I miss them.......................

Guten Tag,

Each day the heart is growing more anxious to spend some time with these sweeties. I miss them more than words can say. Not only these three sweeties but David, Jacob, Elijah and Malia who we hardly know. Lennie and I have been so blessed by family. We have had so many wonderful Christmas traditions through the years that sitting here in the land of "Christmas" it seems very, very lonely because what truly matters is not here. Thank God I have my Lennie and that is number one but everything else seems so unimportant.

It is time to make gingerbread houses, make and decorate Christmas cookies and get sick from eating to much icing and sprinkles. To sing carols and go into KC to Crown Center and eat lunch where are meals are delivered to us from a train on its on choo choo train track. Traditions...they are so so important. When I grew-up and left home I remember the first Christmas I had by myself in San Francisco, as different from Warsaw, Indiana as you could get. I spent the day on the beach and we decorated a tree limb with shells and seaweed....we made the best with what we had..ha. But I was miserable because the traditions I was use to were not there. That day I realized what really mattered was that you are not alone and you begin to share in other traditions, not just your own.

Through the years we spent more time in desert climate than "winter" climate for our Christmas's. That did never stop us from keeping our traditions even putting the air conditioner on one Christmas morning so it would be really really cold, anything to make it feel cold.. What is interesting this kind of climate was more familiar with my children than cold and snow! We got that only when we went home to Nebraska or Indiana for Christmas. Boy do we have some memories from some of those trips but that is for another day. So many of the girl's traditions come from those two places ...Grandma Anna's and Grandma Jane's....so many of things we still do today come from the memories of those two ladies. But my memories come mostly from my Mom and Grandma Burkhart...oh now those two ladies knew how to do Christmas.

I guess today I am feeling a bit homesick and am desiring the familiar. I not only miss my family but I miss my friend's who I also have traditions with. Lord, today I thank you for all the precious and wonderful memories of tradition I have been given. So I turn on my Christmas music that I have recorded from itunes and CBN radio, fix me a cup of Christmas Tea and meditate upon the many blessings of Christmas I have been given.

Christmas love,

Debby