Christmas Day

I'll Be Home for Christmas always makes me cry. The first year Klep and I celebrated Christmas as a married couple, we made a conscious effort to establish the tradition that our home was where we both were. We did not begin the going home for Christmas that would have put us into a competition. We have, since then, spent part of the day other places, but most of our Christmas days have been spent in our home. Fortunately most of the rest of the family has decided that our house isn't a bad place to spend most of the day!

Christmas contrast with Thanksgiving here because Thanksgiving is a carefully thought out proceedure. I have schedules and lists. Christmas pretty much happens. We never completely know what we will be having for dinner until we sit down at the table.

Now, don't get me wrong! There is always plenty of food. This year will probably be remembered for the Boef Bourguignon and the garlic mashed potatoes which were contributed by Rob and Traci. No matter what shows up, it always blends into a good menu which is well seasoned with laughter.

Thanksgiving is one of those days when the good table cloth and the china comes out. Not so Christmas! This year we were paper Santa Plates and cups with assigned reindeer names. A couple of the elves assigned names and decorated cups. We give the "maid" the day off on Christmas and clean up is quick and easy.

One thing is always on the schedule on Christmas day and that is the reading of the Christmas story from Luke. This year after everyone was gathered, the elves collected those of us who had slipped away to the kitchen and four generations of our family paused to listen to those verses about the baby, the angels, and the shepherds. And we, like Mary, pondered them in our hearts. We had our Christmas prayer, the gifts were unwrapped, and the bedlam was on!

The afternoon at our house is another happening. After the dinner is cleared, the cookies and candies find their way to the table. We are in and out. Games go on. The puzzle begins. Friends drop in, and the day slips away until some of our family start heading home.

When the darkness falls, the grazing begins again with sandwiches and leftovers.

The Gifts That Keep on Giving

Christmas has become synonymous with gifts. The tradition of giving lots and lots of things to lots and lots of people is not an old tradition. In fact, it basically came about during the latter part of the nineteenth century and has slowly built over the years until now the gift buying, gift giving, gift obsessing begins before Halloween with stores decked out in both Halloween orange and black and Christmas red and green.

The concept of the gift of course is older than this. There is the actual reason for Christmas which was the gift of the savior to all mankind. That is what the day "Christmas" commemorates although it is unlikely that the birth took place in December. The other old reason for the giving tradition was the example of the Magi when they gave their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the Christ child.

Unfortunately, most of the gift giving mania has little to do with either of the original gifts. Perhaps there are other gift that are not bought in stores or ordered on line which have a deeper meaning for all of us. As I mused over the miles yesterday returning from South Carolina to Florida, I thought of some of the wonderful gifts I have received in my life.

God gave me the gift of parents who always tried to do their best for me. He gave me parents who could laugh and who were not afraid of work. He gave me, all these years, the necessities of life and many joys.

He gave me salvation and a relationship with him that I need to unwrap and treasure every day.

He gave me a husband who loves me and two wonderful sons. He gave me daughters in law who love their husbands and fit into our family. He gave me two beautiful grand daughters to love, cherish, and watch grow as they discover the beauties of life.

He gave me a niece and a nephew whom I love and treasure. He gave me a niece-in-law whom I think of as my own. He gave me two bright nephews who give me the treasure of laughter and love.

He gave me a circle of Christian friends who encourage me and help keep me straight when I slip into self-centeredness.

He gave me a church that nurtures me and challenges me to serve.

He gave me a home with heat, running water, and electricity....all things that would have been unheard of two hundred years ago!

He gave me a country that even with its problems is still the best one in the world to live in.

He gave me challenges and difficulties which are gifts that teach us balance, tolerance, humility and patience.

He gave me peace, joy, and hope to know that everything is in His hands.

He gave me curiosity and a mind that enjoys exploring and learning.

He gave me this year a chance to see the glaciers of Alaska, the mountain peaks of the Yukon, the waterfalls along the Cumberland Plateau, the dusting of snow in the Appalachia's, a sunrise over the Gulf of Mexico, a cardinal landing on my frozen water feature, the lunar eclipse over my house, and more beauty than I can remember.

My Christmas gifts have been given all through my life. Yes, it will be fun to open a few packages from people who love me, but my deepest joys are in these gifts which have enriched my life.

2011 will be full of gifts. I just know it will. What is wonderful is that no one has to take paper, tape, and ribbon to wrap them. They will be wrapped in the living of each day.

Christmas Letter 2010

Merry Christmas 2010

The fog hovered over the field as I awoke this morning the day before Thanksgiving 2010. The house is quiet as we await the arrival, one by one of our Thanksgiving guests. What better time to pause and think of Christmas which is the sum total of all Thanksgiving!

2010 has been busy with trips, time spent with family and friends, puttering around the house, gardening, lazing in the chair with a book, and, ever so often, just sitting on the screen porch watching the birds at the feeders.

Klep oversaw the expansion of one of our local parks the first three months of the year.

In March my mother went with us to South Carolina to meet her youngest great-grandchild.
April and October were Tennessee months in Winegar Hollow where we enjoyed old friends and family. We managed to slip down to Greenville several times to see the kids.

In May, two years of effort culminated in the 50th high school reunion for the Jasper High School Class of 1960. I saw classmates that I had not seen since we marched down the aisle of the now defunct Jasper High School auditorium. We spent an evening reminiscing to the sounds of the 50’s supplied by Rob.

In April we celebrated Leila Kate’s first birthday with a party in her back yard and in May
we celebrated Ava Grace’s fourth birthday at her favorite restaurant, Red Robin.

After we got the house painted this June, we headed to Memphis to do our Highway 70 across Tennessee trip that we had been planning for years. Of course we made several side trips off the old highway. If you want more details, it is further down here on my blog.

In August we celebrated my mother’s 87th birthday at the Smoking Pig in Valdosta before we flew off to Alaska for a tour/cruise.

Again, there are pictures and details on the blog. Alaska and the Yukon were awesome!

We got back from October in Tennessee and left the next morning for Bowling Green, Kentucky for Aunt Agnes’ funeral. She had been blessed with 103 years of life. While we were there we met cousins that we had never met and reconnected to others that we see way too seldom.

November has been settling back in, getting new steps and walks, and getting ready for Thanksgiving followed by Christmas.

December 18, I return to our missive as we realize that we enter Christmas week tomorrow. We have celebrated Thanksgiving with our house full of family, welcomed our friends in for an afternoon of caroling and snacking, and now we look forward to the final countdown to the celebration of the birth of Jesus which we will do here at home after a quick trip to South Carolina for a little pre-Christmas celebration with the Karolina Kleppers.

We wish you all Joy, Hope, and Peace this next year. May His blessings pour out over you and yours.

Barbara and Klep

Layers of Christmas Joy

Christmas time is upon us. Tomorrow the calendar tells me that winter will be officially here. The last few months have been so intensely busy that I have hardly had time to contemplate the rapidly approaching celebration followed by the closing out of the year 2010.

Even with the busyness, we have been adding layers of Christmas joy one by once since Thanksgiving.

Klep and Anne put the tree up after most of our group had left for home. I spent "Rivalry Saturday" decorating the tree while I enjoyed the last big day of the college football season.

Decorating our tree is a trip through the forty plus years we've spent together. We remember the December trip to Okinawa in 1969 when we place the rattan angel atop the tree. We smile over the faces of our sons on homemade ornaments from their elementary school days. We laugh to see the little gingerbread men made by Erbia, a dear friend in Niceville. The wooden soldiers bring memories of our neighbors Carolyn and Ken. Others remind me of my teaching years as I hang ornaments given to me by students who are now successful adults. Our tree is not a designer tree and there is no theme other than the theme of our lives over more than four decades.

The next week we cleaned and polished and assembled and baked as we prepared for our open house. My mother arrived early on the afternoon of the fourth laden with boxes of homemade divinity and platters of blond brownies. She loves to be here as it all comes together, helping cut bars and set out food. She also enjoys a sneak sample of the goodies to guarantee that they are ready to eat, especially the sweet and sour meatballs.

Friends Diane and Niece Pam are also early arrivees. Every party needs people ready to don an apron and help play hostess. Other friends trickled in until we had a good group ready to sing the old favorite Christmas carols in the hall. The children added a special layer of joy with their playing in the yard and then in the room set up for them as the evening darkened into night. As Marky was leaving, he told us he would soon be out of school and would like to come and play.

Our next layer of joy was the day of shopping I spent with my friend Ginger as we covered Tallahassee, finishing our outing at a delightful little Italian restaurant, Bianca's. Good food, good conversation, and good laughs are all a part of Christmas.

We spent another evening singing carols at the Christmas supper at the Deas farm. Sunday evenings we spent practicing the church cantata which culminated last evening with our presentation and church party. The church was beautiful as one of our young man played Silent Night on his guitar. The simple beauty of the melody floating through the darkened room was a poignant reminder of that silent night over two centuries ago.

This afternoon, two of our young neighbors from just up the street are in the duck room (Kevin's old bedroom) entertaining themselves with our vast store of Legos. I sit here in the hallway for a few minutes and listen to their happy voices. They are marvelous children, the very essence of Christmas joy.

Later today our first Christmas guest, Anne, will arrive. That will be another happy time adding to the layers of joy that make up Christmas.

The joy of Christmas will continue to build through the week. How could it not? We will spend Wednesday night visiting with our grand girls and their parents, enjoying the sweet sound and chatter of little girls.

Friday will be Christmas Eve. All day a sense of expectation will be with us. We will have a family meal and then we will gather around the tree and Klep will take his father's Bible and read the story of the first Christmas from the Book of Luke. We will sit together and enjoy the moment.

Christmas Day will have more family, more food, more games, and more moments of joy as we experience the uniqueness and the tradition of this Christmas, layer on layer of joy.