Going into the holiday season brings me so many joys!  One of my favorite visual memories is of my grandparent’s home.  My Grama had a jug, sort of like an apple cider jug.  It was a gray tone ceramic crock of sorts.  She would put it on her table, and then my Grampa would find a thick branch of pine, dark green with long needles and put it in the jug.  They  had a nativity set made out of felt, and I remember hearing the stories from them. We lived in different cities growing up, but I have flashes of memory as a small child with them.  I do remember one great Christmas in Alaska when they came up to spend the holiday with us.  I remember the anticipation of them coming!  I remember a huge package behind the tree that I thought were skis and turned out to be a guitar.  It was also the Christmas that I got my special quilt from my Grama that I still use to this day.  I think I was 5 or 6 at the time.  

I have shared on here in years past of the joys from my parents home.  So many seasons of anticipation and joy and food.  I feel blessed to not have one sad memory or have one disappointed memory during the holidays.  Sure, there were times where I thought an item was sure to be under the tree, but my parents decided on something different.  Some times exactly what I wanted was underneath, or hidden away to surprise me later. 

I think the reason why my holidays were so joyful, is that my parents and grandparents never put stress on THE DAY. It wasn’t an event leading up to one great day.  It was a slow time together, usually with school out, to play with friends. We were always involved in a vocal concert at church, a band concert at school, and a play with the Sunday School.  So there were many times throughout the week that we were immersed in holiday music and stories.  Our family celebration was a simple one on Christmas Eve, with quiet family time on the 25th.  Usually with me visiting neighbor friends in the afternoon to "check out the loot".

I’ll share though out the month what we are doing, new – old – passing on the simplicity of remembering its a season of being thankful that Christ came to us!