# Chapter 133

Christmas lights, sunsets and projects around the house. It’s Christmastime in Pennsylvania and its cold and soon to be snowy and so very different than Christmastime in Georgia or Florida or Macedonia or Russia or Canada or Thailand (some of the other places we have lived and had Christmas). This year we are in our own space, near our biological children, working on meals and gatherings with them and the grandkids, working on the millions of projects around the house (woohoo), hanging lights and decorations, buying a few gifts, babysitting the grands, and generally enjoying the chaos of living life together. Brenda even made me a sweet potato pie yesterday!

Christmas has long been a favorite holiday with our family, because it was when we could tuck in and stay focused on one another and lounge around in our PJ’s all day and the house was filled with the smells of Brenda’s magic in the kitchen, and the sounds of laughing kids happy to be home from boarding school. We the parents felt like the 3 weeks of Christmas break was just one big long present that we got to open everyday and every hour for three weeks. We planned for months, enjoyed it intensely and were devastated when it ended. There are some awesome memories from those Christmases.

Let’s make some more! In the Coronavirusworld where we have been isolated and quarantined and afraid and politically abused over and over, we need a joyful and deep Christmas that makes great memories while keep Jesus front and center of our celebrations. Can we do that? I don’t know, but we sure are gonna try.