It was a little wierd having Christmas with my family but not being *home* but it was really fun to get to know my great aunt and uncle and other family that I haven't seen since my grandma great died when I was 14, 2004 right mom? Anyways Lee and Duayne have a gorgeous house, I didn't even get to see the whole thing while I was there!! It was decorated so amazing for Christmas, both inside and out, so I coulnd't help but feel at home.
Even though we weren't at home we still did most all of our family traditions. On Christmas Eve we watched the Luke II movie with Amy Grant's Breath of Heaven in the background. If you haven't done this before, start Breath of Heaven right when you start the movie, it is far too perfect to be an accident and gives me chills every. time. My dad read the poem, One Solitary Life, that his dad read to him every Christmas Eve. We also opened one present, our Christmas Eve jammies that that same Grandma Great sends to us through the magic of Christmas. It made it extra special getting to share the tradition with her son (my grandma Joan's brother) and other great-grandkids.
The family in our matching jammies
Christmas Day was really special this year because we got to talk to Brad, who is on his LDS mission in Ohio. We were so lucky to get to Skype with him for a whole hour and fourty five minutes! I was so happy to see him and hear his voice and hear him tell all of the amazing stories from his adventures in Ohio. My favorite was when he chastised Ryan on needing a haircut, how he doesn't need his new laptop because none of that stuff really matters, made sure he was going to seminary *on time* and challenged him to read the Book of Mormon with him in three months. Oh how wise and grown up that boy is getting! It makes me so proud of him!!!
Ryan summed up the whole day best with his facebook status that night, a quote from Doctor Seuss, "Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more." This year it meant a lot more with Brad out teaching the gospel to the people of Ohio, so that he can share with them the gift of Christ and the atonement- so that all families can be together forever, a blessing which I am grateful for above all else.
If you really want to ball your eyes out read the poem my mom posted on her blog about a missionary christmas- http://rjskallafamily.blogspot.com/2011/12/missionary-christmas.html
A family picture while we skyped with Elder Skalla =)
1 comment:
so glad you had a Merry Christmas!! Great post!
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