This year brought abundant memories of cheer and pure joy as we spent time together as one BIG happy family. I fail to adequately express how much I just truly adore time with my family, but I do simply adore it. I love these life partners that the LORD blessed my life journey with. Life partners often connote those people with whom you engage in a committed romantic relationship, but honestly these individuals will never migrate away from this life I lead. They will be there each step of the way, and for that I'm so thankful. This being said I believe the time has come for a recollection of my favorite moments spent with these nuts off the old family tree this Christmas season.
Let us begin with Christmas Eve. Here at the Spielman household Christmas Eve was quite filled with activities this year. As tradition has been my siblings all gathered here in Hoyt at our childhood home for our immediate family Christmas dinner, gift exchange, and mucho laughter. After they leave I always dream of having a house big enough for all of us to stay/sleep in the same exact house again. I can't believe all 6 of us actually lived together once upon a time. I miss it!!!!!
So our house accommodated 9 nieces & nephew, 6 siblings, 2 in-law siblings, and 2 beaming parentals. My Ma always treats us with some delicious homemade meal and this year we feasted on spaghetti. Delicioso. One of my favorite moments comes from dinner time when my brother-in-law decided to use two forks to carefully transfer the salad from the bowel to his plate which in turn caused Rebecca and I to start hysterically laughing. "WHAT are you doing Duane, just use your hands!" He replied so politely, "I don't know where y'all's hands have been!" We.split.with.laughter. Then the best sentence left my older brother Josh's mouth next, "This ain't the city boy, this is the country, we use our hands." All said with a twang. Needless to say this lead to explosive laughter, and the continued teasing of Duane. Poor guy, it's all out of LOVE!:)
We of course exchanged gifts which can take quite a while with the amount of people we have in this lovely fam., especially if you try to do it one at a time. This will not be happening next year as my mother reiterated to us, the children get a little antsy as you can imagine. Time well spent. Like I said, my family is hilarious and never lacking in extraordinary moments.
Take for instance when Lex (my 2 year old nephew) fired the Nerf gun he had just received directly into my oldest sister Jennifer's eye. Suddenly we were all awkwardly quiet asking "are you OK?", when the moments just before we were busting at the seams with laughter. Then I took the liberty of announcing, "And this is when Christmas turned bad." I believe Jennifer recovered, nobody can truly be sure as we were too excited to move on to the next present. ha. Only joking of course, she did indeed survive, I think.
After we concluded our family Christmas and all the older siblings and nieces and nephews said farewell it was time for long overdue naps for the remaining Spielmans left in the house. I literally crashed on the family room floor. I wadded something up and used it as a pillow, not sure what exactly. Awaking to a hurried tempo of rushing out the door to race to the Christmas Eve service at our church in Topeka is what proceeded to happen next. Rebecca and I both read scripture and frantically reviewed it in the dim lighting of the vehicle on the way there. We had a candlelight service and it really brought me back to the real reason for the celebration of Christmas Day, and that is the coming of a King in the form of a precious, helpless baby that lay his head not on a royal pillowcase but the hay of a manager. How beautifully humble and significant. He came for YOU, for the WORLD, and for me! I love the story of the birth of my Saviour, and this service did it justice.
We then returned to Hoyt and watched The Grinch, as we periodically went into the kitchen to steal goodies my mother was baking. Have I mentioned that my Ma would make millions if she opened a bakery? Well she most certainly would because the beautiful lady is very talented in the artistry of mad cooking/baking skills.
We were passing time trying to stay up for the 11 p.m. Christmas Eve service at the local Methodist church. There are exactly TWO churches in Hoyt, one being the Baptist church and the other the Methodist where I spent the first 7 years of life attending. We attended the "white" church (it's an 100 year old white steeped church and the Baptist is brick, this is how we distinguish them as children) until the death of my aunt and baby cousin upon when my Mom wanted to attend with my grandparents at her home church in Topeka. The Methodist church has been undergoing renovations to preserve the old pews, and repaint in the sanctuary so we were anxious to see it again.
We walked in and sat down, I immediately turned to my sister and said, "It's so small now."
It's amazing how much space rooms, and buildings have when you are a child, but when you continue to grow older they become increasingly smaller. It's quaint, and I love it. It's my first church. The service was lovely and ended with my favorite part when we all rose from our seats and formed a circle around the sanctuary holding our candles and singing Silent Night. Of course as we were exiting the church the temptation of "accidentally" falling onto the rope that rings the bell possessed my 16 year old brother and I, but to my mother's relief we were well mannered and saved our plan for next year. However as we were driving home we heard the bells sound from the church, it was after midnight and it was officially Jesus' birthday! This lead to a good ole rendition of the Happy Birthday song lead by us children, and when we got home the celebration didn't end.
I was overcome with excitement and joy that I couldn't physically hold in, so what did this 21 year old girl do? She ran down the hill into the front yard yelling "It's Christmas, Happy Birthday Jesus" with my arms flailing about as I twirled in a circle. It.was.GLORIOUS. Cody joined me and we spent about a minute and a half expressing our excitement before entering the house. My Mother was determined to finish her homemade doughnuts for the morning and we were too hyper to go to bed yet, so we "helped" her. Finally at 1 in the a.m. Rebecca, Cody and I left a note and doughnut for Santa before heading back to Cody's bedroom to all sleep in the same room as tradition goes.
I'm not even joking. We still leave a note and cookies usually for dear old Santa. Last year we left his reading glasses and lactose pills!:) Our Santa's lactose intolerant and we didn't want him to miserable as her traveled the world.
MORNING CAME and for the first Christmas morning of my LIFE we slept in! Usually Cody is pestering Rebecca and I to awake so we can go investigate our presents. Our parents have always mandated that everyone walks into the living room at the same EXACT time to see our gifts. At 9 or so in the morning this forward march to the family room took place. I have not been this excited because of what "Santa" left me since I was a child!!!
My mom tricked me when she said she did not receive the link from Starbucks.com of the adorable coffee press I desired, and instead had already ordered it. There it was waiting for me next to my stocking, 3 days after I checked Starby's website to see it was
Yaya...I also received the PRECISE gray ruffle short boots from Target that I wanted! I was overwhelmed with excitement as I shouted, "MOM! How did you know I wanted these EXACT gray ones?!?!" Ironically enough they were the only pair left in my gargantuan size of 11! Talk about fate. God wanted me to look fierce in these boots!
After we consumed more doughnuts than necessary we headed to the traditional all day celebration and feast at my Granny's with all my extended family. This too is always filled with laughter and joy, and did not fail at providing both this year as well.
This Christmas was well spent and felt, but like always left me too soon.
I'm going to carry this joy of Christ's birth with me beyond this December and I don't care what anyone thinks. Also I may or may not have just listened to "Christmas Lights" by Coldplay and "Joy to the World" by Sufjan Stevens numerous times while composing this post...don't judge me. Christmas is here to stay suckers.
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