All I Want For Christmas Is My F-A-M-I-L-Y.

I love the holidays - especially Christmas because that translates to my entire family getting to be together and spending great time having fun and being the dork nuts that God created us to be!

In my 37 years, I've never spent a Christmas without my family. Not one. During the years that we lived in Houston, it never even occurred to us that things might change or that we'd miss out on anything. We've never been too far away to get back home. Even a 19-hour, straight-through drive with all boys didn't dissuade us from the trip. One year, we were even crashed into by an 18-wheeler (that didn't even stop) on the freeway in Memphis at around 3am. That was a mess, but God had his hand on us the entire time - and we kept on truckin' to get back to family.

Turn around? It would take more than a half-crashed van to keep us from going home for Christmas!


In a few days, my house will be filled with the family my parents started when they were married in 1961: them, my brother and sister and our spouses, and 9 cousins ranging in age from 3 to nearly 18 who all love one another more than life. We sleep all over the house and no one cares, we play games, we eat, we laugh and laugh and laugh. We are not a family who bickers or fights or treats one another badly. This life is too precious and short for that kind of nonsense.

Most of the usual Christmas stresses pretty much roll right off my back because all I mostly care about is my children understanding the true meaning of Christmas and not losing sight of that, and getting to spend several days having fun with my family.

My hope for you is that you are surrounded by precious family during the next week, and that the celebration of Christ's birth isn't lost in all the hoopla that the holiday has turned into. Have a wonderful, awesome, fun-filled, relaxing, enjoyable Christmas!