Christmas is a bit different for us this year. We haven’t really done much around our house as we’ve been so wrapped up with buying the new house and prepping our house for sale. All in all it’s all happened pretty smoothly and things have moved around nice. But…not being able to do anything for Christmas due to buying a house 10 days before Christmas can be a little stressful!
So, we are just making due this year! We didn’t really decorate. This is the first year I can remember not having a live tree since I’ve had a place of my own. That’s a “must” for me. Obviously I let that one go this year lol. John isn’t so worried about that part, we have the tree on the porch that works just fine for him! Once it hit me that it was time to actually decorate for Christmas I realized ALL the Christmas stuff, including our family stockings, are tucked away in the very back of our storage pod and we have begun packing other stuff into it. Not very likely that I was going to be getting anything out of those storage bins! I knew better than to even ask…hahaha!
But, all of that is just stuff! We are fortunately to have each other and the boys as well as our families. Every year we are lucky to be able to do for others that are less fortunate through projects like Senior Angel Trees, Adopting a Family, and Happy Feet (shoes for kids). Even though Christmas is a bit different for us this year we still participated in each of those things this year. And, this coming weekend, we have the great fortune of trying to juggle schedules to make it around town to see everyone in a tight timeframe.
Often we complain about trying to cram so many things into a 24 hour period. We have to make it to what seems like a dozen family members homes, go to Christmas Eve Service at church, have family Christmas time with the four of us, and manage to not kill everyone along the way! But…things could definitely be worse. We are truly lucky to have our families close by. We are blessed to have loving family members that want to spend time with us and want us to come over for holidays. We are fortunate that our list of Christmas presents is longer and longer every year but still we manage to be able to buy for everyone, each other, and others in the community. We often complain about all of these blessings because of the stresses it puts on us when, in all actuality, we should be grateful for the many things we have in our lives.
As we wind down the year and celebrate Christmas I will try to be grateful over the next few days. We are truly blessed. We have had an absolutely amazing year of adventures and in addition, somehow managed to buy a new house and sell the one we are in. We have found what will be the next adventure together in a small house in Downtown Summerville and we were able to make it a reality. We will focus on being grateful as we shuffle from one place to the next over the next few days and try to be present in the moment with our families, not just be there for the presents!
2017 has been absolutely outstanding for us, and the next blog will wrap up the year as we prepare for 2018. As the year comes to an end we hope that you and your family have a very Merry Christmas and that you take time to actually enjoy everyone, take in your time together, and be grateful for one another. Take a moment and show some kindness to strangers, let a driver in instead of cutting them off, and tell others Merry Christmas. Don’t let the stressful time of year overcome you…enjoy it and be sure to county our blessings!
So, from our family to yours, we wish you a Very Merry, and Adventurous, Christmas!
Coles Adventures 