[Bride]

The touch ... the feel ... of Christmas;

... good smells from the kitchen
... sons that tease and laugh loudly
... bear hugs, & kissed cheeks
... I love you whispered in the ear
... family arriving with joy & cheer
... friends to share this day with
... candles lit with dancing flames
... circle of hands in prayer
... table cleared and games begin
... more laughter
... goodbye's said with more I love you's
... couches piled with movie watchers
... fire stoked and good night's said
... the quiet peace of a sleeping household
Lord, I am rich and fully blessed ... Thank You!

[Sara Arell]

Beautifully said, Lei. My sentiments exactly -

[Becster]

Amen. Lei, that was beautiful and so very true.

[cherryyllaann]

Beautifully said Lei!

[teecee]

Beautifully said Lei! Thanks for sharing.

[CRS]

Lei, you just have a gift with words....I kept saying to myself yesterday and Monday...listen to all that laughter and all the hugs being passed around. We may not have been with our extended family, but we had a wonderful time with our family.

[Sara Arell]

CRS, on 26 December 2012 - 01:01 PM, said:

Lei, you just have a gift with words....I kept saying to myself yesterday and Monday...listen to all that laughter and all the hugs being passed around. We may not have been with our extended family, but we had a wonderful time with our family.

That is so true, Carla - Lei does have a gift with words. And I think I got more hugs yesterday than I've gotten in awhile! The best present I got was a letter that Christopher had typed and put in the branches of the tree. I won't post it in it's entirety here but here is part of it - it really touched my heart because he had no money to buy anything and he wrote this from his heart:

"Dear Mom and Dad,
I hope you have a wonderful Christmas. I love you very, very much. You and Dad have both raised me since I was a little itty bitty baby. Without you and Dad I probably wouldn't be so fortunate. So I thank you for being the wonderful parents that you are. I may not always get what I want and I will throw a fit and I'm sorry for that. I have a problem with the word NO. We all know that. But anyways, the point of this letter is to wish you both a good Christmas. I didn't have any money to get you anything for Christmas so I thought of the next best thing. A letter of showing and telling how much I love you both. You are always there for me, you cheer me on to success yet I have trouble keeping a straight line with the things that I do. But you are still both there helping me out whether I think you are or not. So I thank you both very much. I love you both very much.
Sincerely,
You son,
Christopher Arell"

Those were his words exactly and he always signs everything he writes with his full name. It was all I could do to keep my composure when I read this Christmas morning! Just thought I'd share my greatest gift.

[Bride]

very sweet, Sara ... thank you for sharing.

[Nica]

Amen, Lei!

Sara, those letters make the struggles worth it. **hugs**

[Sara Arell]

Nica, on 26 December 2012 - 06:56 PM, said:

Amen, Lei!

Sara, those letters make the struggles worth it. **hugs**

They do, don't they, Monica! They really do! Thank you!