The First and Last of Christmas

This Christmas was full- the new and the old, traditions and memories. 

Brad and I celebrated out first married Christmas this year, and all of the season culminated today in our first real holiday. 

We have not had a chance to slow, breathe in the crisp winter air, and enjoy God's goodness since the break began, but today was our set aside day to do so. The timing was perfect; Brad preached the three services at our home church yesterday for the first time.

The day was full of joy, but the weeks of preparation were both humbling and challenging as we felt God's call on our lives. Today became our Sabbath, a day of rest and remembrance of Christ. 

The tree twinkling, skirt sewn (finally!), and home decorated all a couple weeks before, our sweet little day actually began the night before with a trip to HEB resulting in a frozen pizza for Brad and red roses for me.

We tried a "healthy" cola soda, made in Austin, that turned out to be horrid, ate way more than we should have, and played dice and card games till our bellies hurt from laughing.

Friendship in marriage is precious.

This morning, sleeping in, Brad's yummy breakfast, and a clean home made for a lovely start before we made it to the celebration: Immanuel, God With Us. 

This name for The Lord is my favorite, and I have loved the gentle reminder this season of Christ's nearness to us. We began what will hopefully become a tradition: remembering the promises of Christ's coming.

Genesis 1-3. Genesis 15-17. Ezekiel 36. Zechariah 2-3. Matthew 1. Luke 1. 

How good is our God to give us His Word! After celebrating the Presence, we opened our presents and spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the peace and rest of being home together. Brad surprised me most of the day, and the evening was no different, as I was warned to "dress warmly" and promptly found myself at the Trail of Lights, an old family tradition I am excited to begin anew.

Home again then homemade bacon mac and cheese before settling in to watch football and Wreck-It Ralph. Thankful for a husband who loves cartoons with me.

I know that today was just one day. Tomorrow we'll put away the ornaments, put the tree outside, take the movie back, and most likely eat leftovers. I know today is only a day. Tomorrow Christ's coming will be just as real, I will have the opportunity to give gifts to others, and the earth will continue to orbit. Yet this 24-hour, normal day will remain precious to me for a very long time. 

This day was Christmas. 

On The First [Year] of Christmas My True Love Gave to Me...

A freshly-cut, Afghan Pine tree.

Brad and I cut down our first Holcomb Christmas tree together earlier this week. The farm closed at 6:30, so Brad and I drove out as quickly as we could after work. 

My family has cut down and had live trees in our home before, but this event was a first for Brad. The farm carries both locally grown Afghan Pines, a more traditional, long-needled tree, and imported Fraser Firs, a tree with short, thicker needles and a strong Christmas scent. While the Fraser Firs are lovely, Brad had a hankering to cut our own, and I had never had an Afghan Pine. The patient owner handed us a handsaw - complete with a brand new blade, a large red wagon, and giving us a good-natured chuckle, sent the #happyholcombs to find their perfect Christmas tree. 

The dusk made us run around like madmen all the while Jack Johnson sang "some night for Christmas" or something of the sort from my coat pocket. Brad, assured that we would "know" when we found "the one," traipsed through the trees, and, squinting to keep what little light was left in the sky for our eyes, we came upon it - there. A tall, slender, and slightly tilted, beautiful tree, complete with (an empty) bird's nest and all (which Brad carefully moved to a different tree). 

This tree was the one.

Brad deftly cut our little tree down and loaded it on the wagon while I held the phone light, so we would not perish on our way to get it bagged.

He looked pretty good chopping our find down, too...

We made a record-time trip to Walmart for a base and some lights before getting home to put the Pine up.

[insert story where Brad uses rusty saw to salvage a cross-section of the trunk for an ornament, only to bring about a little bleeding]

After a little more scavenging, puzzling, and laughing, we had our 4" diameter tree trunk held firmly in place between the screws meant for no smaller than a 5", and the lights all in place. No ornaments yet, but we'll get there! God is so good to give us this time together; loving this new and first season of marriage in our cozy little home.

Happy First, Married, Fun, Joy-filled, Holcomb Christmas!