It's beginning to feel like Christmas.

I'm the only person that has been driving down the street with the windows down, Glee Christmas CD turned up, and feeling the cool 32 degree air on my skin.

These Floridians are a bunch of wuss'.
And while I have definitely become more accustomed to the heat and the sun throughout the past year, the cold has brought me closer to my innermost being. These are my childhood memories. Through all the driving I've done from one job to another, back home, church, work, etc I have had a lot of time to think and reflect upon some memories that really get me in the Christmas spirit. Here are some I wanted to share:

1. Walking in the street at night, looking at my house all lit up with lights and singing some cheesy song I just wrote on the top of my head about a Starry night - pretending I was making the music video.

(Was I the only kid who did those things?)

2. The long walks I would take with my family and grandparents in the chilly night of Wyoming. I remember being all bundled up, smelling chimney smoke, hearing the cars passing on the nearby freeway and anticipating the arrival of Santa that night and all the love and gifts that Christmas morning promises.

3. It never snows on Christmas Eve in Colorado, but Wyoming it snows without fail. This is why I love spending Christmas there. I remember looking out the window and seeing massive snowflakes - you know, the kind that hits the ground and stays there and when you go out and walk in it it's like crunchy powder - the perfect kind for snowmen. I remember sitting on my grandpa's lap as he read me, Jeremy, baby Kiley, and our cousins a Christmas story and as our uncle was in the other room shaking a jingle bell and my parents telling us it meant Santa was in the neighborhood and we had to go to bed quickly or he'd pass over us.

4. The Santa tracker website. I don't know if anybody else went to this website growing up, but it made Santa's arrival feel so real. I always pictured him flying over landmarks (wherever he currently was).

5. My parents made Santa feel so real that I can honestly say I didn't really know the truth until maybe 10 years old. I mean, they went all out! They would eat the cookies (but leave little crumbs and pieces), drink half of the glass of milk, and they would even have snow prints of boots going from the fireplace (or door) to the tree. I don't even know how they did that.

6. Writing letters to Santa on Christmas Eve was always my job. I took pride in it and absolutely loved it. I never forgot to write him a letter expressing my thanks and gratitude for freezing his butt off this one day of the year in his cold sleigh and for never passing over our house.

7. I love that "Santa" did this and I want to do this for my kids:
Whenever I would do something like give away a toy, or try to raise money for homeless people throghout the year, Santa would give me something special along with a note basically saying "I remember when you did this for this person, so here you go." One year I got a rainbow sparkly dress for my Barbie because I gave away an outfit of Barbie's earlier in the year. To this day, that's one of the greatest gifts I've ever received. Why? Because of the note that was attached. It was much more than a gift, it was a note of acknowledgement. (My love language is words if you haven't been able to tell by now).


8. Looking through a giant catalog of toys and circling any of them that I wanted. I probably circled all of them, but what I really loved about the catalog was the smell. =P

9. The closeness and laughter of family on Christmas morning is always my favorite part. Jeremy and I always would sleep together on Christmas Eve and, once Kiley was born, we took turns with her every year. I loed being next to my siblings. It was harder to go to bed that way because when two young kids are anticipating Christmas, who can put that to sleep?


There are too many memories to put on here. There are so many!
I know most of my memories were focused around Santa, but Jesus is the true meaning of Christmas and my parents made sure to always make that the main point. Without his grace, love and mercy, we'd all just be messed up creatures roaming the earth. I'm thankful for our Saior's birth.


Next post will have pictures, promise!