Christmas 2015


Three years ago, we moved into this house and spent the first year remodeling the inside of it, so there was no time for outdoor decorations. The second year, we bought blue lights to trim the eaves and roof ridges. They were pretty, but I felt they were a bit plain, so this year, we decided to add blue icicle lights to the eaves.

As I mentioned in my last blog, our jobs are very intense during the fourth quarter of each year, so we’ve not had spare time to think of holiday decorations. Now, it’s the weekend before Christmas and we have almost completed our work tasks, so we headed out to buy the icicle lights.

We ambled into At Home and found all the Christmas decorations at 50% off.

Oh my!!!

We came home with blue icicle lights and a few other things, as you can see.

We had so much fun shopping and imagining how our kids and grandkids would react to the display! One of our family’s favorite holiday movies is “Christmas Vacation” and I secretly long to have our home and yard live up to the Griswold standard. Our poor neighbors! Yes, I want to have “that house”. We plan to make an extra effort to catch the 50% off Sale each year until our dream is realized.

As we put up the decorations on Saturday and Sunday, folks that were driving by would stop and comment favorably or they would smile and wave as they passed by. After we finished Sunday afternoon, I walked outside many times just to look. I am surprised at how much joy I feel!

The boring adult in me sits on one shoulder and chastises me for wasting hard-earned money. The giddy, wide-eyed child in me sits on the other shoulder and giggles at the wonderful sight. I like muzzling the adult and encouraging the child! Sometimes, it just feels good to add a little excitement to the ordinary.

At this time of year, it’s great fun to drive around and look at all the Christmas lights. Some homes are lit in classic clear lights. Some homes are a symphony of lights and music. Some homes are creative, colorful and whimsical. Then, there are some yards like ours – where the owners found a bunch of lights and decorations on sale, set ‘em up and plugged ‘em in, a la Griswold!

One evening this holiday season, round up your family or friends, grab a mug of hot chocolate, drive up and down a few streets and share a few ooohs and aaaahs. The Magic of Christmas has everything to do with miracles and wonder! The world celebrates the birth of our Savior and stops for a moment to ponder eternity. Could all these magnificent Christmas lights be used as a small reminder of the Star of Bethlehem that lit the way to the Christ Child?

Wise men still seek Him.

I pray that God will bless you with wonder and hope as you enjoy the “moments” with your family and friends over the next few days.