Home for Christmas

I tend to wax a little nostalgic at Christmas. Music, more than anything, softens my heart and sends me into reverie. Tchaikovsky takes me to Nutcracker performances of my childhood. Simple carols on the recorder remind me of my mother's recorder quartet and a Renaissance Christmas long ago in South Dakota. This year, "I'll Be Home for Christmas" stops me in my tracks every single time I hear it.

We are down to just four of us in the house these days, with Devin
and Mattea living in Utah and Alec serving a mission in France. But for a few magical days over the holidays, all seven of us will be home. In Alec's case, it will be "home for New Year's Eve," as he arrives home from Europe just after Christmas, but I am happy to extend Noel a bit to accommodate.

Life has carried us quite a distance this year. In July, Brad started a new job as Director of IT at the local hospital in our little corner of Washington. We bid farewell to the cornfields and a host of dear friends and set off for a new adventure in the Pacific Northwest. Trails and lakes beckoned, and we happily complied. We have hiked mountains and rain forests, kayaked lakes and rivers, played in the ocean and marveled at the beauty around us (yes, even in the pouring rain).

Jared and Kristina have settled into Montesano life nicely. Both continue to keep busy with music and sports, carving out just enough time for schoolwork and enjoying the chance to build new friendships. Brad took up fishing, which he thoroughly enjoys, and someday soon he will catch his first fish. Juliana has discovered the joys of trail running and a wonderful community of runners in the area. We love our church congregation and small town life.

Just a month ago, we purchased a home here in Monte. A friend told me yesterday that the house seems made just for me, and I have to agree. I love the windows and the angles, the seven stockings over the fireplace and the magnolia trees lining the driveway. After a rather nomadic life, I feel like I have finally arrived "home." I am blessed beyond measure and happy to simply breathe in the moment, with its background of evergreens and carols and rain pattering on the window.

May your Christmas find you at home in your own lives, surrounded by love and light and peace.