1. This is the first holiday season without both my parents. My fiance moved to the area last year at this time to help me take care of Mom as he realized it was getting too much for me to do myself, and he knew he wanted to move to this area before long anyway. My family pretty much shattered thanks to someone who spread a number of lies about me. Because of my fiance's work, he can't get away to spend time with his family, so it's just the two of us. By this time next year we'll be married and we're starting to discuss new traditions.
2. We have decided the tree will go up the first Sunday of Advent. In future years, I'm hoping we make our personal gift exchange on St. Nicholas Day and reserve Christmas for celebration with extended family. Since he is required to work a half shift on Thanksgiving, he offered to take a shift for up to two other people -- would make a 12 hour day for him, but since we aren't going anywhere, there is no reason he can't free up someone else's day and allow them to spend time with family.
3. Even more than missing my parents at the holidays, I keep thinking how much I'm going to miss them at my wedding. Mom always told me that she hoped to live long enough to see me married, but she passed away in February. Our wedding is in May. Fifteen months. At least at this point, the thought of not having them at the wedding is overshadowing them missing at the holidays. I am sure it will hit me at some point, even if it's next year.
4. The house I inherited is sturdy but was also built in the late 1800s. It was renovated in the 1920s, and some things were updated in the 1960s but not much since then. My fiance and I decided that aside from Tinkertoys
for his five year old brother we aren't purchasing any gifts this year. I've been entering blog giveaways like a mad woman because gift giving was a huge part of Christmas for my family. So I'm trying to see what I can come up with from blog winnings. I'm also really focusing a lot of time to my eBay store because, well, there is a wedding and home repairs that need paid for!5. Last year I purchased the book The Greatest Gift: Unwrapping the Full Love Story of Christmas
so that my fiance and I could start a tradition of a Jesse Tree. I bought ornaments for us to paint, the whole nine yards. A year later and the ornaments aren't made. We'll go ahead and use the devotional again this year, but I'm considering having a craft table at the wedding reception and writing the verse on one side of the ornaments and allowing the children (or adults who want to) to create our Jesse tree ornaments for us.6. Just 31 minutes ago, a friend of mine posted a photo of her holding her new daughter. She and her husband have a heart for special needs orphans, and this is their 4th daughter. In the next few days they will be united with their 3rd son. What a wonderful holiday gift. (This doesn't fit with the theme of my post today, but it makes me want to cry for them, so maybe ending this on a happier note is a good thing.) These toddlers are close in age and my friend has joked they have been expecting twins.
7. I doubt I'll be listening to much Christmas music this year. I do love the song O Come, O Come Emmanuel. The haunting longing tune is why I love it. My least favorite carol? The Boar's Head! And generously leave you with that this week!
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