Christmas

In sad news, its December 14 and I still don't have a tree up. Jungle boy and I may not even put a tree up this year. For whatever reason, we are not feeling especially Christmasy this year. Actually, that's a lie. I am feeling the spirit of wanting to give to others, especially those in need. But not so much feeling like decorating a tree and putting up cute decorations (mostly because I know they would be trashed by the dogs/cats that live in my house!). However, at work when we sing Christmas songs, it puts me in such a happy mood, especially today. Two of my kids at work have developed, well its hard to know what to call this exactly. When my youngest brother was around 3 he developed what we called his "demon" voice. Its hard to explain, but thats what my two kids at work are doing, only when its being done while singing Christmas songs, its HILARIOUS!!! It goes something like this:

*Teachers sing the words in red and kids sing the words in green*

We wish you a Merry Christmas!

We wish you a Merry Christmas!

We wish you a Merry Christmas!

And a Happy New Year!!

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Now imagine Happy New Year being said in a strange, demonic voice coming from a sweet blue-eyed, blond haired little girl. Ah, it was one of the more funny things I've seen (and heard) in quite some time. 

Speaking of giving (as I did way at the beginning of this post) I shall share a story of Christmas past. Growing up my family would always try to do something for others at Christmas. Often this meant providing Christmas for a family in need. One year we provided Christmas for a single mother and her young children. Even though  there had been many other years of serving like this at Christmas, it was my first year of actually going with my mom to drop off the gifts. I can still remember walking in to this little apartment and seeing this tiny Christmas tree on their small kitchen table. The mom couldn't speak English very well, but she was so gracious and sweet and just kept saying "Thank you, thank you" over and over. It made me feel so happy that we could help someone. Last year, Jungle boy and I were lucky enough to be the ones helped by a family in our ward who anonymously gave us a card with a generous cash donation in it. We were so appreciative and it meant so much to us.  That's what Christmas is all about, being giving and also being grateful for the things you receive. It's a time where we can focus on serving others and strive to be even more like the Savior. I hope that this year I can honor that and focus on the real meaning of Christmas. So to all of you, I challenge you to do one (at least one) act of service to help you feel the true spirit of Christmas!

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