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Our lives are a multitude of stories.  Some are sad tales, some are filled with stomach wrenching laughter, and some are family legends that grow more epic each time they’re told.  Join me this week as we curl up in our favorite spot in our virtual living room.  The tree casting a twinkling glow.  Hot chocolate, eggnog, and cookies sit in our laps.  Our friends & family sit with us as we laugh, rejoice, & begin to share our tales of Christmas.

Since I was little (aka born) Christmas has always been a family affair.  Tucked away in the small house we grew up in or with Grandpa & Grandma & the my aunt, uncle, & cousins in California.  We were always with family.  Sometimes friends translated into family.  I didn’t have necessarily a wonderful childhood, but I remember pleasant Christmases.

We grew up knowing Santa wasn’t real.  Our gifts were always under the tree days before.  The only thing that wasn’t put out was our stockings.  Mom would fill those after we’d gone to bed on Christmas Eve and hang them on the mantle.  Every year we received a new one.  That was mom’s tradition.  And that would be the first thing we’d open once we were allowed to take them down.

Christmas Eve if we weren’t in California had it’s own special tradition.  We were each allowed to open one gift.  Mom & Dad selected.  Even as a teenager my brother and I looked forward to that one gift.

Today Christmas looks different, but it’s still a family affair.  We’re all grown up and each of our own families.  Time spent with in-laws and our own family.  I have six nephews and a niece due on the 26th.  We eat, we laugh, we Skype open gifts with my brother-in-law & sister-in-law in Northern California.  And I hope that in the quiet of our hearts and hope even more with the words we speak we remember why we’re gathering.

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I hope you enjoyed these stories as much as I did.  Today I’m giving you the opportunity to share your own story.  Click Mr. Linky below to share your Christmas tales.

And since we’re sharing stories I have a gift to share with you.  It is a little canvas I created using written word.  Portions from popular books, including Dracula, various Sherlock Holmes stories, Persuasion, and East of Eden.  Leave a comment on this post to be entered to win the canvas.  Contest ends:  12.31.10 at Midnight Mountain.  One entry per person.  Winner will be announced 01.03.11.

Our lives are a multitude of stories.  Some are sad tales, some are filled with stomach wrenching laughter, and some are family legends that grow more epic each time they’re told.  Join me this week as we curl up in our favorite spot in our virtual living room.  The tree casting a twinkling glow.  Hot chocolate, eggnog, and cookies sit in our laps.  Our friends & family sit with us as we laugh, rejoice, & begin to share our tales of Christmas.

Christmas time is about the only time my side of the family tries to get all of us together, even though most of them all live in the same town.  One of my primos is in the navy so he lives near San Diego, and his brother lives in Austin with me even though i haven’t seen him or his family yet, but such is the split of our families.  I think we all try to get together mostly for the sake of my Grandparents, which reason enough.  Like all families we have our random Christmas rituals, I usually sit around while the guys in the family talk sports, weather, and politics.  I am not really in to sports, I can only talk weather for five minutes and they don’t want to hear my views on politics, I subscribe to the anti-political Jesus for President view.  You get the picture.  All this time my 31 year old sister is snooping beneath the lit up rubber tree plant that we use as a Christmas tree (that is really my favorite part).

In his own words Russ is husband to Elora, Jesus follower, Private Chef, social activist, church planter, guitar-playing, self imposed hippie who just wants to change the world.  You can check out his blog and find him on Twitter.

I apologize for not being here much this week.  It’s month end at work, I’ve been battling tiredness, visiting with family that is in town, and in truth my heart just hasn’t been in the mood lately.

It’s quiet.  Longing. Withdrawn.

I am going to do my best to post next week.  In fact on Monday I am guest posting at a friend’s site.  Talking a little more about community.

Thank you for coming here and reading.  Thank you for interacting and supporting.

On Saturday night we had a scare.  Shawn and I went out on a date and got home around 8 PM.  We relaxed the rest of the evening, but noticed that our little boy Chihuahua, Zeus, would cry and yelp for no apparent reason. He’d try to stand up and cry or would just be laying still and cry.

We assumed it was his back legs because he’d walk a few steps then sit down.  We thought at length if we should take him to the 24-hour animal hospital, but chose to wait and take him to our vet which just happens to be open on Sundays in the morning, due to that he would be going in his crate and would be sleeping for the next eight hours or so.

Neither Shawn or I got much sleep that night.  Shawn was up sick and I tossed and turned worried about Zeus.  We took him to the vet in the morning and the doctor has diagnosed that our little guy has a probable herniated disk in his neck.  And tested him for Valley Fever.  So we’re giving him a pain med and cortisone twice a day.

I learned one thing throughout this whole experience.  If God so chooses to ever bless Shawn and I with children, Shawn will be the balance to my freaking out.  He is extremely level-headed.  I’m certain there will be times when he freaks out but he will definitely be the balance.