A Christmas Story...about us


I’m planning on sending out a Christmas letter this year. No, I’m not particularly excited about it. If you know me well, you might know that I have always stood firm in the idea that I would never send out a Christmas letter. Why? It’s not that I have anything against people that do send them out; on the contrary, I really enjoy them. My phobia of sending one out stems from a lady my aunt used to receive letters from each year. Although I never knew her, my aunt would get the “brag letter” as we called it, and she and my mom would read it with rolled eyes and point out each “brag” item. And thus my phobia formed…I never thought I’d be able to send out a Christmas letter that didn’t sound like bragging. Instead, I’ve always tried to write some sort of personal message to the card’s receiver as well as include a Christmas-themed scripture. However…enter my sweet, precious, TIME EATING little boy, Lane.


This year, I just don’t have time. It’s not that the desire isn’t there…I long to take multiple evenings and write out cards to each person and, sorry if it sounds hokey, but make it known that I love and care about each person that gets a card. But...this year I’ll be sending out a Christmas letter. Don’t laugh, but I’m absolutely nervous about it. I don’t want it to sound brag-y (even though God has showered us with blessings), whine-y (even though we’ve had some “stuff” hit the fan recently), or totally cheesy either (‘cause…I’m just kinda cheesy…I accept it and I’m okay with it). Each time I sit down to write it I ask myself, “How do I write one letter to 50 people that not only updates them on our past year, but also conveys what each of them mean to me?”

Tomorrow Ryan is planning on doing some “guy stuff” with friends, and Lane and I will be having some “us” time. During naptime, I’m hoping to tackle the letter. The session will probably include coffee, good music, maybe an episode of “18 and Counting” (I’m SO seriously hooked), and quite possibly lots of prayer. For those of you who receive it, I’d like to go ahead and apologize early.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Own Life-Hacker List

Ryan is forever following Lifehacker.com. He doesn’t always find something life changing, but every now and then they post about something that he decides to try out. Sometimes it’s a win; sometimes it’s a regretful Amazon purchase. Months ago he bought me a daylight alarm clock (https://www.amazon.com/Philips-Wake-up-Simulation-HF3500-60/dp/B00F0W1RIW/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1509503507&sr=8-1-fkmr1&keywords=daylight+alarm+clock+phillips). This thing arrived in the mail and I was like, “You bought me an alarm clock? Gee. Thanks.” At least it wasn't a set of cookware. After a week of using it, I realized it was a game changer. I was waking up more gradually and (dare I admit it) in a much better mood. Life hack, indeed. Thank goodness for this wonderful website and my husband that is always looking for improvement. Which brings me to today’s topic. Sometimes we just need to share things that are getting us through. I’ve been listening to a podcast lately of
Read more

I'm Tired

Can I please share my heart? (Be prepared for a lot of whining.) I’m tired. I’m emotionally tired, spiritually tired, financially tired, and physically tired. I’m just tired. Ryan and I are facing the upcoming furlough. We’ll have a significant pay cut to deal with for approximately six months. Thankfully, we have been blessed enough to be able to save up for such an event (that and I know how to choke a dollar) so we’ll be okay, but we have numerous coworkers and friends, good friends , that are really going to be feeling this 20% reduction. I’m worried for them. I’m waking up in the middle of the night praying that they’ll be okay. Ryan and I have been discussing ways to save money, cut bills, as well as gather some projects to work on while we have an extra day off.  I've  come to terms with the pay reduction and not having any ‘frills’ for the next six months.  I've  researched free and inexpensive activities, and  I've  even started looking forward to having
Read more
Image
  This is the first blog post I’ve written in SO LONG so it feels a bit foreign and weird. I have tossed around various ideas for the past couple of months about blogging again, but I couldn’t get motivated or decisive or something .   So, I just turned thirty-five. I've made some serious changes in the past year and for whatever reason, I want to share what I have and am learning. I constantly feel like I'm failing, but I know it can't be that bad (RIGHT?). Back in the Spring, our church’s children's ministry took the kids to a weekend camp. A friend told me that at least once a week she tells someone, “Do you follow Kelley Close on Facebook? You should. She’s funny, she’s honest, and she puts a lot of things into perspective.” I wanted to cry. This was probably the most humbling thing anyone has said to me in a very long time. So, I’m going to start blogging again. I don’t have a niche; there’s no special focus. I certainly know I’m not going to become fam
Read more