The Holidays

It is crazy to think that we have now been here in Vermont for a little over 3 months.  So far it hasn't been hard getting used to the area, our friends Joe and Rachel have been doing a great job in helping us get to know the area.  

The first bits of homesickness I've experienced since moving here hit last night during our weekly Chi Alpha meeting.  We broke up into small groups to talk about how we can prevent ourselves from getting sucked in to the buying spree that the Christmas season has become.  One of the questions allowed us to reminisce about any traditions we had with family during the holidays.  Here is where a whole floodgate of memories was let loose for me.  I instantly started thinking about decorating our tree with all the decorations my brother and I had made when we were little that my parents could never throw away, no matter how chipped or faded some of them were.  I thought about how every year my dad would lay out all the lights up and down the hallway to inspect them for burned out bulbs, which of course there were always a few.  And when the tree was finally finished there was always an argument between my brother and I about who would be the one to be hoisted up on our dad's shoulders to put the angel on the top.  One of the traditions I kind of put myself in charge of since I was in Jr. High was setting up the nativity scene.  We had a very nice nativity scene that was hand-carved in the Philippines.  Friends of ours who were missionaries there brought it back for us.  I always enjoyed setting  up Mary, Joseph, the three wise men, shepherds, sheep, a camel, and the manger and then rearranging them at least one more time to make sure it looked perfect.  What made this tradition special to my family was we "hid" baby Jesus every year and when Christmas morning arrived one of us would take him out of his hiding place and place him in the manger.  After this and before we started opening presents we would read about Jesus' birth in the book of Luke.  

For me, I think this was how my parents taught my brother and I that Christmas was not just about the presents we were about to tear into.  It was about remembering how Jesus was and is the perfect Christmas gift.  

Since Scott and I won't be going back to WA for Christmas this year, this will really be the year where we start to make our own traditions special. I look forward to creating those traditions because I think that is what keeps me grounded during a sometimes hectic time of year.

-Abbie