Thanksgiving and Christmas are filled with traditions in my family. My brothers and I love all of the various traditions our family does, and it is even more exciting when we have invited other family or friends into our traditions on Christmas morning. We didn't grow up around our grandparents or extended family, so our Christmas' were just us 6 Tarter's. I can think of two particular years where we had family or friends as "guests" on Christmas morning. Christmas can be a lonely time for many people. For older people with grown children it can be a time of great sadness and longing for what once was. For others it might just be that you can't afford to get home this Christmas. It just makes me so sad when I think of people being alone on Christmas Day. But that's another post. Back to the memory.
One year we had my mom's best friend, Sonja, stay with us for Christmas. Sonja's parents were missionaries and she wasn't able to go home for Christmas. We LOVE Sonja. She babysat for us when we were little, and now she is a dear friend to all of us kids. But this particular year she stayed the night on Christmas Eve and woke up with us on Christmas morning. It was so much fun watching her enter into our traditions like watching It's a Wonderful Life with us on Christmas Eve or eating cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning.
The other year, my Grandma Tarter was with us for Christmas morning. Usually I think of Christmas excitement as being all for little kids. Not so for Grandma this Christmas. We all got her presents and she was like a child opening all of her presents with us. It was such a sweet memory!
In recent years we have had my Grandpa Garrett with us for Christmas time. I always loved watching him open his gifts. He was so hard to shop for, but pictures of his grandkids as presents always made him excited. And any candy or sweet, of course. This will be the first year that he is not with us, but is with Jesus on Christmas Day. I am so thankful we had the time with him for these holidays before God took him. But I am also so thankful we have these other memories of Chirstmas mornings with family and friends that we love.
Next week...My absolute favorite Christmas memory!
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