Christmas Tidbits and Funnies

It’s true. There’s no place like home for the holidays. I’m sure that one day Adam and I will spend Christmas in our own home with our own children, but for now we wouldn’t miss spending it with our families in Alabama {our growing- up homes}.

This year we made the long drive down from Kentucky on Christmas Eve eve {as I like to say}, and the trip was as treacherous and exhausting as always. I was so “checked- out” by the time we stopped at Chic-fil-a around Birmingham that I actually used the men’s restroom. Yep, that’s right. I marched straight into the men’s room, totally ignoring that sign with the little stick man clearly posted on the door. I proceeded into the stall, completely missing the urinal hanging on the wall to my left. It only dawned on me that I was in the wrong place when I made my exit from the stall to find a man washing his hands at the sink. Can you say awkward? I quickly made my way out of the bathroom, head down, without even washing my hands. Adam laughed at me for a good ten minutes, I’d say.

On Christmas Eve, mom sent the five of us (Jenny, Will, Adam, Luke, and myself) out on our traditional Christmas Eve do-gooding run. For as long as I can remember, our family has baked tea-cakes a few days before Christmas to be delivered to the church staff and a few widows from the congregation. I would love to say that we always do this delivering joyfully in spirits of Christmas cheer, but we’re usually rushing to get the job done and get back home. This year was no different. By the time we arrived at Mrs. Eloise’s house {our last delivery stop} we were strategizing about how to get in and out as quickly as possible. There was much to do. Adam had to go back to his house to get the camera we’d forgotten and it was almost time for Luke to eat. But of course, Mrs. Eloise opened the door and invited us in to visit. We couldn’t say no. And when we got inside, and I saw that big empty house and that Christmas tree with just three small presents beneath, my heart ached a little. Mrs. Eloise has lost two husbands. Her children live far away. She was spending Christmas Eve alone. She told us that we made her day by stopping by. She hugged us so tightly. I left feeling convicted for my self-centeredness and so thankful to be surrounded by family on this most special of holidays. I’m so glad we stopped by.

Mom cooked her traditional Christmas Eve spread, and Dad preached his traditional “sermon” (HA).  He promised that this year it would be mostly scripture reading without much commentary. We pick on Dad for his long-windedness when it comes to teaching the Bible, but I’m thankful for this time each year to reflect on Christ’s coming before all the craziness of presents ensues. As promised, his sermon wasn’t too long.

A family friend who recently lost his wife joined us for our Christmas Eve dinner. As often happens with a doctor in the family, the conversation turned to medical issues that are inappropriate to talk about at the table. Somehow {don’t ask me how} we got on the subject of having babies. I made the mistake of saying that my doctor gave me specific instructions about what to do (how to push) when it was time for the baby to be born. Dad went on to say that he tells his OB patients to push like they are trying to have a bowel movement when trying to push out the baby. Yes. He said this at the Christmas Eve table with a guest present. Now, this is the type of conversation that our family would normally not bat an eye about. With a guest present, however, I think my mom wanted to crawl under the table and die.

Granddaddy decided to tell us the story of his life on Christmas Eve. He promised that it would be much shorter than Dad’s sermon. I’d say it was at least 30 minutes longer. Granddaddy was basically a math prodigy and has been an academic guru his entire life. His story included telling us that he didn’t know how to kiss until he met my grandmother, and after that, he learned rather quickly. Now, this is the kind of the thing that my typically straight-laced Granddaddy would NEVER say. He has become more free as the years go by, I suppose. Mom never lost eye contact with him as he was telling the story {for fear of what might happen if she made eye contact with any of the rest of us}, but when he came to the kissing/attraction part of the story, her eyes seemed to be screaming “NO MORE! SAY NO MORE!”

Luke enjoyed his first Christmas morning {I suppose}. Santa came and brought the Bumbo seat that L has been using for the past two weeks. Ha. Ok, so he has absolutely no clue what’s going on, and I just didn’t see the need to buy much this year. He did get a few more little toys. Plus, the gifts from grandparents are already out of control. We may need some limitations on toys next year, but mama is thankful for all of the cute clothes! 🙂

Going home for Christmas also means going to Mississippi to see grandparents. We spent time with my Dad’s family in Mt. Olive, MS. Mt. Olive is the definition of small-town America. I love that you can go for a 3 mile run and pretty much cover the entire town. My super-in-shape sister and I ran the two miles to Powell’s Drug Store and back, and I nearly died. Distance running used to be the only physical activity that I could do {a little} better than my ridiculously athletic sister. No more. I guess that’s what happens when you take a year-long break from running during pregnancy. Maybe I should start working on my New Year’s resolutions…

We enjoyed a day on the farm in Union, MS with Adam’s grandparents and entire family. It’s always fun to spend time with the nieces and nephews. Our oldest nephew got his first 22 rifle for Christmas. I shot the rifle and a 22 pistol and actually hit the target…several times. Shocker, I know. Another nephew, Garrett {5}, constantly keeps us laughing. A whole book of Garrettisms should be written. On the way home from Union he told us, in his most dramatic voice, that he’s terribly afraid when God creates the new earth, he’ll lose his angry birds forever.

Hope your Christmas was as full and blessed as ours. Happy New Year to all!