Ho, Ho, Ho

Man oh Man....This Christmas has been an absolute BLAST so far (and it has absolutely NOTHING to do with any gifts received or given). Although giving is an absolute blessing to the giver, being with Family far surpasses that, Big Time!!!

Before I go off on a squirrel moment (if you haven't seen UP, check it out), let me pick up from yesterday's post. I love trying to look for the lesson in everything, for learning and for teaching my rug rats and this year, it came to me late last night.

It's a Heart Matter! My wrapping was all jacked up this year. I wrapped things with masking tape, crumbled paper, target bags, Avon books (take out the staples and tape the pages together & vuala, you got wrapping paper) & anything that I can get my hands on - as long as it wasn't pretty, I was all over it. And man, I was so excited. I couldn't even fall asleep until after 2am, and I woke up before everyone (a first). Oh wait, I didn't tell you, I wrapped their gifts, then put their gifts into one box - so each kid gets ONE box.

They Awake......

Everyone gets up, we all pray together and remind one another of the TRUE reason for the season is, then Mom goes into "The Speech".

• You cannot judge someone by their appearance. No matter how "pretty" they look on the outside, the could be Ugly on the inside. And the same is true for the opposite. No matter how jacked up someone looks, that does NOT reflect how their heart it.
• You cannot assume that you know how a situation is going to play out, because YOU NEVER KNOW. Do NOT always assume that a situation will turn out negative.
• As ugly as we can be towards one another or others, God's sees the gem in us, and we must do the same.

It was short, sweet and to the point. And by George, I think they heard me! (I'm sure they heard it more than me......because God most definitely went ahead of me (as He usually does)).

Now it's time to open the gifts and I forgot who's gift was who's.... Hysterical (and they didn't even get mad/upset). They started to open the box and if it wasn't there's, they had an opportunity to be happy for the other person, and the other person was really shocked, because they were busy open someone elses stuff.

And even after everyone opened their gifts and were very grateful for all they got, the best part of this Christmas so far, was when the family arrived. My mom, dad, niece (she's being deployed to Iraq in a few days), sister, nephew, & in-laws came to join us for our Christmas breakfast. And we LAUGHED, cried and just loved on one another. It was TRULY a priceless moment!! Worth far more than ANY gift that can ever be bought. It just really confirms what I believe. We were created with a deep rooted craving to connect.