GIVING

Christmas is decorations that light up our streets.

Christmas is the thought of giving not getting.

It is the happiness of seeing joy in others.

Seeing faces light up"

I was very excited about our, dad and mine,  first Christmas.  I had a new dress to wear, I had baked cookies and the floor where all shined up and out tiny tree just the right size for our living room.  The kitchen was tiny with a two burner electric stove.  It also was where our washer sat in the corner.  No dryer but a good long clothes line outside the back door.

A small table was set in the living room all ready for mom and dad and my brother Brian and his wife Traudl.  We even had Christmas crackers to pop and my good china we received for a wedding present.

From the outside the house looked rundown and the yard was just mud.  It was a shock when I first saw it but it had become home and we were happy there.  My mom and dad were dismayed when they saw the outside.  They did not say anything at the time but later learn ed how they had felt.

The one problem was the electric stove kept turn off and the turkey was not getting cooked.  I ran back and forth to the bedroom to pull the switch.  I felt like sitting down and crying.  Thankfully the neighbors let us use their stove and thankfully everyone was a good sport.

I wonder how Mary the mother of Jesus felt having a baby in a barn that was cut out of a cave.  It would not have been an easy time to be pregnant before marriage.

A story that tugs at your heart the more you think about it.

I am so thankful for my parents and the love they gave me.  The best gift of all.