we had ourselves a merry little christmas...

ella's prayer yesterday morning at breakfast:
"dear lord, happy birthday. i mean, well... happy birthday next year when its merry christmas time again... thank you for a family who talks about your birth. thank you for coming down to earth."

what a privilege to experience life through the eyes of our children. this christmas was wonderful.

when our family was all together, we shared some of our favorite christmas memories with each other. i noticed that very few of the significant memories of our collective pasts had much to do with gifts we received. interesting, since it seems like the gift part gets so much emphasis in our society today. i was especially touched with my great aunt's memory. living through some very tough times as a child, the christmas that stood out for her was when her parents saved and sacrificed so they could have the delicacy of oranges on christmas. oranges! what a treat. i really appreciated her sharing that. simpler times. and better perspectives, i'm sure.