Merry!?

Christmas morning is so magical! I just love it! I think back to when I was a kid and those memories mean so much to me. I can’t imagine how hard my Dad must have worked to provide such a great Christmas for 5 kids year after year and all of the fun traditions my Mom stuck to.

We decided to do Christmas a little bit more simple this year. It was nice. And the truth is, it worked out great because Brinley is really humble. In fact, she said her favorite holiday is Valentine’s day because her Dad buys her flowers. This year for Christmas she asked for slippers and an umbrella. Actually, she asked for an umbrella for Christmas and slippers for her birthday (6 months from now). I told her she could ask for them both for Christmas. Everyone kept asking her what she wanted for Christmas and that’s all she could come up with, eventually she decided that it would be nice to have a magnifying glass too. I know her list won’t always come to a whopping total of $10, but for now it’s sweet. She got a letter from Santa and in the letter it said that he was working on a surprise for her and her response was, “Just one Mom? That’s ok because I don’t really need anything.”

When I grew up I had both sets of Grandparents and two Great Grandmas. My Great Grandma Eva passed away before I had the chance to meet her, My Great Grandma Robison died shortly after Dustin’s brother, Jeremy died. My Grandpa Clark died just before Christmas 4 years ago, My Grandpa Delbert died three years ago on Thanksgiving day and my Grandma Clark just died on Christmas day. Although death is always hard, nothing makes me more thankful for my children. I’m grateful that life is a circle. I can’t even imagine going through life and having to feel the sorrow of burring your loved ones without ever experiencing the utmost amount of joy when holding your newborn baby and watching them grow.

I don’t really have any super sweet one on one memories about my Grandma, but I have so many that make me laugh and put a smile on my face. You see, my Grandpa homesteaded over 1000 acres, he built a ranch and farmed a large portion of the land. I would dare say a huge amount of my childhood memories took place at the ranch. I could go on and on and on, but I remember silly things about my grandparents like feeding the pigs with my Grandpa. I can honestly still picture myself following him with his pail of slop, his overalls, his bent over back and the way he slightly drug his feet in the dirt when he walked. The ranch didn’t have electricity or a bathroom. There was just an outhouse. Looking back, I’m so glad I got to experience this and I’m so sad that my kids won’t. I said all of the memories of my Grandma make me laugh and here’s a prime example. As I mentioned above, the ranch didn’t have a bathroom and what do you think you do with a house full of little kids when they need to go to the bathroom at night? Well, you go in a bucket. If we had to go to the bathroom my Grandma would shine a flashlight that was really more like a spotlight right in our eyes and say, “Are you alright?” and then my Grandpa would say, “leave em alone.” I laugh about all of these things, but the truth is I’ve learned a very very valuable lesson from my Grandparents. When I have been hurt, when I have been used or when I have been taken advantage of and  I’m struggling with forgiveness I always think of my Grandma and Grandpa Clark I think of their example and somehow I struggle a little bit less.