Christmas Celebrations

I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.
Ephesians 1:16


We opened gifts at our house Christmas Eve morning and we read through the random acts of kindness done in memory of Shyla and Jakin.  I will share those soon.  Here is Ethan with their stockings (and yes, there is not one single bow on any of the gifts under the tree...I decided to simplify this year!)

As I mentioned in my last post, they sat Jakin's stone on Christmas Eve, so we went to see it.  We went to the inlaws house Christmas Eve afternoon and then to my mom's house that night to see my brother, sis-in-law, and neice who had just gotten in from Oklahoma and my other brother who cam in from about 1 1/2 hours away.  While we were at my Mom's house it started snowing and icing and the roads got very, very slick, but after all the snow, we did get to have a white Christmas!

On Christmas morning, we waited to go anywhere until the roads had a chance to start to get a little safer.  But our road never gets cleaned off, so we just decided to brave it.  We went to my Mom's house to open gifts and see my family.  My dad got there shortly after us.  He comes every year and spends time with us at my Mom's house.  Some people may think thats odd, but it's just how we have done it pretty much since they got divorced when I was 5.

But before we could get there, we stopped at the cemetary.  There are two times I think that place has the potential to be beautiful...one is the week after Memorial day when almost all the stones have new, beautiful flowers, and the other is after a big snow.

I was having a quiet time, just looking at the snow and the stones and thinking about what I thought this Christmas was going to be like.  Then, these two started throwing snowballs...

(Yes, we are all in our jammies.  It's a Christmas tradition.  My mom always gets us jammies and we open them Christmas Eve and wear them that night and Christmas morning.)

They both helped me try to focus on that day and the blessings I have.

Lastly, I wanted to share the ornament we gave as a gift to our siblings and parents.

It is a glass heart with dried flowers in it from Jakin's service.  Last year we got everyone dragonfly ornaments in memory of Shyla, so this year we gave them this one in memory of Jakin.  I love it.