Family Christmas

This weekend, we had my family Christmas. Technically, it was my dad's side of the family, but.......my parents and my little brother & his wife were absent. It wasn't quite the same with so many missing....but I wouldn't have traded it for any other Christmas. It remains the only constant in family get-togethers. We go to my grandmother's church for dinner & a Christmas service. Then, we go back to my grandmother's for snacking & presents. Her church, is the proverbial "church in the wildwood", with only two rooms: a dining room & santuary that holds about 25-30. My mother always leads the music. However, in her absence...my brother, Chris, handled her position with little effort. Music is his element. He even handled being asked to sing her traditional classic solo, O Holy Night. My aunt read a story, I think anyone with young children should get. It was called, "I Believe in Santa." It compared the attributes of Santa to the attributes of Christ.....showing that you don't have to nix Santa to have a Christ-centered Christmas. At my grandmother's, we don't do big gifts anymore. It's more of "happies" for everyone. Our primary gifts are reserved for our grandmother, and the youngest of the cousins. We eat too much, play too hard, and leave full of laughter. It finally feels like Christmas.
David left this morning headed to Texas. He'll spend the week with his family...and get to play with our new niece, Emily. I ask for prayers on his traveling....and blessings on the time he spends with family.