A Bah-Humbug Lesson

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow,
stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so?
It came without ribbons. It came without tags.
It came without packages, boxes or bags.

And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before.
What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store.
What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.

What a time of year to move! As you can see (in the background), we got our tree up. The Nativity is set up, too. I put the rest of the decorations away. Presents are a minimum this year. But two of Rob's siblings, the ones who live in California and who we haven't seen much the last 7 years, are coming to Prescott for Christmas! Yay!

We are all alive (I got in a minor car accident with the kids before we left St Louis--the van is in the shop for several weeks, but none of us were hurt). We are safe (we had a couple of issues with the towing trailer on the way here). We are getting healthy (we've all been sick at some point during the move...I really think it might have been the flu...so fun...and we're working hard on getting better so we can play with Timmy).

This year, Christmas hustle and bustle is not even a thought for us. But I have to say that Christ is in the center of our lives. When we think we are alone, He is there to comfort us. When we are financially strapped, He already provided a way. When we think we can't go on, He lifts us up and gives us strength to shoulder our burdens. Although we haven't been kept from danger, He has protected us through the danger. He has put people in our paths that have helped and supported us. He has given us families who love us and who make all kinds of sacrifices for us.

We are so grateful for all of the gifts that have been given to us this Christmas season. The ones that we are most grateful for are not wrapped in ribbons and bows, but wrapped in love and sacrifice. I can't even begin to thank all of the people who have blessed us in the last while. Let me try. :)

Dad for co-signing on Rob's business loan
Chris for his endless advice and sympathy stress
Elice for her spiritual support and hours of watching our kids
Melissa for helping us unpack and cleaning our new house
Guys from the ward helping us
Mom for driving out with us and sacrificing a special luncheon for this and unpacking the truck and watching the kids while we took care of problems with our trailer
Bob, Ruth, Henry, Fran, and Maren for coming to Rob's graduation and packing boxes and packing the truck and cleaning the house and being an emotional support to me after the accident
Matt, Jared, the missionaries, Jeff for helping us move stuff into the truck...and packing a few boxes, too
Kate for helping me start packing the kitchen and doing vinyl lettering and wood blocks and watching my kids and picking me up at the YMCA when I lost my keys
Kathy and Candi and Holly and Aubrey for watching my kids while I did moving prep and pre-marketing for the business
Debbie for watching our kids (again and again) so Rob and I could go to the temple together and so I could just get stuff done
Heather for giving me the right size boxes for all my food storage
Cari for home-made pizza dinners
Supper Club ladies for friendship, fun, and recipies
Candi and Kathy and Kate for making "Pie Night" a going-away party for us
Carol for going over to our house minutes after arriving to Pie Night to be there with our sleeping sick kids so Rob could come to Pie Night, too

Thanks, everyone, for the best Christmas presents ever! We have the best friends and family in the whole world.

We are blessed!