Lisa Bierer hand-painted a Christmas card for me about a year after we met them.  She painted a colorful tree with boxes below and each was labeled with one of the names of Dave and I and the kids.  And she wrote a sentiment that said something like “You were the gifts under our tree this year.”  I have never forgotten how truly appreciated and cherished I felt by that lovely visual and those kind words.  And in life, I have found, that some people just appear from nowhere and you recognize that are divine gifts – you could never have chosen them if you’d had the choice, you could never have recognized them on the street.

First – the children God gave me.  That He chose me to mother these people, well…speechless.  They are admirable and gifted and beyond me in every possible way.  I could not have comprehended how precious they were before they came and would have been paralyzed with fear if I had.  The greatest gifts I ever got…

Then the grandchildren my children are having.  Beyond words, delight to the moon and back!  I love them a gazillion-million-trillion and have only barely tapped the resources of that love, it just keeps erupting.

And friends (including my best friend, Dave).  I can count the forever friends on my fingers.  And that is more than I deserve.

With the addition of the new-kid, Ryan (Tredessa’s husband!!), we are now 17.  It is hard to tell, but Stephanie is holding my new grand-dog, a 7 week-old cute-as-a-button terrier mix.

The gifts:: It really is not about a new toaster or diamond earrings or even the highly-thoughtful hand-knitted scarf, but about the person who hands it to me, or when I get to wrap something up for some one I love with so much of my heart I have nearly none left (Shakespeare rip-off), but they get it.   They see behind the meager attempt-in-a-box the love that placed it there, even though a “thing,”  an inanimate object, is powerless to say what I really want to say.

The gifts are sweet.  They are thoughtful.  They are appreciated, and cherished.  They are really the people who gave them.  They are the people I love.

This pic by Dani Lay Photography (taken at The Heaven Fest Christmas Party)