In a one bedroom apartment
On the humble side of town
There stands a little Christmas tree
Looks a lot like Charlie Brown’s
And underneath there’s one little gift for him
And one little gift for her
After six months on the new job
They’re still barely getting by
So in the way of decorations
There’s nothing there to catch your eye
But both of them
Would be the first to say
We’re together
We’re gonna have the merriest Christmas
Anyway
Cause Christmas is all in the heart
That’s where the feeling starts
And like a fire inside
It touches every heart
And even if no white snow falls
That’s alright because
The joy can still be found
Wherever you are
Cause Christmas is all
It’s all in the heart
The first Christmas of Brumwell Town was not what I had anticipated but it was still very sweet and special. We spent Christmas Eve seeing my extended family and then we traveled to Grand Blanc to visit with the Brumwells and attend their Christmas Eve service. After the service, we enjoyed Scott’s amazing cinnamon rolls and played games until 3:00am. I was so tired that we slept in until almost 11:00 on Christmas morning! That sleep schedule is very unusual for me and it felt odd to start Christmas like that. But we enjoyed a fun morning with the Brumwells and then Xavier wanted to change the oil in our car (fondly named Rufus). It took a little longer than planned, but the sun was shining and the weather was amazing. We finally hit up the little house in the Perry at 3:00pm on Christmas and found the devastation of a fun Christmas. The kids were all so eager to show off their new toys and it was fun to see what they got for each other and how excited they were about it. By the time we made it home, it was 8:30pm and we were so exhausted. It didn’t quite feel like Christmas but as we sat next to our little tree and gave each other a few small gifts, the Steven Curtis Chapman lyrics I grew up listening to came flooding into my mind. Christmas isn’t about the gifts or the snow or the best Pinterest decorations in your house or even traditions. If you have joy in Christ and you know why He came to earth, then you can have Christmas in your heart despite the circumstances. I realized all of that once Christmas was almost over, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the day and the memories with family.
One of the thoughtful things Xavier got me was a box of hair color… I had no idea and he picked out the color and everything all on his own. It looked pretty and red like I have been dreaming of, but I was a bit nervous to try it on myself so on Saturday night Xavier opened the box, put on the black gloves (which he soon discovered were made for dainty hands) and read the instructions… twice! The rest of the story is better told with photos…
