When I was a kid, from my first memories I felt like I got a lot of "stuff" for Christmas but rarely anything that brought any real joy, I mean how many dolls can Santa bring? Don't get me wrong, I loved the gifts that I'm sure my mother bought all through the year in order for me to have the most wonderful Christmas mornings any child could dream of. But, my parents both had issues. My dad was a sweet man, a loving father but he was a workaholic. He was driven to work like noone I have ever seen. In a way I loved that about him because he was very creative, he built houses, and not just houses....really quality houses, beautiful homes that were crafted with love and devotion. He worked every day. Even on Christmas after I saw what Santa brought Daddy would put on his work boots and head to the lake to work on his latest masterpiece. That left me and Mama. I believe we went to my Granny's every Christmas but I don't have many memories of that, I'm not sure why, I just know we went. Anyway, getting to the circus part. I started at about 9 or 10 praying for a family. I asked God to give me a large family! I wanted the sweet husband, the dog, the cat and a house FULL of children. I think I may have even dreamed of a circus atmosphere at Christmas, all the colors and noises, a kind of chaos only the circus can bring, three rings going all at once.
As I grew older...Christmas got more and more quiet. Some of the ones from my teen years were even painfully quiet, my mother struggled with depression and sometimes she would spend much of the day in bed as anyone with depression tends to want to do at Christmas time. That would leave me to do whatever and frankly I was bored.
Okay, I know cut to the chase. When I was in college I met Michael. He was the youngest of eleven children and you can just imagine me quizing him on how crazy his Christmas's were at home. He said that actually all his siblings had married or were at least on their own so his parents spent Christmas Day visiting all the grandchildren who lived in close proximity and he either went along or hung out at the house. WHAT? He told me that his whole family got together the Saturday before Christmas but the day was more reserved for the individual families of his siblings. So....his Christmas Days were kinda boring too. As the fall progressed I grew pretty fond this guy, he must have been fond of me too because he had already mentioned that he thought we should spend the rest of our lives together (the rest of that story is for another time). As we parted for Christmas break I asked him if he would visit me during the holidays. He said he would! He even said that he could come on Christmas Day if I wanted him to. Well, I jumped at that chance. When the day actually arrived I expected him to show after lunch sometime but my phone rang a little after 8 am! It was him and he was wanting directions from the gas station about 3 miles from my house!!! We had a great time. My parents liked him and by then my dad was actually hanging around and reading the paper on Christmas.
That was the first of many great memories for me. The next Christmas we were married and we had a little Charlie Brown tree! The one after that we were expecting Hannah! The one after that we were houseparents at the Alabama Baptist Children's Home. Then Micah came along, and after a few not too quiet holidays..the boys! Now, we have the "additional 4" to add tothe "original 4" and the two sweet sons-in-law and now baby Aidie! I can't wait for this year and all the craziness involved with meals and gifts and evenings with 14 people in the immediate family! It's pretty much a circus! Thank you God.
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