Christmas 2009

Another quirky Moore Family tradition: The children are not allowed to see what Santa brought until I get a photo of them in a stack peeking around the door {do you think they will ever be too old for this}. Happy little boys!

I have to be honest with you, I was not excited for Christmas this year. I tend to have a problem with general Grinchiness around the holidays. I'm not sure why. It may be that I try to do too much. After all, isn't that what the holidays are for? Over indulging, Over spending, Over doing?

This year was no different--other than medically regulated hormones. It began with me dreading the trip home from Thanksgiving thinking of having to pull out all of that STUFF! Ugh! I decided to wait an extra week from our usual Monday after Thanksgiving FHE ritual of setting up the tree. I announced my new plan to my family, and what do you know? They were all of the sudden determined to hold up our old family traditions and they did not like my idea.

So, I sat and watched as they put up the tree and decorated it. When asked my opinion of how the lights looked, or if I cared that half of the lights were out on the bottom of the tree, or if I cared that one strand of white lights were replaced by neon lights, or where certain ornaments should be placed, I lamely said, "I don't care (and thought, "bah humbug")." I would later come to regret my lack of help in the tree decorating department, although I think this was the first year the tree didn't tip over. It goes to show that I like to put the heavy baubles to the outer viewing side of the tree, and the kid's precious paper ornaments to the inner "non-viewing" side of the tree, thus greatly unbalancing it.

Then something started happening to me . . . just like something started happening to the Grinch standing a top a snowy hill . . .

"And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow,

stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons.

It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags.

And he puzzled and puzzled 'til his puzzler was sore.

Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before.

What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store.

What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more."

I stopped stressing out about Christmas, and just started enjoying it {until I started enjoying it a little too much and I had to reign myself in}.

Overall it was a wonderful season full of love, giving, and service. Some of Christ's most treasured gifts!