A different kind of Christmas?

It was kind of a different Christmas this year. This was the first year that we did not have any family here to share the holiday with. J's parents are both gone (his mom just passed away last year). And since my Mom had to work yesterday and today (she's a nurse), my parents weren't able to make the trip down from Idaho. So it was just the 5 of us. It wasn't bad, the kids had a great day- it was just different. To be perfectly honest- it didn't really feel like Christmas for a lot of the day...

Oh, we had a nice Christmas morning- fresh baked cinnamon roles and an orange biscuit ring with orange juice and coffee. We read the Biblical account of Jesus' birth from Luke. We prayed. We opened presents...

Then we went to the movies. We saw National Treasure- Book of Secrets and let me tell you, the theater was packed! I had heard that Christmas Day was a popular day for going to the movies, but I didn't realize just how popular until we got there... Fortunately we had bought our tickets online, in advance... We did enjoy the movie, it was a lot of fun. But, it just didn't feel Christmas-y...

Since it was just us, we had decided to go out for dinner- instead of coming home after the movie and cooking a big meal. We headed over to Chevy's... Again- it was packed. After a brief wait to be seated, we ordered. Dinner wasn't great (there was a mix up with our food), but it was OK. Again, however, it just didn't feel like Christmas Day.

After we came back home and the kids played with their new stuff- the boys played with Nerf guns, Teenage Daughter figured out how to use her i-Pod, the kittens frolicked in the empty boxes and found all sorts of new things to bat around on the floor. And started to feel like Christmas again...

So now the kids are in bed and once again, I'm listening to Michael W Smith's album It's a Wonderful Christmas. And I'm realizing that all day I had been thinking that my home and our family is what makes our Christmas celebration special. And then I hear, really hear, the lyrics reminding me that Christmas is not about where we are or what we do. How we celebrate Christmas doesn't change who we're celebrating, because it's not about us at all.

It's about Him... Jesus Christ. Son of God. Son of Man. Savior for us all. And it's not just today, but everyday.

Thanks. I needed that reminder...