A PSA and Some FAQs

Just a little warning for my fellow 802ers (or any of the rest of you who might travel into this area any time soon.) It has been a rough several months around here. God has been amazing, so hear me say that loud and clear, but it's a difficult season for our church and more specifically, our family. Lots of scattering. Lots of rushing. Lots of time apart and/or time in such constant activity that "together" doesn't feel so together. And so--I keep promising Macy and Grace that rest will come. I'm honest enough to tell them I'm not sure when, but I'm confident it will come. 

GET THIS. They approached me a few days ago and asked if we could put up our Christmas decorations early. (My girls!!!) Macy said, "The lights make us all so happy. Why not?" And Grace said, "I feel like we snuggle more when the Christmas lights are up." WELL. That pretty much settles that. So fair warning: There's a pretty good chance you'll see some twinkling lights through our windows toward the end of October.

Here are some FAQs we always seem to hear once the lights go up, so I'll save you some time:

Is there something wrong with you?

~Oh, for sure! But the Christmas lights help calm the voices in our heads, so we're really doing you a favor by putting them up early.

Is this some kind of protest against Halloween?

~Nope. Not at all. In fact, I'm in search of the perfect silly costume for Jared to wear on the green as the little munchkins walk over to the church from school later this month.

Do you hate Thanksgiving? Why skip it?

~No. Actually, it's one of our favorite days of the year. And we're not skipping it. We'll just enjoy our Thanksgiving dinner in the glow of candlelight and Christmas lights.

Isn't this a waste of energy?

~Can't say I've done a study of kilowatt usage, but we tend to use our Christmas lights and candles *instead of* rather than in addition to our main lights, so I'm thinking it's pretty much a wash if not a savings. (We don't get all Clark Griswold. Not that there's anything wrong with that!)

Why is this so important to you?

~Two things. 1) My family (by which I mean blood relatives and brothers and sisters in Christ) is all spread out. I mean, ALL spread out. From coast to coast and even in other countries. But within my boxes of all things Christmas, there are precious reminders of so many of those people. Decorations they've given me as gifts, cards and pictures that keep us connected even though we may not have seen each other in person in years, etc. This is how I surround myself with friends and family as we lead into the holidays. 2) There is just something about the sights and smells of the lights and candles that encourage peace and calm and stillness in our house. Feels like we need that these days.

Isn't this annoying to your husband?

~Nope. In fact, we are trying to honor him with our decision. He hates the process, but he loves the finished look, so we are hoping to get everything done while he is out of town later this month. ;-)

Do you hate the people that are bothered by your decision to do this?

~Nope. Not at all. But may we respectfully suggest that perhaps you should find more important things to worry about? :-D

OK. I think that about covers it for now. Happy Fall! Happy Halloween! Happy Thanksgiving! Merry Christmas! and Happy New Year!