remembering.

my sister's tree this weekend.  childhood magic-y.

i remember sitting in my brother's room on the floor.

our family, in a circle, holding hands and praying.

we prayed the Lord's prayer, then our own thoughts.

later, a wall was knocked out from my brother's room &

became the dining room.  i remember wondering how on earth

our house would stay up with that wall gone.

i remember going to cut our christmas tree down every year as a family.

we would find the perfect one for us, but i remember dad steering us

toward the really big ones.  sometimes he'd have to cut more off

when we got home to fit it.  i think sometimes it didn't even fit then?

the Christmas tree farm where we always went.

i remember how often those trees fell over.

ornaments tumbling....i'm sure some probably broke.

but, i don't remember my parents being upset or frustrated.

actually, i remember mom cracking up about it one time.

now being the grown-up, i wonder if they were ever so frustrated

and even angry by it?  too tired to pick it back up and decorate it properly?

i don't know.  if they were, they held it in well.

i remember sitting in my room with my sister.

i think the hard wood floors were painted pink?

[which i know i would have loved.]

we had our Pocket Rockers & would jump on the bed to

I Think We're Alone Now

and 

Only In My Dreams.

sisters.

 i'm so thankful for my childhood &

am realizing now more than ever that

i want to love even better.  especially matt.

sure, i love him, but we are the ones that made this family.

my parents are the ones that created that childhood.

they are the ones still in love & happy

while their 3 children are off

replicating that love in their own families.  

i want that and i don't want to be complacent about it.

life is fun.

  i've heard that saying about the best gift a dad can give

his children is to love their mom.  i love that, but it

absolutely goes the other way, too.

thankful for my family.