It's Here
While listening to the thunder and watching the rain I have been trying to remember a Christmas that was this warm or that had a thunderstorm. I can't remember a Christmas with weather like this but hey, it is Jesus' Party and it can rain if He wants it to. This has been some unusual weather but if it was cold we would be fussing it was to cold to enjoy Christmas. If it was snow instead of rain falling we would be fussing because we couldn't get all the places we wanted to go. Well, some of you would. I think being snowed in on Christmas sounds great.
Besides the weather it is a normal Christmas Eve at the Crouse House. We slept in and made a big breakfast. Abby is in her room watching Christmas movies and has tried to find and figure out what is under the tree with her name on it. Lisa is busy cleaning (as always), baking and worrying if we got everything. I am in the living room watching Sports Center witch is hard to do because Lisa keeps turning up the Christmas music in the kitchen. We will spend the morning and part of the afternoon in the kitchen cooking. Later tonight we will go to her Aunt Reba's house for lots and lots of food and of course to watch The Christmas Story. I will watch my brother-n-law act like it is the first time he has ever seen the movie as he quotes word for word every line in the movie. We will open presents and wait to hear the fire pagers go off announcing a Santa sighting and then we rush home to let Abby get
in bed and asleep before he arrives.
In the morning even if the weather is foggy, stormy and rainy we will do our normal routine. We will get up to see what Santa brought before we open our gifts to each other. The paper from Abby's gifts will cover the whole floor but not as bad as years past. As she gets older her taste gets more expensive so she gets less gifts under the tree. Hey, even Santa has a budget. After Lisa gives the house a quick cleaning, Abby calls the grandparents to report her haul, and I load the car we take off to my mother-n-law's house for lunch and gifts. It always starts off with we are "only having this" but my mother-n-law being the great cook she is turns "only having this" to a more than you can eat buffet.
When it gets evening we take the trip to Lincolnton to see my mother's family. Some years it is the traditional Christmas dinner, some years it is Cowboy Beans and cornbread, some years it is sandwiches and some years it is finger food. It just depends on the mood my mother and her sisters are in when they plan it. Usually by the time we fill our already over filled bellies and the kids open their gifts everyone is about to slip into a deep sleep so we head back to the house. Not that we go home and go to bed.
This is where our normal Christmas traditions differ from most everybody else in the world. When we get home Abby and I begin to take down the Christmas trees. Lisa boxes up the manger scene, my nutcracker collection, and any other Christmas items she finds in the house. So when we finally get to bed all is left is the lights in the yard and a bare Christmas tree. My favorite part of Christmas decorating comes the day after Christmas when I get to throw the Christmas tree out in the yard.
Because my brother-n-law is a retail manager we don't get together with my family until usually after Christmas. This year it will actually be the day after Christmas. We never know what we will eat but I know there will always be Chocolate Gravy! After the meal we all sit and listen to Dad read the Christmas story and then he prays for a very long time. Especially, for the kids staring at gifts with their names on them. Mom enjoys giving us "older kids" small funny gifts in which she hides our cash gift. My favorite was the year she gave us reindeer that when you pulled their tail up the "pooped" out bubblegum. Our cash gift was stuffed up the South end of the reindeer when it was facing North.
Even though we will go the same routine this Christmas it will not be the same for us and for many people. We lost my father-n-law this year and this will be the first Christmas he gets to celebrate Christmas in heaven with Jesus. Christmas was his favorite time of the year because the family was always together. Even though he like to say he was always ready for us to leave he loved
to have all his "babies" together at his house. We liked being there too.
All across the world people will be celebrating the "first" Christmas. For some it will be the "second" or the "third" and it will still feel like the first because of the empty chair at the table. The world has lots of temporary fixes to help numb the pain of the loss but they will soon wear off and the reality of the situation will still be there. But we don't have to write off Christmas and just decide that it will never be enjoyed again. The same Jesus who we celebrate the birth of at Christmas has what we need. From what we can tell He lost His earthly father so He understands it from our view but yet He still says His grace is sufficient. So this Christmas that is what I am putting my trust in to heal my pain, His grace. I will pray for His grace to carry me through the next couple of days and I know He will because He did when I lost all four of my grandparents, my wife grandparents, my three uncles, my cousin and my great-grandfather. I will pray that my wife's family will allow God's grace to carry them as well. I will also pray for all those families that will have an empty chair this year, no matter how many years it has been empty, will allow God to carry them. So if you lost your spouse, parent, child, grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin, friend, co-worker, neighbor, church member or anyone else do not carry the burden alone instead allow God to carry you instead.
Parting Thought: I keep feeling like I am forgetting to
Besides the weather it is a normal Christmas Eve at the Crouse House. We slept in and made a big breakfast. Abby is in her room watching Christmas movies and has tried to find and figure out what is under the tree with her name on it. Lisa is busy cleaning (as always), baking and worrying if we got everything. I am in the living room watching Sports Center witch is hard to do because Lisa keeps turning up the Christmas music in the kitchen. We will spend the morning and part of the afternoon in the kitchen cooking. Later tonight we will go to her Aunt Reba's house for lots and lots of food and of course to watch The Christmas Story. I will watch my brother-n-law act like it is the first time he has ever seen the movie as he quotes word for word every line in the movie. We will open presents and wait to hear the fire pagers go off announcing a Santa sighting and then we rush home to let Abby get
In the morning even if the weather is foggy, stormy and rainy we will do our normal routine. We will get up to see what Santa brought before we open our gifts to each other. The paper from Abby's gifts will cover the whole floor but not as bad as years past. As she gets older her taste gets more expensive so she gets less gifts under the tree. Hey, even Santa has a budget. After Lisa gives the house a quick cleaning, Abby calls the grandparents to report her haul, and I load the car we take off to my mother-n-law's house for lunch and gifts. It always starts off with we are "only having this" but my mother-n-law being the great cook she is turns "only having this" to a more than you can eat buffet.
When it gets evening we take the trip to Lincolnton to see my mother's family. Some years it is the traditional Christmas dinner, some years it is Cowboy Beans and cornbread, some years it is sandwiches and some years it is finger food. It just depends on the mood my mother and her sisters are in when they plan it. Usually by the time we fill our already over filled bellies and the kids open their gifts everyone is about to slip into a deep sleep so we head back to the house. Not that we go home and go to bed.
This is where our normal Christmas traditions differ from most everybody else in the world. When we get home Abby and I begin to take down the Christmas trees. Lisa boxes up the manger scene, my nutcracker collection, and any other Christmas items she finds in the house. So when we finally get to bed all is left is the lights in the yard and a bare Christmas tree. My favorite part of Christmas decorating comes the day after Christmas when I get to throw the Christmas tree out in the yard.
Because my brother-n-law is a retail manager we don't get together with my family until usually after Christmas. This year it will actually be the day after Christmas. We never know what we will eat but I know there will always be Chocolate Gravy! After the meal we all sit and listen to Dad read the Christmas story and then he prays for a very long time. Especially, for the kids staring at gifts with their names on them. Mom enjoys giving us "older kids" small funny gifts in which she hides our cash gift. My favorite was the year she gave us reindeer that when you pulled their tail up the "pooped" out bubblegum. Our cash gift was stuffed up the South end of the reindeer when it was facing North.
Even though we will go the same routine this Christmas it will not be the same for us and for many people. We lost my father-n-law this year and this will be the first Christmas he gets to celebrate Christmas in heaven with Jesus. Christmas was his favorite time of the year because the family was always together. Even though he like to say he was always ready for us to leave he loved
All across the world people will be celebrating the "first" Christmas. For some it will be the "second" or the "third" and it will still feel like the first because of the empty chair at the table. The world has lots of temporary fixes to help numb the pain of the loss but they will soon wear off and the reality of the situation will still be there. But we don't have to write off Christmas and just decide that it will never be enjoyed again. The same Jesus who we celebrate the birth of at Christmas has what we need. From what we can tell He lost His earthly father so He understands it from our view but yet He still says His grace is sufficient. So this Christmas that is what I am putting my trust in to heal my pain, His grace. I will pray for His grace to carry me through the next couple of days and I know He will because He did when I lost all four of my grandparents, my wife grandparents, my three uncles, my cousin and my great-grandfather. I will pray that my wife's family will allow God's grace to carry them as well. I will also pray for all those families that will have an empty chair this year, no matter how many years it has been empty, will allow God to carry them. So if you lost your spouse, parent, child, grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin, friend, co-worker, neighbor, church member or anyone else do not carry the burden alone instead allow God to carry you instead.
Parting Thought: I keep feeling like I am forgetting to
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