One Word for 2011

The problem with not knowing my one-word resolution ahead of time is that I tend to want to adopt what others have chosen. For instance, Ann Voskamp has chosen 2011 as the Year of Here. My friend Kirsten has chosen intentional. And I originally thought my word for 2011 might be focus.

But the more I thought about it, the more that word didn't seem right. I could easily make the focus about me, and that didn't tie into what I wanted the year to be about.

Going into Christmas, I couldn't stop thinking about a post Ann wrote about how her family celebrates Christmas. Their celebration is more of a birthday party for Jesus, and all of the gifts are for Him.

While I was home at Christmas, I talked to my family about making Christmas 2011 less about us and more about Him. After all, we struggle each year to put together gift lists because we truly don't need a thing. And so we decided we'd give up our personal gift-giving to focus on giving to others instead.

As I thought about our decision, I realized that others is where I want my heart and my time to be focused throughout this year. I'm tired of being so ME focused, and I'm sure others are tired of it, too. And so I look forward to seeing what God will teach me about others over this year.

Christmas Letter

Dear Family and Friends,

A friend of mine has a "disclaimer" on her blog that states:

If you read much at this web address, you may be overcome by the warm fuzzy thing. Is my life one big warm fuzzy? Of course not. I would think it would be similar to yours. . . . So for every warm fuzzy moment recorded here, there are 100 other moments that have been messy, forgiven, and washed with His grace.

With that in mind, I'm choosing to focus in this letter on the joyous times that I've experienced throughout 2010.

When I looked back over my calendar from this year, I noticed one overwhelming theme: God provided a year full of special events for me. I met Colt McCoy and his family at the Davey O'Brien Awards Dinner; I cheered while attending a TCU baseball game and a Mavs game; a friend's dad taught me how to shoot a gun; I took Mom to the Orange & White Game at UT on Easter; I attended the Legends Dinner with special guests Troy Aikman and Brad McCoy; I attended a gala at the Modern Art Museum; I watched my friend's kids perform in a ballet and a baseball game; I listened to Beth Moore teach in Dallas; I made a road trip with a friend to Colorado and spent time there exploring Denver and the surrounding area with Mom and Erin; I had my picture taken with Mack Brown at his women's football clinic; Erin and I made a road trip to Lubbock to see the Zac Brown Band and watch UT beat Tech; I celebrated my birthday first with a friend at Carrie Underwood's concert in Dallas and later with more friends over dinner and dessert; I took in my first UT home game and was present for the retirement of Colt's jersey; and I recently heard author Shauna Niequist read portions of her latest book Bittersweet at a book signing in Mansfield.

But more life-impacting than all of these events has been the opportunity to invest in the life of a little girl, whom I've never met. Over the past three summers, my friend Susie has served as a counselor at a camp for orphans in Zambia, Africa. When Susie returned to Zambia this past summer, she was greeted with shouts of "Auntie Susie!" from all of the girls that she has shared Jesus with over the previous summers. Christine quickly commandeered Susie's attention, and pointing to each of the girls in the group, she said through her broken English, "And yes, and yes, and yes, and yes, and yes, and yes, . . . [and then, pointing to herself] and no!" Susie didn't understand at first, but then she realized that Christine was supset that she had not been able to attend the Christmas party last year because she had not been sponsored as part of the Father's Heart ministry with Family Legacy, unlike most of the other girls in Susie's group. Christine had obviously been thinking about that for every bit of the seven months since the party. And when camp wrapped up and she was leaving on the bus, she screamed out the window, "Auntie Susie, remember the party!"

Susie not only remembered the party but also found someone to sponsor Christine before I'd heard her story. Despite the fact that Christine now has a sponsor, I can't get her story out of my mind. There have been many times in my life that I have felt like I was left out of the party. But it makes me smile that Christine was willing to boldly ask for her chance to attend the party, and I can't wait to hear what she thinks when she finds out that she will get to attend this year's party!

I knew that there were other girls who didn't get to attend the party, and so I chose one of those girls to sponsor. Sponsoring Theresa has given me a broader perspective. I've realized that there are those who don't crave a gift but just want the chance to go to the party--a party where God's love will be demonstrated and where the attendees will be reminded of God's gift of His Son and of the party that He is preparing to throw for all of us in Heaven.

That simple message is where I want my heart to stay this season. Joyous times await!

Favorite Christmas Song

Each year at Christmas, one song seems to stand out for me. In the past, I've featured "How Many Kings," "While You Were Sleeping," and a list of my Christmas music must-haves.

This year, Francesca Battestelli's "You're Here" won my heart. I heard it several times last year, but this Christmas, it was the song that I wanted to hear again and again. Its message--that God chose not to leave us on our own--is comforting year-round.

I found the song on YouTube set to a scene from the movie The Nativity Story. I hope it blesses you!

Christmas Recap - Top 10 Style

Hopefully, I'll return to "real" writing, rather than list writing, in the coming week. Until then, here's a quick recap of my time at home.

10. Viewing the lights around town, multiple times. I'm pretty sure that we are one of the only families who tried to visit every home or business that won an award for their lighting display.
9. Going to both the 4:30 and the 7:00 Christmas Eve services. It was the best of both worlds because we got to see all the families with young children at the 4:30 and then got to participate in the candlelight service at the 7:00 and hear "O Holy Night" sung by one of our favorite singers.
8. Laughing and more laughing - it's one of the many things we do so well together.
7. Catching up with old friends of all ages. I didn't get to see everyone I'd hoped to see, but I got to visit with many friends whom I see only once a year.
6. Trying new restaurants and revisiting lots of our old favorites, as well as eating homecooked meals.
5. Having my sister as my personal shopper; she's got an eye for fun stuff that I would never even think to pick up and put together.
4. Having my mom off the whole time we were home.
3. Getting to secretly pick up the tab at Sunday lunch for a couple who has blessed our family over the years.
2. Learning that I cannot outgive my mom and sister. They are incredible gift-givers.
1. Spending 9 days with my mom and sister. God gave us safe travel, good health, and lots of fun time together, which was a wonderful Christmas gift.

More Memories

In between rounds of the card games golf and spades, walking, and cooking, we've had some fun photo opportunities. Here's a glimpse of what's been going on at our house:

Annie is such a sweetie and goes along with our antics.

Christmas carols, anyone?

"Santa" brought us a live noble fir from San Antonio, but Annie slept through it.

Annie decided to wait until Sunday to be photogenic.

A little sisterly fun!

I wish we had a video that captured how we took the following shots by posing a camera on a tower of boxes. As hard as it is to capture children, it seems even more difficult to get a picture that three adult women will agree is good of everyone. There were at least seven (if not more) versions of this shot, but these two made my cut.




And here's what happens when you don't have the best lighting and wear a black sweater dress with black tights and black tall boots . . . it comes off as somewhat of a space suit!


I hope to recommence real blogging with words soon. Stay tuned!

Making Memories

It's as if Christmas time counts differently than the normal minutes and hours we see and feel the rest of the year. I've been home for three days, but even that feels like a minute in spite of all that we've done together as a family. Here are some of my favorite memories thus far:

On Thursday, my sister drove me and my dog home, and the almost 4.5 hour drive seemed like it took no time at all. We sang and talked and even got in a little shopping along the way. She said that the only reason she knew it had taken a while was that the steering wheel started to feel "fat." If you make long drives, hopefully you'll understand that.

At night, and only at night, it seems that my dog chooses the exact same place to go potty: right near the manger scene that is brightly illuminated in our neighbors' yard and right when there is a line of cars driving by to look at the lights.

On Friday, we took lunch to my mom at work. We received the royal treatment by being introduced as "Kathy's daughters." That evening, we made journals. It was as if we were at camp, and we enjoyed watching one another's creativity flow onto the covers.

On Saturday, we took a short road trip to a nearby town and did some shopping in an attic. Fun doesn't even begin to describe the time we had! We hope to make that an annual tradition.

Today, we visited with old friends at church and then received a surprise visit during the afternoon from one of the girls that I used to babysit. Mom answered the door and did not recognize the visitor until she introduced herself as Candice. It was fun to catch up with her and her family.

It's wonderful to have no place we "have" to be other than right where we are, spending time with each other and making memories. I hope that you allow Christmas time to go at its own pace and make wonderful memories with your family as well.

Merry Christmas!

With love from me and Annie (the sweetest dog ever)

Christmas Traditions

(The Nativity in Ice! at the Gaylord Texan -- 2007)

I arrived "home" Thursday and have spent the past five days relaxing and enjoying time with my family. Normally, it seems like we have so much to do and that we need to rush through each event or task. But this year, we've been able to continue some of our favorite traditions and add a few new ones without feeling rushed.

My family always enjoys playing games, and this year we've played multiple games of Yahtzee, Greedy, Apples to Apples, and Imaginiff. We've eaten all our favorite Christmas treats, including homemade gingerbread cookies, chocolate covered pretzels, spritz cookies, and four-layered dessert. We also participated in the Christmas Eve candlelight service. These family traditions are as familiar as spending time with good friends.

Our new tradition involves gathering each night to read the Advent devotional together. For me, it has been a time to re-center and get my focus off the many secular aspects of the season.

Wherever you are this Christmas Day, I hope that you are having a wonderful time celebrating Christ's birth.