I’ll be Home for Christmas

In my 22 years of life, this is the first time that song really meant something to me. It was going through my mind as I moseyed around the Houston airport waiting for my Seattle bound flight. Airports have been my friend lately…I seem to be in them quite a bit this past year. Once I get through the hassles of security, I just love slowly roaming the airport by myself. I usually walk to my gate just to confirm where it is, etc, and then I take off and explore. I usually end up in the gift store with my nose in a book. Lately at the airport, I’ve had to force myself not to buy the expensive hardback books that have caught my eye. The first one being Tim Tebow’s autobiography and the second being Tim Keller’s “The Meaning of Marriage” And although my family would probably disagree, my choice of books do not connect to each other. Tim Keller fascinates me in that he pastors a church in Manhattan where secular and religious people alike come to hear him speak about the God and the Bible. He doesn’t water stuff down, but in the end, even when people disagree with him, they still respect his opinion. So when I heard he wrote a book on marriage, I was super curious what he had to say. But it’s not like I need a marriage book now…With his first year in the NFL, Tim Tebow isn’t even interested in dating yet I think (KIDDING! I’m smart enough to not join his crazy, female fan club) Ok…enough of that.

With being home for Christmas came being together with family. And nothing beats that! You have my organized sister Karin visting from Florida, which means you are kept up to date on the days happenings with a stream of texts and fb messages (even when you are in the same house) Good thing though, cuz it takes a lot of work to coordinate our schedules to include a “kids” evening out together. And then you have my spontaneous sister Kristi who last minute informs our dinner party (through Karin’s original FB message) that it’s “Crazy Hair Night”. Needless to say, she was the only one to walk into Anthony’s Restaurant with a hairstyle that made the rest of us do a double take (and joke about why Josh hadn’t walked in with her) And there is my pregnant sister Kimi who’s quick wit and hilarious stories provides laughter and amusement around the table. My brother-in-laws share nervous glances at each other as the pregnancy stories continue on and on. There is the occasional fist bump they give each other as they reach that shared moment of empathy that comes with being married to a Sebens (which in all honesty, they wouldn’t have any other way!) And then there is me, no pregnancy or husband stories to tell of, but that doesn’t stop me from sticking my foot in my mouth by asking a certain prego sister if she weighs more than her body builder husband. Bad, baaad idea! Babies weigh allot, but not that much. Anyways, I was forgiven thank goodness. Unfortunately Kaylie wasn’t able to join us that night. But despite her boyfriend being home on break, we managed to have lots of good time together. Since Karin and Zach took over my bedroom, Kaylie shared her king sized bed with me. We would fall asleep listening to Adventures in Odyssey -- just like we used to do so many years ago.

And with being home for the holidays, that also included seeing my dearest friends again. I’ll document just a few of those special times: Shelby and I spent an entire day together starting with a festive breakfast at Skylarks and ending with sitting on my couch looking at her gorgeous wedding pictures. Our adventures also included spending Christmas Eve together in matching pajamas, eating Tilamook ice-cream, and watching The Nativity with Kaylie and Josiah. Abbie and I spent a good portion of a Thursday together, sitting at her kitchen table practicing our song for the Christmas Eve service. We also made multiple trips to the grocery store as we attempted to gather ingredients for our Indian curry we planned to make that night for dinner. We ate dinner while watching her wedding video (so many good memories!), and finished off the day with Andrew joining us for a late night conversation around the table. I was overjoyed that my dear friend Annie was able to spend the night with us after a Christmas party at my house. We drank lattes, ate her amazing peach muffins for breakfast, and rode together in “Marilla” to church. We have shopping and eating out plans for this Tuesday, so I’m thankful to spend more time with her soon! And I have to mention gathering together with my fellow Israelites as we enjoyed an evening of food, music, and fellowship together.

And to finish off this long post, here are a few other “favorites” so far:
· Rocking Benjamin to sleep (and getting the song “Baby Mine” from Dumbo stuck in my head)
· Walking through the terminal to my waiting parents (who I hadn’t seen in 3 months) My dad was so cute taking pictures of me with his Iphone
· Having Ollie sit on my lap during the Sunday School program at church.
· Being able to use my mom’s espresso machine whenever I want. Ah! Pure bliss!
· Joining Abbie’s family and extended relatives for dinner, movie, and games at A and A’s house. I didn’t quite realize it was a bonafide “family night” but I was happy Abbie smuggled me in anyways =)
· Spending an afternoon by myself in Lynden
Merry Christmas Everyone! I hope to spend more time with you all in this last week I’m here. *Hugs!*