« Connected | Main | Charity Began at Home »

Lights of My Life

Merry Christmas from the Raymond'sI thought I would have fewer lights this year.

For the past several years I would take advantage of the after-Christmas near give-away deals to add to our indoor and outdoor lighting inventory. Only when the next season rolled around did I feel a tinge of regret as the time required to wire and decorate expanded to more than I bargained for.

This year I pulled the plug. Well, some of the plugs.

When Katy and I finished our pared-down displays, youngest son Kevin walked in and nodded with approval.

"I love it just like this."

The lights from the single string over the mantel reflected in his baby-blue eyes in a way that made his face glow brighter than the tree across the room.

Daughter Carrie arrived home from college and along with the usual multiple bags of laundry and God-knows how many pairs of shoes, the joy in her smile made her look like the Christmas star itself had parked over her head.

Oldest son Scott called to say he and his new bride would come early on Christmas Eve so we could have a little more time to hang out before the extended family arrived. I have never seen a kid so lit up as the day he married our new daughter-in-law Brooke. She has that mix of outward beauty and inward warmth that eliminates the need for a fireplace on a cold winters day.

I looked at Katy and realized that she has never once pared-down her love and devotion toward me and our family. She has lit a fire in my heart that still grows brighter every day that we're together.

I thought I would have fewer lights this year. I was wrong.

I love it just like this.

December 23, 2004 | Permalink

Comments

I just love this blog!! And your wife's blog, too! Wish you could tell me how to get a nice creative template for my own over at blogger.com. Need something that reflects more ME, you know?:-) Anyway, yours is great!

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

Blessings,
Vicki

Posted by: Vicki on Dec 27, 2004 11:59:24 AM

Vicki-Thanks for the kind words!
You can do a from-scratch design with Blogger or Typepad. With Blogger you need to upload and host it elsewhere, insert Blogger tags, and tell Blogger how to publish to it. With Typepad, they will host everything, including your custom HTML and images, etc., but to do so requires the pro account. ($15/month?)
Happy New Year!

Posted by: Doug on Dec 27, 2004 2:48:11 PM

Hi Doug,
I can't imagine why you list yourself as "marginal" because this story I just read is anything BUT marginal. Blessings to you, Katie, and your wonderful family! You are all fortunate and blessed to have one another (and we are blessed with you!) Bunny

Posted by: Bunny Mercier on Jan 2, 2005 12:28:44 PM

Doug,
Just wanted to say how lucky my sister is to have you in her life! :) What a delight it was to read this post...Katy is blessed...

Posted by: Bridget on Jan 3, 2005 7:57:04 AM

Bunny- thanks for the blessings.
Marginal has taken on a somewhat different meaning in the Raymond household. Katy has a habit of always reading books with a pen in hand, correcting, commenting, day-dreaming around the edges of the page. When I read a book that she has already read, some of the most interesting stuff is in the margins.

Bridget-I think I've got all the luck here. And life never gets boring when you are plugged into the McKenna clan!

Posted by: Doug on Jan 3, 2005 9:42:46 AM

Just want to say "thanks" for a wonderful and DECENT "blogging-place". I've been thinking of indulging in the blogging-life (I am a writer and a Christian), but the ones I've looked into have an awful lot of vulgarity. It's not just that I might disagree with someone (that makes life interesting!), but can't we say anything anymore without the vulgarity!?

Anyway, thanks for your writings, and especially thanks for showing that there really ARE intact families round........I didn't say "perfect".............but good familes who still love each other.

Posted by: sandy on Mar 11, 2005 2:12:49 PM


The comments to this entry are closed.


[Back to Top]