O Little Town

Just one hours drive from the bustle of the growing Metro-Plex of Dallas, Texas you can be swept back in time.  We loaded our youngest boys and headed for this quaint piece of the past to discover the wonders this once booming city held for us.  As we entered on Main Street we passed jewels of architecture built in the late 1800's and early 1900's all dressed in their Christmas glory.  We "oohed and awed" at what seems to have been a more simpler time in life, though not without its own struggles, as the city tells the story of a boom town where the glory days have left, leaving behind emptied downtown business fronts.

As we continued past the wonderful homes along Main Street, onto the city square, there stood the beautiful Court House built in 1829.  The calmness of the streets reminded you that modern day conveniences have moved business out from the square and near the highway. I soaked in the past as we took pictures of the courthouse, while the revitalized movie theater hold its last live performance of the season.  We all stood in wonder of the gifts of past builders...carpenters.

Yet we hadn't come for the American carpenters or architects gifts, we came to re-visit the excellent re-creation of the City of Bethlehem   This small community gathers her resources to give all those who travel near or far,  the real meaning of Christmas, a eternal gift of the story of one humble beginning....over 2000 years ago.

Stroll with me through my inadequate pictures.  Let your heart wonder back to those humble beginnings.  Let your child's heart be swept away in awe. (this was one of the first words I packed in my stocking, the heart of a child's wonder).  Let the Lord tell you His story through the Rabbi and those who like Simeon waited to see the birth of the Messiah.  Listen for the crowds and the word, "I have no room." that were said to Mary and Joseph.  Ponder, as Mary did, what all this would mean for us.  Enter the meaning of Christmas.

They stay in character as they teach.  This man explains the weaving and the meaning of the "swaddling cloth".  They are threshing flax, showing you how they dye the threads, and weaving.

The Rabbi teaching in the Synagogue.

The Menorah....He is the Light of the World, as he proclaimed in the Gospels.

The Roman soldiers along with their tents.  They correct and move among the crowds in the city.

Benjamin was fascinated and took videos throughout the evening...these visuals will stay with him.

The High Priest and King Herod.  The Magi, who left from his courts on camel to go find the King. The tax collector collecting the taxes in Bethlehem.

The young couple in the stable with their new child...the King of Kings!!

Thank you little town of Waxahachie, Texas, for sharing with your community your free Christmas gift, which allows us all to remember and reflect on the true meaning of Christmas.  May God Bless you all.

Singing Through December

We are so blessed to have a little one in our home on a daily basis.  Now have I said that before?  When God looked down and say two graying parents He knew what our future held.  He knew  we would walk through some very deep valleys.  He knew that income would be lacking more times than not. He knew that lives challenges at time would be more than I would think I could handle, yet, He produced a seed in my womb at age 44...dad-to-be was 51.

Seven years ago I celebrated Christmas with a very large belly!  I felt the kicking of a little one who we didn't know the sex of.  I wasn't sure if this little one would be healthy on his arrival or if I would be able to deliver at home as I had with my past two.  We all waited in expectation of a what a Mighty God was going to do for us.

Mid-wives walked this mid-age woman through a long pregnancy.  My husband was called away for a full month on work as I stayed back to home school three children and taxi teenagers to all their activities. I was alone.  My mind battled the words of the world against this pregnancy...the stats of what my pregnancy held and the unsurety of the future, while still parenting three other children, rejoicing with our newly-weds and watching our college son spread his wings.

That Christmas this song just meant so much to me, as it does this season while my miracle of a healthy 10 pound 4 oz boy arrived just after the New Year, to a 45-year-old mother.  He changed everything, as all children do.  His arrival has brought joy in the midst of so many struggles since his birth.  His voice singing "Glory to God in the Highest" this season has kept his smiling mother humble, as I continue to walk through our family challenges.

Did Mary know what was before her?  Could she have even grasp what her child would deliver the world from?  Could she have even imagined the cross or the empty grave?  NO!  I don't believe she could have...we still can't, at times, believe the gift. So many choose not to receive the gift.  My Benjamin reminds me that God gives gifts that don't go with the world's culture of what you should do.  God knew that my husband and I would need the smiles...and the ears of listening to a six-year-old sing "Glory to God in the Highest", while he is in bed.  God knew we would need the smiles he and his sixteen year old brother bring in our home. God gives perfect gifts!  May we all receive His gift this season.

So I leave you with a song that has become a classic for me.

Just a Little Nuts

green top stockings are the new additions to our family...the spouses...so next year will have two more green stockings

I had so much fun reading everyone's comments on starting to stuff my stocking.  It's amazing how many of us were raised with oranges stuffed in the bottom of our stockings.  I wanted to share this link which tells how this tradition began - http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1853/#b.   I am looking forward to putting oranges in all of our stockings again this year.

Along with the unexplained tradition of oranges were the nuts that filled in all the spaces of my Christmas stocking...we have done the same with our children.  We would pour them out all over the floor and then, later, gather them into a bowl to be enjoyed by all.

This year, the symbolic nuts in my stocking are the giggles from children.  My Benjamin is a source of continuous giggles in our house.  To watch the world through a young child's eyes allows us adults to also giggle...sometimes out loud and many times a giggle in our spirit.

Christmas provides times of plentiful giggles...Charles Dicken's Christmas in McKinney...The Dallas Children's Parade...Viewing of Christmas lights...The windows at Neiman Marcus...Making Christmas cookies.  Stories being read at bedtime during this season allow the giggles of a child to pour out into adults' hearts.

Here are just two stories from our "giggling machine" that I place in our stockings, along with pictures of his eyes of wonder.

As we were riding along listening to Christmas carols, Benjamin heard the song about being naughty or nice.  I didn't think anything about his silence..which means his brain is churning.  Finally, the song ended and he voiced very matter-of-factly, "I think I am in the middle of that list!"

The pure honesty of a child just warmed our hearts.

my last two boys at home...Stephen 16 and Benjamin 6

Another night, he was helping me set the table for dinner, filling all of the glasses with ice.  I noticed that he selected the ice dispenser that gave out large cubes for everyone's glass except one, in which he placed crushed ice.  I didn't ask why... When I sat down, I poured the tea in the glasses and started to drink from the glass he had put crushed ice into. He shouted, "Stop! You can't drink that. That glass is Dads! When he orders a drink he always ask for little ice so I made sure he got little ice!"

My heart was warmed that this little man wanted to honor his dad with the request for little ice, even if his dad meant the volume instead of the size of the ice.

So this Christmas season, I pray you have the joy of a child.  Our Savior came as a child and he beckons us to come as a child to Him.  May your stockings be filled with giggles.