The Magic of Christmas

There's nothing more special than the magic of Christmas. When I was little that magic woke me and my siblings up on Christmas morning about two hours earlier than normal. Then we'd go downstairs and traipse into Mom and Dad's room to wake them up so we could go see what Santa had brought (at this point Mom and Dad would inform us it was entirely too early to open presents, and they'd make us lay down next to them and rest until it was a reasonable hour - like 6 a.m.  It was torture). :)

Now the magic comes from different things - like shutting off all the other lights and enjoying the beauty of our own Christmas tree, or picking out the perfect gift for someone, and even though you know they'll love it, you're more excited to give it to them than they could ever possibly be to receive it. One of my personal favorites this year was sitting in the living room lit by soft Christmas lights, wrapping presents, drinking hot chocolate and watching the Polar Express. It doesn't get any better than that.

We did Christmas a little differently this year. Instead of spending Christmas Eve with one side of the family and Christmas day with the other, we spent both with Taylor's family, and then we spent a long weekend with my family. It was nice not to have to rush around trying to get from one place to the other and really get to spend time with each side of the family.

My favorite ladies in the world!

I think one of the best parts of my time back home was on Friday me and my sisters took my niece and nephew to their first movie at the movie theater. We watched the new Disney movie, Frozen. Oh my goodness, folks, it was ADORABLE!  I absolutely loved it! (I'm pretty sure the kids did too). :) I would recommend it for anyone to go see, especially those people who are lucky enough to have their sisters be their best friends.

We were beyond blessed this Christmas. I got a lot of wonderful gifts I know I'll really enjoy. Yet sometimes I think it might be better if we didn't worry so much about buying gifts for each other. What if we just spent the time together or offered ourselves and our time as a gift to someone else? One of Taylor's gifts to me this year was something along those lines, and it meant more to me than anything else I received. How great would it be if we brought more of that back into Christmas?

Taylor was very excited to wear the Santa hat. :)

I think this December went by more quickly than any other has for some reason. At the beginning of the month Taylor and I went to Vegas for the NFR with his parents and brother, one of our friends, as well as my sister and her husband and my cousin and his wife. It was the biggest group we've ever had go, but it was a great time. For me one of the most memorable moments was one evening after we'd gone to the rodeo, we were walking around the casino floor. As I walked by the roulette table, I saw a guy turn around and look at me. Then he stuck his hand out to me and said, "You're freakin' cute. I'm Rodney Carrington." You never know what will happen in Vegas. :)

A random picture with Rodney Carrington

From there the rest of the month flew by in a haze of Christmas preparations and trying to stay caught up on my articles for the Kansas Livestock Association.

Western Kansas Fact: When people in far western Kansas say "river." They probably don't actually mean "water."  The Arkansas river is just south of Lakin, but it almost never has any water in it. When anybody in Lakin says "the river," generally they really mean "the river bed" or "the place where the river used to be."

I want nothing on earth besides you. Psalm 73:25. 
I think this is a beautiful Scripture. It is true in my life, but sometimes I let that desire become covered up by earthly wants. I pray that each day God will help me grow in my faith so this phrase can be the most important desire of my heart.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and I pray 2014 will be a wonderful year for each of you!

Love,
Lyndee