About a month ago I mentioned to my mom that I’d like to celebrate Christmas with my family before I left since I won’t be with them this year.
So, in true motherly fashion, she rounded up the whole family!
Yesterday I not only got to celebrate Christmas, but also Thanksgiving, New Years, and July 4th! I felt like a 5 year old and I was completely okay with it.
We started off by cooking all of the Thanksgiving dinner. I think my grandma was a little excited because she told me yesterday that she had stayed up until midnight cooking FOUR pies! The best part about Thanksgiving in August is that there were pool volleyball games going on at the same time. It was the best of both seasons!
We feasted like it was Thanksgiving.
I definitely ate way more that I should have, but I loved every bite of it. It wasn’t really about the food. It was about having us all at the same table and being so thankful for the family that God has blessed us with.
Next was Christmas. Complete with a tree, World Race style.
We did a chinese gift exchange instead of buying presents for everyone. Because again, it wasn’t about the presents. It was about us all being in the same room and celebrating the Savior who is worthy of all of our praise.
After celebrating Christmas, most of the family left, but I was determined to celebrate 2014! So, my parents, brother and sister, and I found a firework show on YouTube, counted down, and toasted to the New Year! We decided to go ahead and throw in July 4th since we had the fireworks.
Yesterday was exactly what I needed. I needed family time. I need to celebrate with them. I needed to know that they wanted to celebrate with me.
The best moment of the day was when I sat down at the kitchen table with my grandma. It was just me and her, and she looked up at me with tears in her eyes and said, "Lesley, if this is what God wants you to do, then you are going to be just fine. I know it." It may seem like just a simple comment, but it will go down as one of the sweetest moments of my life.
I look forward to celebrating all of these same holidays with my team and with X squad!
Until then,
LD
