's important for my kids to have.

I didn't have cousins or aunts & uncles to share the holidays with. I had one cousin that I'd seen when we were all really little, and another cousin I've never even met. That's on my dad's side. My mom didn't have siblings. Every year the only family we really saw was my grandma who flew in from Brooklyn to wherever we were living at the time. When we lived in CO my stepdad's parents and brothers would spend Christmas Eve with us, but then we moved to WA when I was in 8th grade. We were famililess, aside from Grandma Banks.

During this time of year, family is everything to me/us, no matter how far we have to go for it. So, as Christmas Eve comes to an end, we're all cuddling up to watch Wall E which was a gift opened for Christmas that a nephew received.

Remember since CHRISTmas is about family, you are part of His family. How far did he go for you? How far are you willing to go for Him? Contemplate this during this next year.