My Favorite Christmas Memory

I am a total sucker for those Christmas commercials. I don't just cry at the Kodak moments, either. Last week, I went out and bought some Folgers coffee because of the soldier coming home at Christmas and drinking Folgers. Right now, Jane Seymour is making me cry talking about her mom and the new "open heart" design she has made for Kay Jewelers. That ad agency deserves all the money they make because those every kiss begins with Kay commercials always get me! Why do diamonds say I love you? I dunno but those commercials make me believe it!!

As a kid, Christmas was one of my favorite holidays. Not just the gifts, but the anticipation of the gifts and of course the chocolate!! We always had excellent feasts and Mom's guilt trips were smaller as she was still on a high from how guilty we all felt at Thanksgiving.

I will never forget the year I got an Atari it had Pong in two colors!!! Of course there are the less favorite memories.....my grandparents forgetting that they had 3 granddaughters and having to pretend to be happy while my sisters opened gifts, my aunt asking me how it felt to be adopted and knowing my real father didn't want to talk to me even on Christmas......

I really think though, the best part of Christmas is the candles. I love the Advent Season. The four weeks of lighting one new candle and preparing our hearts for the coming of the baby Jesus. Oh, and the music. I love singing the music. All of it!! I have tried for years to memorize more and more of the second and third verses of hymns. I love to sing with my whole heart praising God without having to look at the words!

My daughter's first Christmas was fun. She crawled under the tree while I was washing dishes on December 23 and opened all her gifts. She didn't even look at the presents. She was so excited about the wrapping paper!!!

Last year was a hard Christmas. Hubby and I were separated. I was living with my parents in the middle of nowhere New Mexico. (I mean so small that I got to sing two solos during the Christmas season.) My Daddy was the preacher and all the kids called my daughter Baby Jesus. They still do because when they were reading the Christmas story the teacher said and then came the Baby Jesus and Daddy walked in the Sunday School room with her! Last year was my daughter's second Christmas and well I was sad we weren't the perfect little family. I was also sad because we were planning to drive all day Christmas day and we had to open gifts Christmas Eve. And because Daddy was the preacher we had to rush to do it between services.

We sat in the first row at the second service because I had to sing and Mom had to read a bible verse. My daughter was next to me in her new Dora Dress her other Grammie had mailed to her. It has a white ruffle on the neck. She still fits it! So as we sang Silent Night and lit candles, my Mom had to go and help Daddy at the back, leaving me and my daughter alone in the front row.

The lights went down and just the trees were lit. And the two of us held the candle. As I looked at her and she was shining so golden from the lights. Her blond hair was like a halo and the ruffle on her shirt was so perfect in the candlelight. I looked into her big brown eyes and saw the wonder of a child and the beauty of God's grace. I wanted a camera so bad that moment. I wanted to share this beautiful sight with the world, but then somehow God told me the precious gift was for me and to show me his love.

This is my favorite Christmas memory!