Last evening felt like Christmas. We were all home from a short day of errands running and light shopping. We were each relaxing in our own way: me on the laptop; Jamiee playing with Sarah; Jacob and Toby on the floor playing together; Stephanie baking cookies. We alternated between Christmas music and holiday specials on TV. 

Stephanie and I have both wondered, a little skeptically perhaps, how this Christmas would be. This is our first Christmas since living in Alaska that we are not going to Texas for the holiday break. We have established traditions, some extending back to our childhoods, that involve the people and places back in Texas. Not being there this year, in addition to missing the friends and family we haven’t seen since last year, will be a break in those long standing traditions that in some ways typified Christmas for us.

But this is also our first Christmas to spend exclusively in our own home, with our own family unit. This is when we begin to build the memories and traditions that our children will grow up believing have always been. Stephanie and I have been thinking very intentionally about what traditions we’d like to establish and begun making them so.

Stephanie expressed her deep joy last evening as she moved cookies from the oven to the cooling rack. She said that though she figured she’d spend some of her life as a stay at home mom, she never had the strong desire that she has now to be the very best mom she can be, to do the job at a high level. I think this is the classic human impulse to take what we already do well and therefore enjoy, and work on developing that already strong gift even further. Stephanie is a remarkably thoughtful caretaker, comforter, and educator of her children. They will have amazing memories of childhood and of Christmas, and for that I am grateful. 

This is our home and our family, and this is shaping up to be a wonderful Christmas. With my travel to Circle every week now, we are really valuing these two weeks of being at home together. Avoiding airports, late night flights and daily drives across the metroplex will give us more time to spend together as a family, and we are soaking that up. Stephanie has decorated the house in holiday cheer. We have the tree up, our collection of Christmas cards has been growing every day, and the prime rib for Christmas dinner is in the fridge. We are looking forward to worshiping together on Christmas eve, and coming home to celebrate as a family. This will be a peaceful and joyous Christmas.