The Happiest Christmas

A favorite Christmas album in our family is that of Michael W. Smith. It is filled with beautiful melodies and cheesy lyrics, just what a Christmas album should be. One of my favorite songs is the song "Happiest Christmas" which states that the happiest Christmas is a homecoming Christmas and tells us all about how a Christmas spent at home with the ones you love is the best Christmas of all. These lyrics rang quite true this Christmas.

My Grandma was with us for Christmas, which hasn't happened for about 12 years, and she made it all so perfect. Even though she is 82 years old, she still ran around with our crazy family to join in on all of the regular Christmas traditions. She even watched "The Bourne Ultimatum" with us on Christmas day and that is not something that every grandma would do. But the point is not that she dragged herself around with us, because she didn't. She was always full of smiles (or tears) and walking right in step with us as though she had been doing it for the past 12 years.

This Christmas was also the White Christmas that I have always dreamed of. The odds were against Seattle in the snow forecast and it seemed like this would be yet another year of snowless festivities. But I saw snow in those clouds and it eventually began to fall. No, we weren't snowed in, but it was enough snow to lightly cover the neighborhood in beautiful white blanket. So, I sat there with my cocoa listening to Bing sing his heart out and I could do nothing but smile. I thought that that would top off the whole day, but the joy continued to elevate.

Caught up in the beauty of the snow, I nearly forgot about the Christmas dinner that lay ahead of us. The men always cook the Christmas dinner and create one delicious feast for us. As we sat at the table, I had never felt so at ease. That was a very peaceful moment for me. Just sitting, watching and realizing that God has watched over this family for so many years to lead us to this very moment in time. To lead us to a moment of contentedness and happiness to simply be with each other.

There are so many words that could describe this Christmas: beautiful, joyous, delicious, wonderful. But the only word that could truly describe it all is "perfect".