I trust that you all had a great Christmas with lots of good food, time spent with family and lots and lots of fun. This Christmas has been one for the record books is all I have to say. Good to be home, but trying to keep some traditions going is getting tougher all the time and then trying to kill some has proved to be quite the uphill battle as well.
The Night Before the Night Before Christmas was a success once again. Mom didn't make lasagna which caused a huge uproar and subsequent meal rescheduling for the next day. We made a short trip downtown to do last minute shopping. The whole midnight madness thing proved to be disappointing this year as well. First of all, the tree on mainstreet was super short and stumpy. They didn't close off main street, the sleigh was pulled by a tractor not horses, and there were no other events or activities to do on main street. Tradition proved true though as David, Jon and I walked down one side and back down the other only stopping in places to get warm. We hit up Pfeiffers to get warm, Home Hardware to see the longest living bird ever, Dandy to buy the one and only puzzle for his mom, and the Bargain Barn to buy a gift for Kenna.
The game playing that followed at our house was super fun with traditional games such as N64 battle and racing as well as an old school dirt bike soccer match and the best game of pictionary on your head yet! Kicked it traditional with popcorn and snacks and a good night of good games.
Christmas Eve showed itself a little different this year. Mom played at the service of course with me and Missy singing. Not unusual. But we did all get dressed up and we did not look at Christmas lights and we had fondue. A good mix up that caused great delight.
Christmas Day was once again a day that begins joyous but usually ends with a very grumpy group of people. We opened presents and had breakfast, then went tobogganing at West Stettler. Since we were all bundled up, some headed out on the quad for a ride and Dad and I played some catch with a football. They had me diving into the snowbanks catching balls which was so fun. The weather was very untraditional and quite unusual for Stettler in December, but we enjoyed. The rest of the day brought frustrating board games and much boredom. I helped with dinner which was also different. I loved the variety at dinner but most of my family members did not like the change and weren't too happy about it. Watched the movie Knight and Day which was actually pretty good.
Boxing day too was a great day of the holidays. We attended church in the morning, hit up BPs for lunch then watched football all afternoon. The 'rents slept (big surprise) and I worked out. After supper (which Mom actually cooked!) we headed to McComishs for lots and lots and lots of games. I don't remember ever playing that many games in one night. It was very traditional yet the concept of all 6 of us sitting crosslegged on the floor in their living room proved very difficult and quite uncomfortable. We managed though for the thrill of competition. We ended up playing Masterpiece, Sorry, Uno, Skipbo in teams, 19, Apples to Apples, Blurt x2 (Jon and I skunked them so bad, although it was after losing a very, very close nail biter to David and Leia), RackO (so old school we got so bored), and maybe some I am forgetting. It was so much fun!
Safe to say it has been an eventful Christmas holidays so far. Wish that I had plans for New Year's as I DO NOT want to be here with my parents being bored and doing nothing all evening. Need some suggestions!
And as much as I am against New Year's resolutions there are a number of things that I really want to work on in the New Year. They aren't resolutions because I have been working on them for quite awhile, but I am hoping that the New Year will bring opportunities for me to work on it and reach some goals. I am hoping to write a New Year's blog so I will wait until then to share, but the biggest thing that's been on my heart lately, which I did mention in my last blog is just the joy of sharing the gospel. Boy have I felt selfish lately just keeping this all to myself. Not allowing others to come to church with me because of what they might think or take away from my friend time, or not speaking the truth at work, once again because of what they might think. What have I got to lose? I have a Saviour who loves me unconditionally, who died for me despite all the crap that I have done, and who is passionate about having everyone join the family of God and living with Him in heaven. He has prepared rooms for each one of us and our purpose on earth is to get those rooms filled. We are His ambassadors on earth. He moves and works through us and in us to make this possible. So I am striving to make this happen in my life, to be a walking testimony but to invite as many as possible to church and cluster and other church things.
Well until the New Year, enjoy the snow or rain or whatever the weather is bringing and enjoy the place that you are at right now in life. Don't take it for granted. God is with you!
Later days!
No comments:
Post a Comment