Christmas

I changed my attitude before Christmas. In talking to some families on Christmas Eve, I learned that my life is not that bad. I knew that it wasn't. But I was letting the plumbing problem get me down, and I shouldn't have. I talked to people that lost their jobs, people that lost loved ones, people that are insecure about their future, and people that are hurting. And here I was, feeling so sorry and letting it ruin Christmas.
God blessed us recently... Jeffrey is working a lot. He worked Christmas Eve for 5 hrs and he worked a full day today, the day after Christmas. It's not fun for him, but his job is paying him TRIPLE time to be there these two days and then next week during New Years. We realized that if the next plumbing bill is similar to our last one, then what he made on Christmas Eve will more than enough pay for it! God works in mysterious ways, doesn't He? How cool is that!?!
I can't stop praising God. There's no reason to... life is full of His blessings, His grace, and His love.
We spent the entire day with our families yesterday. How awesome. We started off with our little family here at home... yes, kitties included. And we drove to Carol Stream (about a half hour) for time with his mom, dad, brothers, and Nana and Papa. Then we all caravanned to Rockford (about an hour or so) to spend time with his aunts, uncles, cousins, and then all the same people from Carol Stream. Then we drove back to Elgin and spent the evening with my parents, two of my sisters, their husbands, our nieces, and my grandparents. We drew names in my family for the first time (the family keeps growing, so you can't really blame us!). It was so awesome. It was neat to see my 5 yr old niece understand the whole concept. She knew who had who for names, and then who opened next... in all truth, she pretty much ran the show. I was so proud of her. She was patient when it wasn't her turn, and she was so loving and sweet as people opened gifts. It was nice to have it simplified... one gift per person. It makes me look forward to next year... doing it all over again!
Our Christmas was so nice. I was constantly reminded how blessed we are. One example was my brother in law. He's just 2 yrs younger than Jeffrey. He was wearing a shirt that was really eye catching. Jeffrey and I noticed it and commented on it... it said "Feed My Starving Children." Which Colin then explained was the organization he'd been volunteering with for the past school term. He helped get food for the hungry (or STARVING!). How cool is that!?! He had a chance to help others, he jumped at the chance, and he wears a shirt, proudly, stating that he did so. I looked up the website for this organization, and it really touched my heart. Feel free to visit it yourself: http://www.fmsc.org/.
Anyway; I just wanted to share a little bit of our Christmas with you. Hope you had a very blessed Christmas as well.