'Tis the Season

Well, E & I put up her Christmas tree today! Yes I know it is not even Thanksgiving yet:) but we just couldn't wait any longer! She was so precious...as we were getting everything out of boxes she said, "I just don't want to rush this". Coincidentaly, this is how I feel about her entire life:). Anyway we had the Christmas tunes going and even though it is 70 degrees outside she assured me Daddy's famous hot chocolate is on the agenda tonight! I do believe the hubs and I have successfully passed on our love for the holidays, wouldn't you say?

This year is a little bittersweet for us though. Our beloved Mimi (Hubby's grandmother) went to be with Jesus this past June and this will be our first holiday season without her. As I was putting up the tree, I thought of her again as I have everyday since she finished her race on this earth. You know it is funny how even though we had a year and a half to say goodbye...there are still talks I wish we could have. She absolutely knew how much each of us loved her and how much she had profoundly impacted our lives. But it's the little talks I miss the most.. you know like when my girls do something funny I want to pick up the phone & call her because I know she will laugh as hard as I did. Or when the hubs does something amazing (which he often does), I want to tell her because I know she will be as proud of him as I am. Or sometimes I just want to call her for some good girl talk. She had such a way of listening that made you feel heard and understood...what a gift! So to honor Mimi's memory in this holiday season i want to tell you about a few of the incredible gifts/lessons she so graciously deposited in my life ....

1. Love, Love, and then Love some more. - When things are good and you are loving life, when things are bad, when it hurts, when you are disappointed, when you are betrayed, and when you just plain don't feel like it - that is the time for unconditional love. Boy did she practice what she preached... I never knew anyone who had more ups and downs in her life and yet was so full of love.

2. Let your home be a place of welcome. - When we were youth pastors in E.T., the youth group loved to hang out with us at Mimi's. She had a way of making you feel as if she was just delighted to see you!

3. Light up when those you love come in the room! - She would visibly brighten when any of her "kids" came around or actually if she was just talking about us. She has a sign at her back door that says "Let me tell you about my grandchildren" and if you gave her two seconds, she would.

4. Give your family strong roots and fearless wings - She was an anchor in all of our crazy worlds when we needed it and a gentle nudge out of the nest when we needed that too.

5. Live generously! - Have you seen Hello Dolly? You know where Dolly says "Money is like manure, It's not worth a thing unless you spread it around encouraging young things to grow" - that was Mimi's philosophy... be frugal with your own budget, but be generous with your excess.

6. Contentment - This one was huge for me. Mimi had a lovely home that she and her husband built before Keith was born and can I tell you in 4 decades, it changed very little (sparkly gold countertops and all). Mimi surrounded herself with the things she loved. It did not matter to her in the least if it was out of date or unfashionable. And although she had the means to redo her house yearly if she wanted to, she felt that people were more important investments than things.

7. Pray, Pray and then Pray some more. Again when things are good, when things are bad, when you feel like it and even when you don't - that is the time to pray. Every morning you would find her in her chair reading her Bible and pouring her heart out to Jesus. I am so thankful for this legacy and I feel so honored to have been prayed for by her. It is with great humility I pick up the baton of prayer for the future generations of our family.

8. And Finally Laugh.... ALOT! - Mimi had a fabulous sense of humor! She would crack her own self up sometimes:) Last Christmas we all sat around for hours telling her the "Mimi" stories we remembered... you should have seen her laughing! It was pure joy!