Fourth Grade Journey

A Fourth Grade Teacher's Journey Through the World of Books

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Wonder Wednesday #23...

Wonder Wednesday - The Wonder of Christmas

*The Christmas holiday has always been one of my most favorite times of the year.

*I'm lucky that I married my wife who also loves the holiday as much as I do.

*Over the last three days, I've had so many WONDERS…




-  On the 23rd of December we hosted the 29th annual Christmas dinner for a group of high school friends.  My wife started the dinner in her mom's dining room when we were all in college.  It has become a tradition that we all hold dear to our hearts.

-  One aspect of Christmas that I enjoy is going out shopping on my own on the 23rd to just "poke" around and see what I can find.  I usually come home with an extra gift for the kids and/or my wife.  This year I even found a thing or two for myself.

-  Due to family illness and health issues we had to change our Christmas Eve tradition.  We picked up my mother-in-law and ventured north to a nursing home where my father-in-law is staying for some short-term care.  Everyone pitched in and made it the best Christmas Eve we could.

-  The Christmas Eve service at our church was beautiful and so special.  It is one of my favorite church services of the year.  The older I get, the more sentimental I seem to get.  I think I had tears in my eyes for most of the service.  The service tends to bring out the memories of Christmas past and all the wonders of the world.

-  As we were getting ready for bed last night my daughter, who is a freshman at UNL, asked if we wanted a slumber party.  She jumped in bed with us and actually slept with us the entire night.  Wasn't the most comfortable, but it was one of the best Christmas gifts I received this year.

-  The magic of Christmas morning appeared once again this morning.  As a child I remember the feeling and there are still moments when it returns at various moments.

-  We hosted my family today.  This is a different tradition for us, but because my parents are getting older and dealing with health issues, we offered.  It was such a fun family day.  My mother has Alzheimer's and use to love Christmas as much as I do.  For obvious reasons, she isn't the "same" mother I use to have on this day, but I still saw glimmers of her.  The gifts we gave her were things she can use on a daily basis, like Pepsi and Dove Chocolates, and she laughed and got a chuckle out of the gifts.  It was a beautiful thing to see!

-  Giving gifts is one of the things I love the most about Christmas.  There really is nothing like it.  This year I will be celebrating my 22nd wedding anniversary on the 28th of December.  I planned a family outing day and gave it to my wife for a gift.  We will be going to see the Wizard of Oz Broadway show and dinner afterwards.  With our daughter off to college this fall and our junior son who isn't around much, we don't get as many chances to be together as a family.  Let's just say there were tears all around when she opened this gift.  So looking forward to Saturday!

-  It is a silly and fun wonder, but one thing we always look forward to is giving our dog his gifts and he actually opens them.  It is a sight to behold!  I had to include it here…



-  The wonder of the birth of Jesus and his story needs to be remembered.  No matter what holiday you celebrate and honor, I want to wish you the very Merriest of Christmas'...

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